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-24567

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it received in Barnett consequential funding as a result of the £100 million support package for the voluntary sector, which was announced by the UK Government in the Spring Statement 2023, and how much of this funding was passed on to voluntary organisations in Scotland.

The Scottish Government received approximately £8.5 million in consequentials from this Spring Statement announcement. Consequential funding is not ring-fenced and Scottish Ministers decide how to allocate this funding. These consequentials were used to support Scotland’s overall 2023-24 budget position.

Scotland is delivering against a backdrop of continued austerity at Westminster, catastrophic cuts to Scotland’s block grant and a UK Government Autumn Statement that was the worst-case scenario for Scotland. Our Barnett funding – which is driven by UK spending choices – has fallen by 1.2% in real terms since the 2022-23 budget was presented. Nor did the UK Government inflation-proof their Capital Budget, which has resulted in nearly a 10% real terms fall in our UK capital funding over the medium term.

Question reference: S6W-24568

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress on distributing any funds that it receives as result of the UK Government's Dormant Assets Scheme.

Since its launch in 2008, the Dormant Assets Scheme has released £892 million, around £75 million of which has been received in Scotland.

This money is distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund through their Young Start programme which provides funding to create opportunities for children and young people aged between 8 and 24, aimed at helping to realise their potential.

Following review and consultation by the UK Government, the Dormant Assets Act 2022 provides for the expansion of the scheme from bank and building society accounts to include additional assets across the insurance, pensions, investment, wealth management and securities sectors.

It is expected that this will lead to an increase in the funding that Scotland receives from the scheme although the extent and timing of this are still unknown.

Scottish Government officials are engaging regularly with counterparts in the UK Government and the National Lottery Community Fund on and the implications of the scheme’s expansion on the distribution of associated assets in Scotland. Further update will be provided when available.

Question reference: S6O-02862

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how the work of the City Centre Recovery Task Force is helping to increase footfall in shops.

Question reference: S6W-22839

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19380 by Jenni Minto on 11 July 2023, what steps it is taking to review the conclusion of the National Services Division's National Specialist Services Committee assessment in 2018, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a formal national service at that time, in light of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) having approved magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for essential tremor (ET) with special arrangements, and NHS England subsequently commissioning MRgFUS as a national service from the same evidence base.

Decisions on the national designation of services are considered by NHS National Services Division (NHS NSD) as part of NHS National Services Scotland.

NHS NSD have encouraged the MRgFUS team in NHS Tayside to submit a formal application for national designation of the MRgFUS service in Dundee, supported by the health board’s Executive Leadership Team, for consideration and scrutiny. NHS NSD hopes to receive such an application from NHS Tayside for 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-22344

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 15 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it was decided who would be represented on task group that is considering the issue of a right to breaks for carers.

Group membership has been identified through dialogue between Scottish Government officials and organisations representing carers, local carer centres and statutory organisations expected to be involved in implementing the proposed right to breaks from caring. Further members were invited following a discussion at the group’s first meeting, to help ensure a good spread of expertise to enable the group to fulfil its remit.

Question reference: S6W-22343

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the task group that is considering the issue of a right to breaks for carers will report back its recommendations, and how it will do so.

The Right to Breaks Regulations and Guidance Working Group’s role is advisory, to help with the development of the statutory guidance and regulations that will be required to deliver the right to breaks for carers proposed by the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill. This work cannot be finalised until after parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill has concluded and is likely to feed into wider consultation on the approaches proposed.

Question reference: S6W-22342

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government who is on the task group that is considering the issue of a right to breaks for carers, and what organisations they represent.

The Right to Breaks Regulations and Guidance Working Group is made up of representatives from:

unpaid carers
Shared Care Scotland
Coalition of Carers in Scotland
MECOPP
Carers Trust Scotland (representing young carers)
Carer Centre Managers Network
Health and Social Care Partnerships – Borders, Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Ayrshire
COSLA
Social Work Scotland
Scottish Government

As the names of group members is personal data of a third party, disclosing that would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Question reference: S6W-22177

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that payments for the Winter Heating Payment for 2023-24 will be made.

I refer the member to my letter of 6 November 2023 to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. Subject to the necessary client data being provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on the dates and to the quality standards agreed, Social Security Scotland will begin processing Winter Heating Payments from mid-December. Payments will be made in batches and those clients receiving payment in the initial batches can expect to receive their Winter Heating Payment before the end of December. We anticipate that the vast majority of payments to the remaining clients will be made by the end of January 2024.

Question reference: S6O-02730

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of probationer teachers choosing the preference waiver scheme.

Question reference: S6O-02684

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to support farmers to protect crops, including from future flood-related damage.