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-17016

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Cladding Stakeholder Group, on what dates the group has met, and on how many occasions its ministers have attended the group's meeting.

The Cladding Stakeholder Group is an official level meeting. Issues raised by stakeholders are fed back to Ministers and considered as part of the Cladding Remediation Programme. The group has met on the following occasions:

2021	2022	2023
30-06-2021	19-01-2022	08-02-2023
21-07-2021	16-02-2022	29-03-2023
19-08-2021	16-03-2022
15-09-2021	20-04-2022
20-10-2021	20-07-2022
17-11-2021	17-08-2022
15-12-2021	21-09-2022
	19-10-2022
	23-11-2022

Question reference: S6W-17021

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a strategy for patients living with endometriosis.

The Women's Health Plan : A Plan for 2021-2024, published in August 2021, outlines our ambition to improve access for women to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis.

The Plan sets out actions which aim to ensure that the average diagnosis time for endometriosis is reduced, that women are able to access the right support and effective treatment for endometriosis, and that women can access a specialist endometriosis centre if required.

There has been substantial progress since the publication of the Women’s Health Plan. The Women's Health Plan Report on Progress , published in January 2023, sets this out in more detail.

Question reference: S6O-02177

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessment it has undertaken regarding any reductions to core funding allocations in its Budget for third sector organisations.

Question reference: S6W-16112

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when any further decisions will be taken regarding how the deposit value of containers that are within the scope of the Deposit Return Scheme should be displayed on shelving when the scheme launches.

Decisions regarding how the deposit will be displayed is a retained power and the responsibility of Trading Standards. The Scottish Government believes that the deposit should not be included in the unit price displayed either on shelves or price-marked packs, rather it should be clear that the deposit is in addition to the item cost.

The Scottish Government is continuing its discussions with the UK Government and other stakeholders in order to ensure that on-shelf displays and price-marked packs have clear information regarding the Deposit Return Scheme to enable consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

Question reference: S6W-16113

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when any further decisions will be taken regarding how the deposit value of price-marked packs of containers that are within the scope of the Deposit Return Scheme should be displayed when the scheme launches.

Question reference: S6W-17028

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent assessment is of the allocation of resources to Community Planning Partnerships in each local authority area.

Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) do not hold resources of their own. CPPs’ partner organisations direct and align resources they hold towards collective action in pursuit of priorities agreed by the CPP. These resources can take the form of staff time and expertise, premises and other assets, as well as financial investment.

The statutory purpose of CPPs is to improve outcomes on locally identified priorities; and CPPs are not required to report to Scottish Government on their use of resources. As a result, Scottish Government does not hold information about the value of resources partners deploy in pursuit of CPPs’ priorities.

Question reference: S6W-16287

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle fly-tipping.

Last year the Scottish Government consulted on proposals for a National Litter and Flytipping Strategy. The consultation included proposals to raise the value of fixed penalty notices, carry out a review of flytipping enforcement, support private landowners to deter and tackle flytipping, and work with a wide range of stakeholders to improve consistency of data collection.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling flytipping and will publish a finalised National Litter and Flytipping Strategy later this year. The strategy will set how we plan to work with partners to develop more effective flytipping prevention and enforcement measures.

Question reference: S6W-16292

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the provision and potential impact of community dog parks in relation to promoting responsible dog ownership.

The provision of designated community dog parks is the responsibility of individual local authorities.

Local authorities can consider and use bye-law making powers to create designated enclosed areas in public parks to provide places where dogs can be off lead and places where all dogs must be on a lead.

The Scottish Government would support a local authority using their bye-law making powers in such a manner if it was considered a proportionate step to help promote responsible dog ownership in the community and appropriate by the local authority. Such decisions are however entirely for individual local authorities.

On 23 December 2020 the Scottish Government updated statutory guidance on the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 to highlight that local authorities can consider bye-law making powers to address a specific dog control problem. For example, if there is an area where dogs are often a nuisance, the matter can be raised for consideration by the council who have powers to make appropriate bye-laws (i.e. to keep dogs on leads in particular areas or to ban dogs from places such as children’s playgrounds).

More generally, the Scottish Government carried out a marketing campaign on dog control with the Scottish SPCA in 2021. This campaign has been re-run on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on a number of occasions since and directs the public to information about ‘The law on controlling your dog’ on the mygov.scot website at: https://www.mygov.scot/controlling-your-dog

This website makes clear that dog owners are responsible for the actions of their dog, and sets out potential penalties for failing to control dogs.

Question reference: S6W-16282

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to resume the Super Sponsor Scheme for Ukrainian refugees, and, if this is the case, when this will take place.

The Scottish Government Super Sponsor Scheme has been overwhelmingly popular, with local authorities, the third sector and local communities responding in partnership.

As of 11 April, there have been a total of 24,216 arrivals in the UK with a Scottish Sponsor, of which 19,565 are sponsored by the Scottish Government. Total arrivals in the UK with a Scottish Sponsor (which includes those sponsored by the Scottish Government (Super Sponsor Scheme) and by Individual Sponsors) represent 20.1% of all arrivals in the UK, and it is the most per head of any UK nation.

Our priority over the coming months is on supporting displaced people from Ukraine already in the UK with a Scottish sponsor and who choose to remain here longer-term. With a shortage of affordable housing across Scotland, a cost of living crisis and significant pressures on both local and national Government finances, the scale of the challenge is significant.

Following the pause of the scheme in July 2022, this was reviewed by the Ukraine Programme Board in late October and again in February. Parliament was informed of our decision for the scheme to remain closed to new applications as the criteria required to re-open the scheme could not be met at that time. We will review the reopening of the Scheme again in June 2023.

Question reference: S6W-16106

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many (a) professional and (b) personal carers parking permits have been provided to social care staff in each local authority area, in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Local authorities are responsible for decisions around the enforcement of parking restrictions and the consideration of any exemptions is at their discretion. Their powers are set out in statute and, as long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority to manage its day-to-day business including the management of any parking permits.