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-22923

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the First Minister finding an old mobile phone with WhatsApp messages on it, (a) for what reason and (b) on what date the First Minister was issued a replacement mobile phone.

Question reference: S6W-22941

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many council houses that are currently unoccupied have been assessed to establish the cost of bringing them back into use.

Question reference: S6W-22948

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much each local authority has spent on people living in temporary accommodation, in each year since 1999.

The vast majority of homelessness funding provided to Scottish local authorities since 1999 has been included in the block grant of annual local government finance settlements [1] .

In February 2017, the ‘temporary accommodation management fee’ funding from the UK Government was devolved to the Scottish Government. In 2017-18, the Scottish Government allocated the full amount of £22.5 million provided through this arrangement to Scottish local authorities. Since 2018-19, Scottish local authorities have received an annual share of £23.5 million.

In 2023-24, this budget was augmented by a £7 million former Hostels Grant to create the new £30.5 million Homelessness Prevention Fund. Each local authority receives their annual share of this settlement through an in-year transfer.

It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. It is therefore not possible for the Scottish Government to ascertain how much each local authority spends each year on temporary accommodation.

[1] Local government finance circulars - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-22942

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of bringing back into use council houses that are currently unoccupied.

Question reference: S6W-22940

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what audit of public land has been undertaken to identify potential sites that are currently available for affordable housing development.

There has been no audit carried out of public land to identify sites to deliver affordable homes. The Scottish Public Finance Manual and the NHS Scotland Property Transactions Handbook provide guidance on the procedures and safeguards required when handling the disposal of surplus land, buildings and other rights in property. Prior to advertising on the open market, bodies must notify the Scottish Government in order that the surplus asset can be advertised internally via the trawl process. While most surplus assets advertised through the trawl are not deemed suitable for affordable housing, some have been purchased for this purpose.

Question reference: S6W-23110

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21873 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 October 2023, whether recent poor weather, including the impact of Storm Babet, has had any impact on how it will allocate funding towards the aims of its Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaption strategy.

As the Member is aware, the Scottish Government has committed to invest £4.2 billion in the Scottish rail infrastructure which investments will focus on climate change adaptation and resilience of the rail network. Network Rail is leading on the delivery of the Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaption strategy and advises that it has a clear plan to deliver its objectives and is confident in doing so.

Question reference: S6W-23069

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the 310,000 potential jobs in Scottish domestic hydrogen production highlighted in its 2020 report, Scottish Hydrogen Assessment, how many of these jobs it estimates would be based in the north east.

Question reference: S6W-23116

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support charity-run art venues with (a) operating costs and (b) energy costs during the winter season.

The Scottish Government values the important role our third sector plays in communities across Scotland, working to tackle tough social issues at source. We continue to invest widely in the third sector and have committed to increasing multiyear funding wherever possible.

We recognise the impact of rising operating costs across society, including on charity run venues.

While the Scottish Government does not provide any targeted funds that specifically address operational or energy costs of charity-run art venues during the winter season, we support Creative Scotland, who administer funding that focusses on the creation of cultural activity, from which a proportion of operating costs or energy costs can be included in the project budget that support applications for grants.

Question reference: S6W-23077

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) capital and (b) recurrent funding it has committed as part of the UK’s bid dossier for the 2028 UEFA European Football Championships, and what the business case is for the return on any such investments.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work in partnership with governments and football associations across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland following confirmation of the successful EURO 2028 bid on 10 October.

Funding contributions of all partners are commercially sensitive as the next phases of planning take place. The Scottish Government will undertake to notify the Scottish Parliament on developments in due course.

The bid was carefully considered by all partners and the event is predicted to generate cumulative socio-economic benefits of up to £2.6 billion across the UK and Ireland.

Question reference: S6W-23118

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Firework Control Zone provisions following Bonfire Night 2023, and whether any changes will be implemented in advance of Bonfire Night 2024 and beyond.

Firework control zones are a discretionary power for local authorities. The Scottish Government provides support to local authorities in respect of firework control zones, such as by providing funding for consulting on and designating zones.

No changes to the legislative framework concerning firework control zones are proposed at this time. However, the Scottish Government keeps the effectiveness of the relevant provisions under continuous review. For example, as local authorities take up available funding for consulting on and implementing zones, feedback is sought on the effectiveness of the legislative provisions. Statutory guidance for local authorities also makes clear that review of firework control zones is required once introduced.