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-18729

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether Bute House has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least band C, and for what reason the EPC rating for Bute House is not listed on the Scottish EPC register.

Question reference: S6W-18680

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many suspensions have been imposed by SEPA on water abstraction licences in each month since January 2022.

Summer 2022 was the first time that SEPA has imposed suspensions on abstraction licences, imposing both full (a complete suspension on all water abstractions) and partial (allowing for a reduced volume to be abstracted) suspensions.

All abstraction suspension decisions by SEPA were made in August 2022 but the suspensions for two catchments were effective from 1st September 2022. The breakdown of suspensions are as follows: August 2022, 87 full suspensions and 39 partial suspensions; September 2022, 30 full suspensions and 19 partial suspensions. There were no other suspensions.

Question reference: S6W-18683

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities that currently offer kerbside collection of glass for recycling have indicated that they (a) will and (b) will not continue to do so if the proposed Deposit Return Scheme launches in March 2024, or at any time thereafter, including with a national glass recycling element, and what the estimated forecasts are for the delivery of, and the uptake of, kerbside glass collection volumes in each local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-18687

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on unconscious bias training in each of its directorates, including using external businesses and organisations to deliver unconscious bias workshops, in each year for which data is available.

In response to your query regarding the Scottish Government’s spend on unconscious bias training, our records show that centrally the Scottish Government has not spent any budget on unconscious bias training using external businesses and organisations. However, Scottish Government staff have been required to complete mandatory diversity and inclusion training since 2021. Unconscious bias is referenced in this training. The training was developed in partnership with Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (ENEI) and the total cost of development was £33,900.

Question reference: S6W-18658

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what further investment and action can take place to roll out further remote monitoring of patients with respiratory issues, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with a view to reducing hospitalisation, improving health outcomes and ensuring that a so-called "postcode lottery" is avoided in the provision of technology in preventative healthcare.

Our Respiratory Care Action Plan published in March 2021, contains a key commitment to ensure that people living with respiratory conditions have access to the tools, resources, and information that they need to support them to self-manage their own condition.

Work is already established across Scotland to support the remote monitoring of conditions from home through our investment in the Connect Me programme. National pathways for conditions such as asthma and pulmonary disease are in development to be made available for use by Health Boards which will support early intervention and prevention of hospital admissions. All Health Boards in Scotland are expected to be working with the national programme by September 2023 and have been supported with provision of pulse-oximeters where requested.

We continue to assess the evidence for COPD developments which currently demonstrate sufficient potential to continue researching but insufficient evidence to justify a national roll out. While early indications are positive, evidence to support its potential benefits and applicability for national support are still to be demonstrated.

Question reference: S6F-02273

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2023

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on whether the Scottish Government is fully committed to improving the safety and condition of all of Scotland's major roads.

Question reference: S6W-18849

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to prevent landlords from banning tenants keeping pets in a property without good reason, in light of similar plans in other jurisdictions.

We are aware of the proposals in the Renters (Reform) Bill in England introduced last month. The Shared Policy Programme in August 2021, followed by our ‘New Deal for Tenants’ consultation in December 2021 sought views on proposals to strengthen the rights of tenants including, specifically, greater rights to have a pet.

Our proposals for reform are in development ahead of a future Housing Bill. The timing and content of that Housing Bill is currently being considered as we continue to deliver our emergency response to support tenants through the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-18682

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17987 by Gillian Martin on 30 May 2023, which materials or energy sources will supply electricity and gas to homes and businesses in Scotland when renewable energy provision is either low or non-supplying on any given day.

Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan sets out that in 2030, Scottish electricity demand that is not met from domestic renewable electricity generation could be met by other sources including energy storage, abated CCGT, or hydrogen. We anticipate that cross border transfers of electricity and interconnection to the wide diversity of technologies across the continent will continue to play a role.

Scotland has long been a net exporter of electricity. In 2022, Scotland exported 20.3 TWh, and imported around 1.5 TerrWatt hour of electricity, meaning that net exports of electricity were approximately 18.7 TerraWatt hours in 2022.

As well as scaling up renewables, we are taking action to our energy demand including our commitment to raise energy efficiency standards – so that all homes achieve at least EPC C by 2033. We are consulting this year on reforms to EPC for both domestic and non-domestic sectors to give more meaningful information on energy use. Over this Parliament, we have budgeted £1.8 billion to support the heat transition – that includes support for householders, businesses and communities.

In The Warren Report, (Jul/Aug 2022) Andrew Warren, chair of the British Energy Efficiency Federation said [QUOTE]: “My advice to Whitehall is simple. Whether you take the high road or you take the low road, you had best be copying Scotland’s initiatives.

Question reference: S6W-18688

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government at what annual income a person resident in Scotland will pay more in income tax than a person on the same income in other parts of the UK.

Question reference: S6W-18659

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any formal or informal expressions of interest for the purchase of Ferguson Marine in the last 12 months, and, if so, what its response was to any such offer.