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-16789

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects purposeful activity levels in Scottish prisons to be restored to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS is using learning from the pandemic to reshape its delivery model for purposeful activity as part of our 5-year Corporate Plan which is due to be published in Summer 2023.

Although purposeful activity hours have increased since the pandemic, focus will now shift to qualitative improvements rather than quantitative improvements. SPS recognise the importance of an individual's rehabilitation and reintegration and will structure pathways to support progress towards release.

Question reference: S6W-16989

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to mark MS Awareness Week, which takes place from 24 to 30 April.

We understand how distressing and debilitating Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can be, and we want to ensure that all people living with the condition in Scotland are able to access the best possible care and support.

The Scottish Government has committed £1.95 million to the ‘Precision-MS: Integrating precision metrics of brain health into early treatment of Multiple Sclerosis’ study. The NHS Research Scotland Neuroprogressive Network are currently supporting 11 MS Research studies - to date 258 patients have been recruited to these.

We are working hard to deliver the commitments of our Neurological Care and Support Framework 2020-25 to ensure everyone with a neurological condition can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms.

Through the Framework we have invested over £300k in projects specifically to improve the health and wellbeing of people with MS in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-17011

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the salary bands of the chief executives of its three mandatory tenancy deposit scheme providers.

The role of the Scottish Government is to monitor each of the three deposit schemes for compliance. This includes being satisfied that the tenancy deposit schemes have clear and substantial processes in place that meet the requirements laid out in the regulations.

The three approved tenancy deposit schemes are private businesses and the Scottish Government is not involved in their business operations. We do not hold information on the salary bands of the Chief Executives.

Question reference: S6W-17425

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities do not currently have Empty Homes Officers; how long these positions have been vacant for, and whether it will provide an update on whether it still plans for Empty Homes Officer support to be available across all of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-16790

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how its domestic abuse policies are informed by research from the Scottish Sentencing Council.

Several recently published research reports support our understanding of the experiences of those affected by domestic abuse, including 'The sentencing of offences involving domestic abuse’, a literature review published by the Scottish Sentencing Council in June 2022, which can be found at https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/media/2231/20220624-domestic-abuse-final-report-as-published.pdf .

These will play a key role as we further develop and assess our policy approach to tackling domestic abuse. Both the research into the implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 which can be viewed at https://www.gov.scot/publications/domestic-abuse-scotland-act-2018-interim-reporting-requirement/ and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of ‘Constabulary for Scotland’s Thematic Review of Domestic Abuse which can be viewed at https://www.hmics.scot/publications/hmics-thematic-inspection-domestic-abuse-phase-1 found that challenges exist in preventing domestic abuse and protecting those who are vulnerable from its harmful effects.

We will continue to take relevant research and information into account as we work with partners to prevent and address domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-16560

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s Fiscal Sustainability Report, published in March 2023, in light of reports that Scotland could be facing an annual budget shortfall of £10 billion within 50 years.

The SFC’s Fiscal Sustainability Report is an important contribution to the debate on fiscal sustainability and highlights potential impacts of demographic change on the Scottish public finances over the next fifty years. These challenges are not unique to Scotland, and are prevalent in many high-income countries. However, Scotland lacks a full range of levers to deal with these in the way that other countries can, particularly over migration.

Within the powers at its disposal, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the public finances are on a sustainable trajectory. This will mean growing our economy and by extension our tax base, and embedding delivery and value for money at the heart of our public services. Central to this will be overseeing public service reform, focused on delivering more efficient, person-centred public services. The Fiscal Framework review will also be vital and must ensure the Scottish Government and Parliament has the necessary powers to manage the risks we face within our devolved responsibilities, and to support economic recovery. The Scottish Government’s approach to managing the public finances over the medium-term is set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, due to be published in May 2023.

In 2023 we will also launch a new Talent Attraction and Migration Service for Scotland, and publish an Addressing Depopulation Action Plan. And we will continue to press the UK Government to make the vital immigration reforms required to meet Scotland’s needs.

While the Scottish Government will continue to manage the public finances diligently with the powers we have, it is our view that the current constitutional settlement is insufficient to properly tackle the long-term challenges that Scotland faces. Ultimately, Scotland must be independent with full control over the economy and powers over migration to secure the stability of our public finances.

Question reference: S6W-16565

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action can be taken to ensure the safety of staff in the Langhill Clinic psychiatric care unit in Greenock, in light of reports that there have been almost 300 attacks on staff by patients in the last three years.

Question reference: S6W-16615

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the remuneration paid to its non-executive directors, inclusive of salaries and expenses, in each year since 2016.

As non-executive directors (NXDs) are not employees of the Scottish Government but appointees of the Permanent Secretary, they are remunerated through the payment of quarterly Fees as opposed salaries. Alongside receiving quarterly Fees for their services, NXDs are also entitled to be reimbursed for relevant travel and accommodation expenses in line with the Scottish Government’s Travel and Subsistence policy.

Remuneration of NXD Fees and Expenses in each year since 2016:

Financial Year	Fees	Expenses
2016-17	£67,006.68	£3,460.17
2017-18	£58,240.00	£4,730.55
2018-19	£40,037.88	£3,462.96
2019-20	£83,812.97	£4,732.22
2020-21	£79,184.75	-
2021-22	£137,044.73	-
2022-23	£148,171.05	£1,283.83

As you will note in the above table, no expense claims were made between 2020-22, this can be explained by the national lockdowns imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-16829

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the maintenance and repairs backlog at (a) Inverclyde Royal Hospital and (b) University Hospital Crosshouse.

Question reference: S6W-16861

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the housing statistics quarterly update for March 2023, which found that there were 19,227 starts in the year to end September 2022, a decrease of 12% (2,580 homes) from the 21,807 starts in the previous year, and 24% (6,047 homes) below the 25,283 homes started in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic year to end September 2019.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact on housing delivery of the ongoing challenges with price inflation, materials and labour in the construction sector and is working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate this where possible.

We are pleased that housebuilding completions in the latest year to end September 2022 are at their highest annual rate since 2008, up 10% on the previous year, to 22,905 homes. We are also pleased that the number of affordable homes delivered in Scotland in the latest year to end December 2022 is above the pre-pandemic year 2019, and that Scotland continues to lead the way in the delivery of affordable housing across the UK with 118,124 affordable homes delivered from April 2007 to December 2022, and 83,291 of these for social rent.