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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 42072 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-19387

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it has made of the Warm Home Prescription pilot in Aberdeenshire, and whether it is in a position to work with partners in the NHS, third sector and energy providers to extend the Warm Home Prescription model across Scotland, to support the health of more vulnerable individuals who are at risk of illness and hospitalisation, such as people with chronic kidney disease, because of a cold home.

While the UK-led Warm Home Prescription pilot was reportedly extended into Aberdeenshire in late 2022, the Scottish Government understands that an evaluation of this pilot is not available at the present time and the Scottish Government does not hold data on general practice prescriptions for the Warm Homes pilot. The Scottish Government would consider the merits of the approach upon receipt of any evaluation and would discuss with partners as appropriate at that time, dependent on the data and research findings provided.

Question reference: S6W-19446

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports it has received of women being compelled to travel outwith their own NHS board area to give birth, in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-19367

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is on track to issue Primary Care Improvement Fund allocation letters to Health and Social Care Partnerships by the end of June 2023.

Question reference: S6W-20062

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it considers when taking a decision on whether to override an existing local authority decision refusing planning permission for a wind farm development, or aspects of such a development.

The majority of planning appeals are decided by reporters from Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government. Whilst Scottish ministers have the power to recall an appeal for their own decision, they would normally only do so in appeals that raise issues of national importance.

Windfarm appeal decisions are made on the planning merits of the case and in overall accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Reporters take full account of all submissions made by parties, including any representations from members of the local community. The reporter will carry out an inspection of the appeal site and surrounding area.

Question reference: S6W-19906

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the latest known levels for the starting salary for a qualified teacher in Scotland, and on how this compares to the levels in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Question reference: S6W-19904

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the latest known levels of average household water bills in Scotland, and on how this compares to the levels in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Question reference: S6W-19858

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the Workforce Action Plan and Delivery Plan for its Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-19862

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further information on the "programme of work on digital inclusion being undertaken with a particular focus on mental health and housing to better understand potential barriers to digital access", as set out in its Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The £2m programme commitment was initially set out in the digital health and care delivery plan and aims to benefit more than 2,000 people by providing devices and building digital skills and confidence to access growing online services such as digital therapies.

As part of this, an initial £600,000 “Digital Pioneers” project funding call was issued in April 2023 . An announcement will be made on the Digital Pioneer projects who have been selected shortly.

Question reference: S6W-19856

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the University of Aberdeen’s reported research findings regarding the wellbeing and labour market implications of thyroid disease, whether it will recommend the development of workplace policies to support any affected employees.

Under the Equality Act 2010, which is reserved to the UK Parliament, employers are required to make reasonable adjustments if health conditions are or are likely to be long lasting and have an impact on an employee’s daily life. This may apply in the case of thyroid disease, however this would depend on the circumstances surrounding each individual case.

The Scottish Government currently invests in a range of initiatives to support people with health conditions to sustain or return to work, including through the NHS delivered Working Health Services Scotland and the Public Health Scotland led Healthy Working Lives resource. They provide advice and support on work related physical and mental health promotion and ill health prevention, return to work practices and workplace safety for employers.

We also recognise that improving access to flexible working is an important means to help people balance work and health conditions, without dropping out of the workplace with the loss of income, experience and skills that this entails. To that end, we have provided a total of £222,000 in 2022-23 to flexible working experts, Flexibility Works to promote flexible working and support employers across Scotland to adopt flexible and family friendly workplaces. A further £86,000 has been committed so far this financial year.

Question reference: S6W-19690

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19247 by Fiona Hyslop on 27 June 2023, how many ChargePoint Scotland public electric vehicle charging points there are per square kilometre in Scotland, broken down by local authority area, and how these figures compare with the rest of the UK.

The Scottish Government do not routinely hold data on ChargePlace Scotland charge points per square kilometre.

The latest figures from the Department For Transport show that Scottish electric vehicle drivers benefit from over 70 public charge points per one hundred thousand people, compared to 60 in England (excluding London), over 50 in Wales and 20 in Northern Ireland. Scotland has the highest rate of rapid charging provision anywhere in the UK, with 18.4 per one hundred thousand people while the UK average is 11.4.