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-23841

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that the 6.5% increase in practice staff earnings, as part of the uplifted General Medical Services (GMS) contract for 2023-24, is applied to all practice staff, including general practice nurses, particularly in practices not aligned with the Agenda for Change, in light of reported instances where staff have only received a 3% pay rise.

Scottish Government advise that all practices should apply the uplift to staff pay unless there are extenuating circumstances. We have resourced the average practice to afford a 6.5% increase for staff pay because we believe this is what practices will need to increase pay by to retain staff who could take up Agenda for Change posts. However practices are not obliged to follow our advice and pay is ultimately a matter between GP Partners and employees.

Question reference: S6W-23343

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to support the expansion of local community energy projects.

The Scottish Government continues to make good progress towards our target of securing 2GW of community and locally owned energy by 2030.

Our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) has supported communities across Scotland looking to develop local community energy projects.

To date, CARES has advised over 1,000 organisations, offered funding of over £61 million to over 800 projects, and helped support the direct installation of 58.6 MW of renewable energy. This has included supporting a wide range of projects such as community owned wind and hydro, decarbonising community buildings, installing solar PV on faith buildings, developing community action plans, innovation studies, and helping local communities invest in commercial renewable energy projects.

Notably, the CARES Off-Electricity Grid Communities Fund, which will run until March 2024, has supported remote communities to decarbonise and future-proof their existing local independent electrical grids that are not connected to the national electricity grid. Through this fund, we have awarded significant funding to support the Isle of Eigg to increase its renewable energy generation and capacity through the installation of additional solar panels and storage batteries; and Knoydart to support its Network Enhancement project.

Question reference: S6W-23342

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of people that were registered with an NHS dentist who have had their access to NHS dentistry removed in the past year.

The Scottish Government does not hold individual information on NHS patients de-registered. NHS Boards make arrangements with independent contractors and dental bodies corporate to provide NHS dental services. A practice will notify the respective NHS Board when de-registering a patient.

Official statistics published by Public Health Scotland, point to an improving picture since the lifting of the most significant pandemic restrictions on the dental sector: Dental statistics - NHS registration and participation 24 January 2023 - Dental statistics - registration and participation - Publications - Public Health Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23340

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the future viability of the Ferguson Marine Shipyard, in light of the decision to reprofile the 2023-24 budget allocation for phase 1 of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme.

Question reference: S6W-22990

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent fireworks-related disorder in Edinburgh, and reports that many of the fireworks that were recovered may not have been purchased locally, what work has been undertaken to prevent imported fireworks from being sold in Scotland.

Border security and the movement of goods is a reserved matter for the UK government; however, the Scottish Government provides grant funding to the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) to support law enforcement activity undertaken by local authorities against the sale of illicit fireworks in Scotland. This work extends to work concerning imported fireworks at ports and fast parcel outlets in cooperation with Border Force, as well as online sales from outwith Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-02876

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to allocate funding to local authorities in its 2024-25 Budget to facilitate the cancellation of any school meal debt and expand universal free school meal provision to those age groups that are not currently entitled.

Question reference: S6W-22931

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation was carried out with the Catholic Church in the preparation of its draft document, Guidance on the Delivery of Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) Education in Scottish Schools, and, in light of reported calls for "the re-insertion of the paragraphs relating to Denominational Education from the previous iteration of the guidance, which would reflect both the legal protection for schools with a Religious Character, and the previously supportive position of Scottish Government for Catholic schools", for what reason such paragraphs have been removed from the guidance.

Work to revise the current RSHP teaching guidance was taken forward with a group of key stakeholders, including the Scottish Catholic Education Service. This engagement included meeting to consider the basis of a section in the revised guidance relating to faith and belief, and sharing iterations of the revised guidance before the revised guidance was finalised ahead of public consultation.

The draft revised guidance makes direct reference to denominational schools, recognising that religious authorities with a role in education provide additional and complementary guidance on RSHP education. Links to resources provided by the Scottish Catholic Education Service are contained in the revised guidance. The new section on faith and belief also takes into account an inclusive approach to all faiths and makes clear that educational practitioners in all schools should ensure that RSHP teaching and learning is delivered sensitively and respectfully to faith groups.

Catholic schools in Scotland play a crucial and valued role in the education system. In recognition of the concerns raised, officials met with the Scottish Catholic Education Service in November and made it clear they will reinstate the text on denominational schools into the revised guidance.

Question reference: S6W-22992

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to prevent the sale of illegal fireworks, following the recent fireworks-related disorder in the Edinburgh Eastern constituency.

Product safety is a reserved matter; however, the Scottish Government provides grant funding to the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) to undertake a program of enforcement against the sale of illicit fireworks in Scotland. This work extends to ports and fast parcel outlets, as well as online sales from outwith Scotland. The Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 also includes a proxy purchase and supply offence, to prevent the illegal supply of fireworks to those under the age of 18.

Question reference: S6W-22837

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many arrests were made in (a) October and (b) November 2023 to date, in connection with fireworks-related disorder, and how these figures compare to the same period in 2022.

There were 16* detected firework related crimes in Scotland in October 2023. As of 15 November there has been 22* detected firework related crimes for November 2023. This figure is expected to rise as Police Scotland continue their investigations.

This compares with 6* detected firework related crimes in October 2022. And 33* from November 2022.

*Please note that this figure includes both arrested or charged individuals.

Question reference: S6W-22835

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the implementation timetable is for the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, and on what date the licensing scheme provided for in the Act will come into effect.

Four of the six key provisions in the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 have been implemented to date.

The prohibition on supply to children came into effect on 10 October 2022 alongside the aggravation of offences for emergency workers. New offences relating to pyrotechnic articles in public places and at designated venues and events came into force on 6 June 2023, and firework control zones provisions commenced on 22 June 2023. For the remaining measures:

Our ambition is to have the firework licensing scheme operational ahead of Bonfire Night next year. A specific date has not yet been identified for this.
The implementation of the restricted days of supply and use provisions is paused to a future financial year. This includes the compensation regulation making power, which is attached specifically to restricted days of supply.