Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-03722

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support the retention of Scotland’s public libraries.

Question reference: S6O-03698

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support specialist neonatal intensive care units across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-29340

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 2 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its former senior (a) civil servants and (b) agency staff sought its approval in (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23 and (iii) 2023-24 to take up a position with another employer, also broken down by how many times this approval was granted.

Question reference: S6O-03669

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to implement Scotland’s National Transport Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-28501

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 1 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many contracts it has awarded to supported businesses in Scotland in each of the last five calendar years.

Supported Businesses make an important contribution to the Scottish economy. Not only through the goods and services they deliver, but also by providing meaningful employment, training, and social support for those who may otherwise be excluded from the workplace.

The following information is derived from the supported business suppliers included in Scottish national framework agreement for goods and services that was reserved for supported businesses. This framework was open to the whole of the public sector in Scotland, charities and third sector. The contract ran from 2018 to 2023.

A total of seventy-six contracts have been awarded to the supported businesses on this framework by the Scottish Government (including its agency organisations) over the last five calendar years.

Year	FY ‎ 2022-23	FY ‎ 2021-22	FY ‎ 2020-21	FY ‎ 2019-20	FY ‎ 2018-19	Five Year Total
Total number of contracts awarded to Supported Businesses	3	17	21	20	15	76

Question reference: S6W-28500

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 1 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many contracts have been awarded to supported businesses by public bodies in each of the last five calendar years.

Supported Businesses make an important contribution to the Scottish economy. Not only through the goods and services they deliver, but also by providing meaningful employment, training, and social support for those who may otherwise be excluded from the workplace.

The following information is derived from the supported business suppliers included in Scottish national framework agreement for goods and services that was reserved for supported businesses. This framework was open to the whole of the public sector in Scotland, charities and third sector. The contract ran from 2018 to 2023.

A total of 277 contracts have been awarded to the supported businesses on this framework by public bodies over the last five calendar years.

Year	FY ‎ 2022-23	FY ‎ 2021-22	FY 2020-21	FY 2019-20	FY 2018-19	Five Year Total
Total number of contracts awarded to Supported Businesses	43	54	56	66	58	277

Question reference: S6W-28387

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the remaining annual funding levels are for the Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) to 2025-26, and what assessment it has made of the impact of inflation levels since 2021-22 on the total IIP budget.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to improving and modernising our ferry services and better meeting the needs of island residents, businesses and communities. The Infrastructure Investment Plan referenced capital investment of at least £580 million for ferries, port infrastructure, and related activities. In addition to the projects highlighted in the IIP, the Scottish Government has committed around £115 million for two new major vessels for the Little Minch routes. The draft Islands Connectivity Plan - Vessels and Port Plan provides further detail on the overall programme.

The total spend on ferries infrastructure, excluding Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa which are covered separately, between 2021-22 and 2025-26 is expected to be around £700 million, subject to approvals, funding, and relevant procurement processes. All capital projects are subject to inflation and costs and impacts are considered as part of the individual business case process.

Question reference: S6W-28386

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that the Islands Connectivity Plan includes Orkney Islands Council in any new approach to procuring second-hand tonnage on publicly subsidised ferry services.

The Islands Connectivity Plan recognises that Councils face the same challenges as the Scottish Government of meeting transport connectivity needs with ageing vessels in a time of financial challenge and this Government has already provided more than £220 million between 2018-19 and 2024-25 to the four local authorities that have responsibility for ferries.

Procurement of its ferries, whether new or second-hand, is a matter for Orkney Islands Council, however, we remain committed to the Orkney Ferry Replacement Task Force and supporting the Council to develop a robust business case for replacing vessels and upgrading port infrastructure. Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited is already working with the Council to help assess the harbour and ports infrastructure upgrades that may be required and procurement processes for future vessels.

Question reference: S6W-28390

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to (a) set funding levels for each phase of the Vessels and Ports Plan for the (i) Clyde and Hebrides and (ii) Northern Isles public ferry networks to 2045 and (b) publish the Islands Connectivity Plan in full.

As part of the Islands Connectivity Plan, the updated Vessel and Ports Plan was published for consultation on 1 February 2024. The Plan provides a long-term plan to 2045 for the vessel and port investment considered necessary to address the key challenges of reliability and resilience by modernising the fleet and reducing the average age to 15 years by the end of the decade.

The Plan also makes clear that the timing of the delivery of individual projects remains subject to Value for Money, prioritisation and affordability.

The final versions of the Islands Connectivity Plan’s Strategic Approach Paper and the Vessels and Ports Plan are expected to be published later this year.

Question reference: S6W-28389

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much CMAL has spent, to date, from the budgets in the Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) for the procurement of new (a) vessels and (b) pier and harbour infrastructure.

Chamber and committees