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-23572

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement on 7 November 2023, when it will provide an update on the anticipated publication date of the new Climate Change Plan; whether it will publish a timeline setting out the periods for public engagement and proposed parliamentary scrutiny of the new plan, and what time will be allocated, ahead of the statutory deadline, to permit an assessment and considered response to that engagement and scrutiny.

The Scottish Government announced the delay to the next Climate Change Plan on 7 November 2023 and confirmed their commitment to bringing forward a draft plan in line with statutory deadlines which require a final version of the next Climate Change Plan to be laid in Parliament in March 2025. Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft plan, lasting 120 days, will be built into this timeline with public consultation planned to take place in parallel.

Question reference: S6W-23529

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to prevent perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from entering into (a) the environment and (b) water sources.

The Scottish Government works with the UK and Welsh Governments on UK chemicals regulation to ensure the continued protection of the environment and people’s health. We have been clear that the risks the continued use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) present is a priority issue for addressing through the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (UK REACH) regulation. This regulation is the principal mechanism for controlling the supply and use of chemicals on the GB market. Earlier this year the Health and Safety Executive, as the Agency for UK REACH, published a detailed report recommending regulatory steps to control the risks of PFAS. Scottish Government supports the recommended prioritised approach, starting with a UK REACH restriction on the use of PFAS in fire-fighting foams with further, wider ranging PFAS restriction proposals to follow. This will build on existing bans on three PFAS through the international Stockholm convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, to which the UK is a signatory. SEPA supports site operators or users of PFAS-based substances to meet their legal obligations under national legislation. SEPA has worked with Scottish Water for a number of years on the Chemicals Investigation Programme, a UK-wide initiative coordinated by UK Water Industry Research, which investigates pollutants in wastewater treatment work influents and effluents and the effectiveness of treatment options for a range of substances including certain PFAS.

For drinking water sources, measures will be introduced as part of the Scottish Government's commitment to align with the EU’s recast Drinking Water Directive which will require Catchment Risk Assessments to be undertaken. Where there is a risk of compliance failures for substances such as PFAS, remedial action must be taken. Work to align with the requirements of this Directive is currently underway with a compliance deadline of 2027.

Question reference: S6W-23422

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend emergency waiting list funding for Rape Crisis centres beyond March 2024.

Question reference: S6W-23308

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22468 by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023, whether it plans to provide an update on its consideration of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland by the end of 2023.

Question reference: S6W-23555

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it can do to promote and support Unite Hospitality's Fair Hospitality Charter in the hospitality sector.

Unite’s Fair Hospitality Charter contains many important elements which the Scottish Government continues to promote through Fair Work First, such as payment of at least the Real Living Wage, appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice through trade union recognition and no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts.

Everyone should expect to be properly rewarded for their work and treated correctly with respect, free from any forms of harassment. The Scottish Government is committed to working with trade unions and industry to ensure Scotland is the best place to live, work, invest and do business, and Fair Work is the foundation to this.

There remain many challenges in our key sectors, therefore it is essential that we all work together – Government, employers, employees and trade unions – to create a hospitality industry with fair work at its heart and for all. The industry-led National Tourism Strategy; Outlook 2030 commits to support and enable the adoption of fair work practices in Scotland’s tourism and hospitality sector.

The outcomes and recommendations of the independent Fair Work Convention inquiry into hospitality, due in Spring 2024, will be reviewed to provide further insight into how we can increase the adoption of fair work practices for the sector.

The Scottish Government looks forward to continuing partnership working with unions and industry.

Question reference: S6W-23605

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that supporting refugees and asylum seekers has had on local health services in NHS Grampian.

Question reference: S6W-23543

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the predicted extent of pollution of the Firth of Forth would be in the event that Grangemouth is affected by a major flood.

The extent of any potential pollution in the Grangemouth area would be dependent on the extent and depth of any flood event and any damage caused.

The Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations are jointly regulated, by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and SEPA as the Competent Authority. COMAH aims to ensure that relevant businesses, including those at Grangemouth, take all necessary measures to prevent major accidents involving dangerous substances and limit the consequences to people and the environment of any major accidents which do occur.

Any such incident would be assessed and managed under the terms of local emergency planning arrangements including Forth Ports ClearWater Forth Oil Spill Contingency Plan, and the Marine and Coastguard Agency’s National Contingency Plan – A Strategic Overview for Responses to Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations.

Question reference: S6W-22721

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the residency eligibility criteria in the UK Government's Funding guidance for young people 2022 to 2023 including holders of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visas, whether people from Hong Kong with a British National (Overseas) visa will be eligible for “rest of UK” tuition fees in higher education in Scotland, if they have three years of residency in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

From Academic Year 2023-24 all students who meet the following criteria will be eligible for home fees status and student financial support in Further Education and Higher Education:

Ordinarily resident in the UK for three years prior to the relevant date;

Ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date; and

Granted a form of leave to enter or remain in the UK, where that leave has not expired.

In the case where a student is instead ordinarily resident in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, but satisfies the remaining criteria, they would be expected to qualify for the “rest of UK” tuition fee rate of up to £9,250 per year. As the British National (Overseas) visa would be considered a form of leave to enter or remain in the UK, I would consider a student in the situation described likely to be eligible for the “rest of UK” tuition fee rate.

It is, however, the responsibility for each university and college, as autonomous bodies, to make a determination regarding a student’s fee status based on the available evidence and their interpretation of student support regulations.

Question reference: S6W-23388

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in its State of the nation report: The psychiatric workforce in Scotland.

We are engaging with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and other stakeholders, to ensure that the issues identified and recommendations made in the recent ‘State of Nation: the Psychiatric Workforce in Scotland’ report are considered as part of our ongoing work to implement the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan.

As part of work already underway, we have established a Psychiatry Working Group to consider how we can better support the recruitment and retention of psychiatrists in NHS Scotland. This Working Group are actively considering the issues raised in this report.

In addition to this, in 2022-23 we increased the number of Core Psychiatry training places by a further ten. This year we will fund another 15 Core Psychiatry training places. We also continue to work with NES and the Royal College of Psychiatry to encourage medical students to consider a long-term career as a psychiatrist.

The most recent publication of Mental Health Workforce data (5 December) shows that under this Government and since 2007, the number of Psychiatric Consultants across All Specialities in NHS Scotland has increased by 18.6% to 535.5 whole time equivalent posts.

Question reference: S6O-02925

Asked by: Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scotgold Resources Ltd regarding any support that can be provided to employees who may lose their jobs at its Cononish Gold Mine near Tyndrum, in light of the reported announcement that the company has gone into administration.