Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-21196

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion, in its Scottish Budget 2024-25 recommendations paper, that spending restraint rather than tax rises should form the majority of the measures to meet the projected gap in devolved government finances.

We thank the Scottish Retail Consortium for their considered paper and look forward to constructive engagement with stakeholders across Scotland as we work to produce and deliver the 2024-25 Scottish Budget. For example, the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance will attend a budget focused roundtable discussion chaired by the SRC on 26 September.

As set out in the Programme for Government, the Scottish Government’s priority is to grow the economy to tackle poverty and improve our public services. We recognise these are challenging times and difficult choices will have to be made to deliver a balanced Budget. We will set out the spending and tax plans to achieve this when we publish the 2024-25 Budget document.

Question reference: S6W-21205

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the headline business rate poundage has been in each year since 1999-00.

Question reference: S6W-21203

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on which local authorities have used or are seeking to use their powers, under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, to reduce business rates, broken down by financial year.

Local authorities have powers to award discretionary local relief under section 3A of the Local Government (Financial Provisions etc.) (Scotland) Act 1962, as inserted by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Table 1 shows relief awarded under these powers by local authority.

Table 1: Local relief awards by council area, 2016-17 to 2022-23, £000

Council	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Aberdeen City	0	1,740	0	0	0	0	0
Aberdeenshire	0	2,140	0	39	23	-33*	0
Perth and Kinross	124	0	30	0	0	0	0
Total	124	3,880	30	39	23	-33	0

* This negative figure is due to a correction to previously reported figures

Data for 2023-24 is not yet available, however following the devolution of empty property relief on 1 April 2023, all councils are using their local relief powers this year to provide relief for empty property, with local relief schemes potentially differing by council.

Question reference: S6W-21195

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make the granting of licence permissions conditional on payment of the real living wage, as part of its Fair Work Action Plan, and, if so, which types of licences it anticipates will be in scope.

The Scottish Government’s Fair Work Action Plan sets out actions to promote fair and inclusive workplaces across Scotland. We are committed to using all levers at our disposal to extend Fair Work conditionality with clear standards and minimum requirements to cover all forms of Scottish Government support within the limits of devolved competence.

The action to consider including the use of reliefs and licensing powers is an investigatory action, and not a definitive position on if and how these can be used. Officials will explore the scope of this action in due course and following the principles of the New Deal for Business. In the meantime we will continue to monitor implementation of Fair Work conditions to ensure the approach remains fair and proportionate.

Question reference: S6W-21199

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will fulfil its commitment in its Framework for Tax, and the recommendation of the Barclay Review of non-domestic rates, to restore the level playing field with England for commercial premises liable for the higher property rate.

Question reference: S6O-02525

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details regarding its Programme for Government 2023-24 commitment to develop a "long term strategic approach to skills and careers” in the culture and major events sector.

Question reference: S6W-20747

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered expanding the eligibility for the drug, Paxlovid, to people aged over 50.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium ( SMC) has collaborated with The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on a multiple technology appraisal (MTA) of all COVID-19 treatments (known as TA878). NICE guidance for technology appraisal TA878 was published on 29 March 2023. The SMC published equivalent guidance in Scotland, recommending nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) for restricted use within NHS Scotland, for the treatment of patients with increased risk for progression to severe COVID-19 as defined in the independent advisory group report commissioned by the UK Department of Health and Social Care .

The NICE and the SMC are currently collaborating on a partial rapid review of TA878 , and considering whether to recommend nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) for the treatment of additional risk groups. The draft guidance from this partial rapid review, published on 17 August 2023, recommends that access to nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) is extended beyond the current cohort, to individuals aged 70 years and over, and those with diabetes, obesity (BMI of 35 kg/m 2 or more), or heart failure. If there are no appeals from key stakeholders, the final NICE guidance is expected to be published on 13 September 2023, and will be incorporated into the original NICE technology appraisal guidance TA878. Following this, the SMC will publish equivalent guidance for NHS Scotland.

This advice is based on an assessment of the clinical and cost effectiveness of nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) at a population level based on the best available evidence. The Scottish Government continues to closely monitor the outcomes of any further research to ensure that any decisions to make nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) available to eligible individuals in Scotland in the future are based on the best available evidence.

Question reference: S6O-02493

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it has made in response to the protracted start to the 2023 grain harvest.

Question reference: S6O-02396

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has put in place to support new entrants into agriculture.

Question reference: S6O-02356

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it will next review the car parking arrangements for MSPs and staff.

Year	Poundage (pence)
1999-2000	48.0
2000-01	44.8
2001-02	45.0
2002-03	45.8
2003-04	47.8
2004-05	48.8
2005-06	46.1
2006-07	44.9
2007-08	44.1
2008-09	45.8
2009-10	48.1
2010-11	40.7
2011-12	42.6
2012-13	45.0
2013-14	46.2
2014-15	47.1
2015-16	48.0
2016-17	48.4
2017-18	46.6
2018-19	48.0
2019-20	49.0
2020-21	49.8
2021-22	49.0
2022-23	49.8
2023-24	49.8