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-21653

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will monitor the impact of Investment Zones in Scotland, including any potential displacement effects.

The Scottish and UK Governments will seek to agree a rigorous monitoring and evaluation framework for Scotland’s Investment Zones, working closely with Regional Economic Partners and drawing on external expertise to agree reporting arrangements. Through this continued collaborative working approach with regional partners, we aim to develop proposals with distinct sectoral focus to maximise cluster building, innovation and economic growth, whilst reducing the risk of any potential displacement effects.

Question reference: S6W-21673

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated towards the Parental Transition Fund.

The response to question S6W-21286, answered on 13 September 2023, notes that as a result of the devolved settlement and the Scottish Government’s powers, along with the interaction with reserved tax and benefits, it is not possible to deliver the Parental Transition Fund as originally envisaged.

As set out in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy, the current financial situation facing the Scottish Government is amongst the most challenging since devolution. Tough and decisive action must be taken to ensure the sustainability of public finance, whilst also strengthening the immediate support available for households impacted by the cost of living crisis. On this basis, the £5 million made available for the Parental Transition Fund in 2023-24 has been reallocated to help meet the previously announced increased investment in the Fuel Insecurity Fund to address the need for immediate help with fuel costs and to support the Scottish Government’s path to balance.

Question reference: S6W-21674

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Parental Transition Fund aimed at tackling any financial barriers that parents face in entering the labour market.

Question reference: S6W-21634

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much of the Scottish Industry Energy Transformation Fund has been allocated, and for what purpose.

Question reference: S6W-21627

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a detailed remit of the Small Business Unit that was announced in the Programme for Government 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-21654

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what industry engagement it has undertaken regarding new approaches to electronic identification in livestock.

Question reference: S6W-21684

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the effectiveness of existing measures that aim to prevent people being inadvertently removed from NHS waiting lists.

Question reference: S6W-21655

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to whether adopting a different electronic identification system for livestock in Scotland, compared to the rest of the UK, would have any implications in relation to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020.

Question reference: S6W-21610

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to invest £100 million in green hydrogen projects over the course of the current parliamentary session, including a list of all projects and amounts of funding each has received to date.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to helping the Scottish hydrogen sector develop.

The Hydrogen Action Plan, published in December 2022, confirmed that the Scottish Government will support the emerging hydrogen sector through a programme of capital funding, designed to accelerate and maximise the production of renewable hydrogen in Scotland.

The first tranche of our hydrogen investment programme, the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme was launched in 2022 to support research and innovation in hydrogen production, storage, and distribution. In May, the First Minister announced that over £7m in grants had been offered to 32 projects. Details of these projects are published on the Scottish Government website: Emerging Energy Technologies Fund - Hydrogen Innovation Scheme: successful projects - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . All grants are paid in arrears, and will be awarded on successful completion of key project milestones.

The next tranche of the hydrogen investment programme, the up to £90m Green Hydrogen Fund, will launch later in 2023. This fund will focus on supporting renewable hydrogen production from Scotland’s abundant renewable energy resources, seeking to give Scotland first-mover advantage.

Our investment is aimed at driving Scotland’s hydrogen production capability to meet an ambition of at least 5GW of renewable and low carbon hydrogen by 2030 and 25GW by 2045.

Question reference: S6W-21624

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to patients who may require assistance or have additional communication needs, in light of the NHS Scotland National Elective Coordination Unit (NECU) initiative aimed at validating patient waiting lists by text message in NHS Lanarkshire.