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: S6F-02350

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 September 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-20638

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19017 by Maree Todd on 26 June 2023, what specific actions within the forthcoming Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy are focused on protecting the mental health of patients with long-term conditions, including chronic kidney disease.

Question reference: S6W-20635

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is reviewing how the recent update of the FreeStyle Libre 2 sensor to a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), with the possibility that it may be utilised in a hybrid closed loop system, will impact the roll-out of diabetes technology across Scotland.

Our Diabetes Improvement Plan contains a commitment to improving access to diabetes technologies, including CGMs for all who would benefit.

We work closely with key stakeholders through the Scottish Diabetes Group to identify challenges and opportunities which result from the availability of new diabetes technologies.

We recognise the impact that the update to Freestyle Libre 2 devices will have on existing users and will ensure that these changes are built into the ongoing development of technology pathways.

To improve access to diabetes technologies, we have initiated a partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) and their Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) programme.

Through the ANIA pathway workstream, the Scottish Government has invested a further £350,000 to accelerate the distribution of Closed Loop Systems which were procured nationally in 2022. This additional investment will be used to establish a national ‘onboarding’ team and trial new models of care. This will be in partnership with all 14 health boards in Scotland and will require ongoing engagement with the Managed Clinical Networks.

We are also working closely with key stakeholders across Scottish Government, NHS Boards and industry suppliers to determine the most effective plan for longer term access to diabetes technologies.

Question reference: S6W-20627

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17172 by Patrick Harvie on 11 May 2023, whether it will provide (a) a breakdown of the 10 applications and the reasons that they have been rejected, invited to resubmit following feedback or referred to alternative funding sources and (b) details of any additional applications since the question was answered.

A breakdown of the unsuccessful applications for the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund between August 2020 and May 2023 are given in the following table:

Application	Reason
1	Applicant did not respond to clarification questions
2	Project did not have match funding and could not meet delivery timescales
3	Application was for new build and not retrofit for existing stock
4	Project work had already begun
5	Project area had potential for a heat network
6	Proposed heat system was not eligible
7	Proposed costs of project were not accurate
8	Proposed heat system was not zero emission
9	Project area had a potential for a heat network
10	Application lacked detail and required feasibility work to be completed

A further 13 applications have been received since question S6W-17172 was answered. Of these applications 6 have been successful, 5 have been rejected and a further 2 are under consideration. The reasons that the 5 applications were rejected are given in the following table:

Application	Reason
11	Application was not fully completed and scored under threshold for support
12	Application lacked project detail and scored under threshold for support
13	Application lacked enough detail to be appraised and scored under threshold for support
14	Application for phase 2 of a project. Project invited to resubmit on completion of existing project.
15	Project did not spend grant this financial year

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-20617

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much is budgeted for the work of the Pain Management Task Force in 2023-24, and what the money has been allocated to be spent on.

Question reference: S6W-20632

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19677 by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023, when the scoping exercise will be completed.

Question reference: S6W-20670

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how frequently its Innovative Finance Steering Group meets; on what dates it has met since it was established; what its full (a) remit and (b) membership is; whether its remit extends beyond the affordable housing supply programme, and where the minutes of its meetings can be accessed.

The Innovative Finance Steering Group was established to support the delivery of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 by providing strategic advice to the Scottish Government on opportunities for innovative finance models to support the affordable housing sector (Registered Social Landlords and Local Authorities) over the next 9 years. The Group convened at the end of 2022 to agree an approach to governance and its work. Members of the Group participate in horizon scanning to identify priority areas for further development and the group is expected to formally convene later in the year to discuss the opportunities highlighted and exchanged to date.

The group consists of members from ALACHO, SFHA, CoSLA, Wheatley Group, Link, Scottish Futures Trust, Scottish National Investment Bank, Glasgow West Scotland Forum, UK Finance and Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government will publish high level updates on the work of the Group on the Scottish Government’s websites as appropriate and recognising the commercial nature of this work.

Question reference: S6W-20661

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a target to operate a minimum 15-minute headway on all suburban railway lines in the Glasgow region.

Question reference: S6W-20421

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the report of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers, Housing in Scotland: Current Context and Preparing for the Future, which was published in July 2023, what its response is to the recommendation that the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 should be replaced with "bespoke legislation to overcome the failings exposed in the recent ... Court challenge to City of Edinburgh Council's scheme [for short-term lets]", and the statement that "not doing so risks the collapse of the licensing of short term lets".

Councils are responsible for developing their licensing policies in line with powers and duties under The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022, as amended in 2023, and they can add proportionate conditions to address local needs and concerns. We continue to work closely with COSLA, SOLAR and licensing authorities on the implementation and monitoring of the short term lets licensing legislation. We are therefore aware that the City of Edinburgh Council has acted on the Judgement made on 8 June 2023 to revise its local licensing policy and information for applicants. We remain confident that licensing of short-term lets can be operated effectively by councils so as to respect the rights of hosts and guests in short-term let accommodation, and is appropriate for the whole of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-20619

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide additional funding to chronic pain services, in light of the reported closure of pain relief clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting increase in waiting times for appointments.

The 2023-24 Scottish Budget delivers record funding of £19 billion including increases in funding for community and primary care health services such as GP practices where the vast majority of people with chronic pain seek support. Detail on how funding has been used specifically for the assessment and treatment of chronic pain would require to be requested from NHS Boards. NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally have responsibility for both service delivery and people’s care.

After being temporarily paused in March 2020, chronic pain services started to resume in September 2021 as part of the planned remobilisation of services. Referrals are now back to pre-pandemic levels and we’re working with all health boards to understand the challenges and improvement opportunities to address longer waiting times as boards deal with extremely challenging circumstances.