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-21528

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can confirm the number of (a) fatal and (b) serious road traffic accidents on the A83 between Arrochar and Campbeltown, in each year since 2018.

The following table presents the number of fatal and serious accidents for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 on the A83 between Arrochar and Campbeltown. Please note that the information on the total number of fatal and serious accidents for 2023 are only available up to the date stated in the table.

Year	Fatal	Serious
2018	2	6
2019	0	16
2020	1	6
2021	1	6
2022	1	7
2023* to 06-09-2023	1	3

Data extracted: 20 September 2023. Transport Scotland only holds accident information which is provided to us by Police Scotland. Please note that the information provided is based on the current figures available at the time of retrieving the data from Transport Scotland’s accident manager system. The following are potential reasons for an accident not appearing on our system:

Transport Scotland only holds accident information which is provided to us by Police Scotland.
Transport Scotland does not hold information relating to damage only accidents (i.e. not involving an injury).
Transport Scotland only holds accident information for the trunk road network.
The accident information Transport Scotland holds is subject to change. E.g. we receive late returns from Police Scotland, who are responsible for recording details of injury accidents.
Annual Scottish accident figures are published by Transport Scotland on a yearly basis and can be found by entering Reported Road Casualties Scotland into your search engine.
From summer 2019, Police Scotland introduced a new system for recording traffic collisions. Due to improved recording and categorisation processes, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of casualties and accidents on Scottish roads that are classified as serious. The evidence from other police forces within the UK that introduced the same system is that this increase will be around 20%. This increase would not reflect an actual change in the severity of accidents occurring on Scottish roads, but would instead reflect more accurate recording.
Statisticians within the Department for Transport have devised a method for adjusting the road casualty figures to ensure that they can be compared over time on a consistent basis. Transport Scotland’s Key Reported Road Casualties and Reported Road Casualties statistics publications will present both adjusted and unadjusted figures.

Question reference: S6W-21620

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when its proposed Scottish Languages Bill, announced in its Programme for Government 2023-24, will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-21621

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its international offices held (a) Burns Night and (b) St Andrew’s Day celebrations, as a means to promote Scotland abroad, in each of the last five years.

Both Burns Night and St Andrew’s Day are important opportunities in the calendar to promote Scotland’s interests internationally: highlighting Scottish culture and food and drink, presenting opportunities to engage a global audience and opening doors for future trade, investment and collaboration.

The figures requested are presented in the following tables. In the past twelve months, when the majority of covid restrictions were no longer in force, eight offices undertook public activity linked to Burns Night in 2023, and all nine did so at events linked to St Andrew’s Day 2022. The planned Burns programme in Paris this year was not able to proceed due to safety concerns in the city at that time.

All our international offices are preparing St Andrew’s Day events for 2023, as part of a programme promoting Scotland internationally throughout the Winter Festivals season leading up to Burns Night in 2024. Diplomatic, trade and investment and cultural engagement delivered by offices in the international network around both Burns Night and St Andrews Day includes joint working with SDI, the FCDO, and other government and external partners both at home in Scotland and in-country, hosting events or representing Scotland at established events.

Covid restrictions from the spring of 2020 through to early 2022 meant that much in-person activity was suspended, and offices collaborated within the network and with other partners to host or promote virtual and online celebrations instead. Some St Andrew’s Day activity for 2022 in Beijing was postponed due to ongoing restrictions, and took place in March 2023.

(a) Burns Night

Year	Number of participating offices
2023	8
2022	5
2021	6
2020	7
2019	5

(b) St Andrews Day

Year	Number of participating offices
2022	9
2021	3
2020	4
2019	5
2018	5

Question reference: S6W-21531

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that Education Scotland will complete its work to develop a range of new resources relating to early reading.

For young children, learning to read is foundational to their success across the school curriculum and, importantly, is also linked to a wide range of positive outcomes including those of emotional, social and mental wellbeing.

Through different forms of support and guidance, Education Scotland advises on the most effective research-informed approaches to reading, what they are and how to use them. Education Scotland will publish new guidelines and professional learning resources for teachers (PLRs), focussed on early reading, in early Spring 2024.

These resources are designed to promote teachers’ professional knowledge and understanding of early reading as a complex interplay of skills and background factors. In line with other items of guidance relating to Scotland’s curriculum, the resources are being developed within a broader context which seeks to empower schools to adapt their approach to meet the needs of individual learners. In creating the guidance, Education Scotland officials are working alongside teachers and a range of stakeholders with an interest in early reading in order to use their feedback to inform the development process.

Question reference: S6W-21526

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many communities currently have access to 5G services, broken down by local authority area.

Telecommunications policy is Reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government does not collect or hold data on access to 5G services across Scotland.

However Ofcom’s mobile coverage checker ( https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage ) provides a spatial view of this data. Raw coverage data, at local authority and various Parliamentary constituency levels, is available at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-research/spring-202

Question reference: S6W-21525

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many communities in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) the Western Isles, (c) the Highlands, (d) Orkney, (e) Shetland and (f) Moray do not have access to (i) 3G and (ii) 4G services.

Telecommunications policy is Reserved to the UK Government. Therefore the Scottish Government does not collect or hold this data.

Information about the availability of mobile services in Scotland can be accessed through Ofcom’s mobile coverage checker ( https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage ) which provides a spatial view of their data. Ofcom’s Connected Nations Report, published annually but refreshed on a quarterly basis, is underpinned by coverage data captured at local authority and Parliamentary constituency levels. This underlying data is publicly available at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-research/spring-202

Question reference: S6W-21533

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many fines (a) it and (b) its agencies have issued to power companies in each of the last five years, also broken down by the total value of fines issued for each year.

The regulation of the energy sector is reserved to the UK Government.

Planning enforcement powers are held by local authorities. Planning authorities can take action to issue a fixed penalty notice or seek prosecution through the Scottish courts. Local authorities are required to keep a publicly available register of enforcement notices.

We are unaware of any fines issued by the Scottish Government to power companies in the last five years; and the Scottish Government does not hold any relevant data relating to our agencies.

Question reference: S6W-21527

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish a 5G infill programme, and, if so, whether it can provide details of any such plan.

Reflecting that commercial deployment of 5G is ongoing and that telecoms remains reserved to the UK Parliament, the Scottish Government has no current plans to establish a 5G infill programme.

As set out in our 5G Strategy for Scotland, our policy approach on 5G is currently focused on maximising public and private sector use of the technology to ultimately realise social and economic benefits. This work is being advanced through the work of the Scotland 5G Centre's 5G Innovation Hubs network.

Question reference: S6W-21530

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will meet with Argyll and Bute Council to discuss a possible extension on the municipal solid waste landfill ban, ahead of its planned implementation from 1 January 2026.

We are fully committed to delivering the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste on 31 December 2025. As part of preparations for the ban, we are continuing to support and work with those local authorities without a solution for their residual waste when the ban comes into force, to ensure they can comply with the ban.

I met with Argyll and Bute Council on 26 July 2023 to discuss possible options to overcome challenges in complying with the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste associated with their public private partnership contract for waste services.

Discussions between Scottish Government, SEPA, and Argyll and Bute Council are ongoing and we will continue to work with the council in relation to these challenges.

Question reference: S6W-21529

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what percentage of local authorities' annual budgets have been ring-fenced, broken down by local authority, in each financial year since 2016-17.