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: S5W-28013

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 31 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the guidance that it provides to non-domestic rate assessors on its approach to solar installations.

Question reference: S5W-28009

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 31 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the guidance that it provides to non-domestic rate assessors on its approach to renewable energy installations.

Question reference: S5W-28011

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 31 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to alter the non-domestic rates system to assist it in its plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.

Question reference: S5W-28012

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 31 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of solar panels is on the rateable value of properties that are eligible for non-domestic rates.

The valuation of all non-domestic property is a matter for Scottish assessors, who are wholly independent of central and local Government. The role of the assessor is to use the existing legal framework to attribute to a property a rateable value based upon the notional rental value of that property.

The Scottish Government is committed to a fair and sustainable non-domestic rates system and we provide a non-domestic rates exemption for renewables, including for solar panels, for subjects with a capacity of up to 50kW. In addition, we provide support to the renewables sector through non-domestic rates reliefs, such as the renewable energy relief.

Question reference: S5W-28015

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to help those whose income may be affected by COVID-19 to pay their (a) energy and (b) council tax bills, particularly people who are vulnerable or would not normally access such support.

Scottish Ministers announced on 18 March that we are making available £350 million of funding to support local government, the third sector, communities and people during this unprecedented public health emergency. This includes an extra £45 million for the Scottish Welfare Fund which can be used to provide emergency grants to help people meet the costs of food, fuel and other items. It also includes £50 million to ensure support is available to people through the existing Social Security Scotland benefits and Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

Energy supply markets remains reserved to the UK Government. Within this context, the Scottish Government will take all possible action to support consumers through the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak. All UK energy suppliers have signed an agreement to ensure vulnerable energy consumers do not get cut off during the pandemic. We are working with Citizens Advice Scotland, Advice Direct Scotland, Home Energy Scotland and others to inform consumers of the support available.

Question reference: S5W-27891

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support people in rural communities who are self-isolating because of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

We are working across Scottish Government to ensure that the unique needs of rural communities are fully considered in light of the current Covid-19 situation. We also continue to provide the necessary advice to ensure that communities and other partners are supported to implement any measures are required.

We know that our rural and island communities are amongst our most vulnerable communities in terms of their remoteness from supply lines and their reliance on specific transport links. But, they are also resilient and we will be working with them to maintain their wellbeing in these challenging times.

Question reference: S5W-27714

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to record by grade the number of staff that have been recruited as part of the expansion to 1,140 hours of funded childcare and, if so, when this will begin.

Question reference: S5W-27691

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time-equivalent staff require to be recruited to deliver the expansion to 1,140 hours of funded childcare, and how this compares to the number in place.

Local authorities estimate that an additional 8,244 full-time-equivalent staff will be required in total to deliver the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare to 1140 hours. The latest Improvement Service data, from September 2019 (and published in December 2019), shows that 4,310 full-time equivalent staff were already in post. That is over half the required staff in place one year before delivery.

Question reference: S5O-04292

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what role it has in promoting the uptake of UK Government employability services.

Question reference: S5W-27636

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 11 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to each of the findings in the RNIB Scotland report, Communication Failure? Review of the accessibility of health information for blind and partially sighted people in Scotland, and what plans it has to implement each of the recommendations.

The Scottish Government welcomes this RNIB Scotland report. The Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities, which was revised in June last year, makes clear that everyone accessing and using NHS services in Scotland should be given information about their treatment and care in a format or language that meets their needs.

We therefore take the findings of this report very seriously, and are committed to supporting people who have sight loss to access the health services and social care they need through the implementation of our See Hear strategy. We will share the report’s findings and recommendations with the national network of See Hear Leads, who work in partnership with local statutory and third sector organisations to jointly consider what changes may be needed to address each of the concerns highlighted and to share the examples of good practice it notes.