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: S6O-03109

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking through the delivery of benefits to help families with the cost of nappies, in light of the reported increase in nappy theft linked to the cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-25174

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 14 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO) reportedly warning ministers of a potential rise in local authority homelessness emergencies.

There have been a number of organisations in the sector, including the Scottish Housing Regulator, Audit Scotland and SOLACE, documenting the difficulties local authorities are experiencing and the risks this could present to the provision of homelessness services and accommodation. I respect the decisions of the local authorities who have declared a housing emergency.

The Scottish Government has commissioned expert groups to recommend action to potentially reduce the pressures local authorities are facing and set out in its response the actions we will take. I am engaging with Housing Convenors across Scotland on a regular basis to discuss the homelessness and housing supply issues that are impacting on them most. We know that increasing housing supply is key to tackling homelessness, but a flat and falling funding trajectory from the UK Government has significantly impacted our ability to deliver on all our capital infrastructure commitments. We will invest £556 million in affordable housing in 2024-25 and we have stated that our housing capital budget will be a key priority if new funding becomes available as a result of the UK Government’s Spring Budget 2024.

Question reference: S6W-25173

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 14 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking in response to reported concerns raised by the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO) and others that over half of Scotland's 32 local authorities are failing to meet legal requirements in relation to dealing with homelessness.

We have been in regular dialogue with ALACHO since this survey was undertaken in November 2023 and I have also been meeting with Housing Convenors across Scotland to discuss the homelessness and housing supply pressures that are facing councils. I meet with local authorities with the greatest temporary accommodation pressures on a regular basis to explore the best way to build resilience in the system.

This year, we have provided an additional £2 million to the 15 local authorities with the greatest percentage increase in the use of temporary accommodation. We have committed to maintain the homelessness budget for 2024-25 at broadly similar levels to 2023-24 and we will invest £556 million in affordable housing in 2024-25. Further investment in our housing capital budget will be a key priority if new funding becomes available as a result of the UK Government’s Spring Budget 2024.

The Scottish Housing Regulator has noted that the demands on some local authorities now exceed their capacity to respond, and it is engaging with the City of Edinburgh Council and Glasgow City Council on improvements in the way they discharge their duties to people who are homeless.

Question reference: S6W-25184

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) men and (b) women are currently prescribed sodium valproate.

Question reference: S6W-24921

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the capacity of police dog pounds, in light of reports that they are full ahead of the XL bully dog restrictions coming into force.

Question reference: S6W-24893

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it undertook any action to mark Clean Air Night on 24 January 2024.

Clean Air Night 2024 was the first such event, and has been introduced to complement Clean Air Day, which has taken place since 2017 with funding support from the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government will consider how to engage with future Clean Air Night activities in the context of the public engagement framework around air quality which we are developing with partner organisations. It will include a focus on raising awareness of the impact of domestic fuel combustion emissions, which was the overarching theme of Clean Air Night.

Question reference: S6W-24787

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 7 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider adopting a policy that requires developers of five or more holiday pods or chalets to develop at least one of these units in line with the inclusive design principles set out in British Standard BS 8300-2:2018.

Building regulations already require that, in residential buildings, a proportion of rooms intended to be used as bedrooms must be accessible to a wheelchair user. Guidance offered within the Building Standards Technical Handbooks promotes an inclusive approach to design, generally aligning with the good practice recommendations detailed in British Standard 8300. As such, the ratio of accessible accommodation sought in such buildings is one bedroom in 20, or part thereof, which directly aligns with the one room or five percent (whichever is greater) of the total number of bedrooms recommended within the British Standard.

However, building regulations do not apply to mobile homes or other structures which are capable of being moved from one place or another. Smaller types of accommodation, such as holiday pods, may not be subject to the above provisions. The Standard described above therefore cannot be directly applied to these structures.

Nevertheless, building owners and service providers should be aware of the duties imposed under the reserved legislation of the Equality Act 2010, including a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled people can use a service as close as it can be reasonably possible to a standard usually offered to a non-disabled person. Other policy areas such as development or licensing may also have potential to address this issue.

While this issue goes much wider than the regulatory scope of building standards, I would welcome an opportunity to discuss the matter further to explore potential solutions.

Question reference: S6W-24755

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24720 by Jenni Minto on 22 January 2024, whether it can provide information on (a) the names of (i) organisations that and (ii) individuals who are members of the Expert Group on eliminating cervical cancer, (b) whether the Expert Group's membership will comprise of any patients with lived experience, (c) when the group will meet and how often and (d) whether HPV home testing will be part of the group's remit.

As announced on 22 January, an Expert Group will be established to lead on scoping work to consider and provide recommendations on how Scotland will work towards reaching the targets set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to eliminate Cervical Cancer.

We are in the process of writing to individuals and organisations to invite them to become members of the Expert Group. Membership is expected to come from Scottish Government policy officials, clinicians, Public Health Scotland (PHS), National Services Division Screening team and Third Sector organisations such as Jo’s Trust. We are also seeking membership from individuals with lived experience.

The Scottish Government continues to explore all possible avenues, including HPV self-sampling, which may improve uptake of cervical screening towards the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 70%. However, introduction of self-sampling is dependent on a recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), the expert advisory group that advises all four UK nations on screening.

Question reference: S6W-24721

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can detail what its policies are in relation to designing clinical models for independent hospices.

Question reference: S6W-24900

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) companies and (b) non-governmental organisations were invited to the St Andrew’s Day reception that it hosted during COP28 in Dubai.

The following list of companies and organisations were invited to the St Andrew’s Day reception during COP28 in December 2023:

Abu Dhabi Aviation	CPI media	Islamic Finance Guru	Radisson
AD Ports Group	DAHC	JM Foods	Retail Is Detail LLC of Alabbar Enterprises
ADIO	D-CAT	Joulon	ReVentas
ADNOC	DHA	Karpowership	Ritz Carlton DIFC
ADQ	Dhabi Hold Co	Kent	Robertson Group
Aforza	Doosan Babcock	KEZAD	Roslin Technologies
AGR Petroleum Services	Drax	Kibsons	Safco
Al Rostamani Tavel	Dubai Academic Health Authority	Kitopi	Scotmas
AL TAYEB MEAT SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP LLC	Dubai Chamber	Krucial	Seafood Scotland
Al Tayer Holidays	Dulsco LLC	Lactalis GCC	SEHA
Al Yaseah	Edinburgh Science	Lactalis Group	Seven Media
Al Yusr Industrial Contracting	Elevation Sustainable Solutions	Lactalis UAE	Shell
Amity Fish	Emirates	LRQA	Siccar
Aquatera Group	Energy Industries Council	LULU	Siemens Energy
Arbikie	Equiom Group Middle East	MAF Hypermarkets LLc	Sirocco
Areej International	Euro Mechanical	Masdar	SolarisKit
Astro Agency	EY	Max Foods Inc	SOV
Atlantis	Fawaz Alhokair Group	Mazrui International	Spinney
Australian Embassy	FCDO	MEED	Sunamp Ltd
Automech Engineering	finefarefood	Midgard Oilfield Services	SUNMEET GENERAL TRADING LLC
AzurX	Fluitron	MMI	TAQA
Baker Hughes	Fonterra	Mocean Energy	The Corporate Group
Bee'ah	Foodsource International	Motive Offshore Group Ltd	Truebell
Bidfood Middle East	FreshExpress	NAMA Development Enterprises	Tyde Digital
Bidfood UAE	Gateway Group of Companies UAE	NKMS	UAE Space Agency
Blake Evans & Co	Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Institute	Norco Group Ltd	Valeo Snackfoods Ltd
BP	Green Bioactives	North Oil Company	VS
Bristow Aviation Holdings Limited	Gulf Business Consulting	Nova Innovation	Waterfalls
British Chamber of Commerce Abu Dhabi	HFI Consulting International	NPCC	Watson Farley & Williams
Bureau Veritas	HSBC	OiLSERV	WetFish
Carrefour	Hunter Food	Orbital Marine Power	Wishfoods
Casinetto	Hydrogen Vehicle Systems Ltd	Park N Shop	Wood
CBRE ME	IAS International Oil & Gas Consultants	PDF Beveage LLC	Xergy
Chef Middle East LLC	IGS	PETRASCO Middle East LLC	Y International UK Ltd
Choithram & Sons LLC	INVest NI	Proserv	Zumo Money
Christof Globabl	IRBcreative	PWC
Core (A Zahid Group Company)	Isla Seafood	Quality Meat Scotland