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-17651

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that there are no variations across different areas in Scotland for kidney patient care as a result of any absence of consistent guidelines for home dialysis utility bill reimbursement.

Home haemodialysis is provided for people who need this. Any reimbursement for increases in utility bills as a result of home haemodialysis would be the responsibility of the NHS Board. Individuals who wish to pursue reimbursement of living costs should contact their local NHS Board in the first instance.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund – established in 2020 and tripled to £30 million for 2023 to 2024 - is a critical plank in our support to people who are struggling with their energy costs.

Question reference: S6W-17649

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16905 by Lorna Slater on 25 April 2023, what the current status is of the (a) Construction Advice and Support Service and (b) Green Islands funding.

Question reference: S6W-17654

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all kidney patients performing dialysis at home receive reimbursement for any increased utility bills as a result of them administering the treatment.

Question reference: S6W-17632

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to (a) therapeutic and (b) palliative care for people with cancer in each financial year since 2007-08.

Question reference: S6W-17794

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16923 by Kevin Stewart on 19 April 2023, at which train stations does ScotRail charge for toilet use, and how much revenue has ScotRail received from charging for toilet use in each year since 2019.

Currently, there are charges in place for the use of toilet facilities at Inverness, Fort William, Aberdeen, and Glasgow Queen Street stations.

ScotRail advises that the revenue from each requested station toilet facilities since 2019 is as follows:

Fiscal Year Data

Inverness

Fort William

Aberdeen

Glasgow Queen Street

Total

1 April 2018-31 March 2019

£24,682

£21,705

£2,324

£91,500

£140,211

1 April 2019-31 March 2020

£34,016

£19,212

£11,399

£19,802

£84,428

1 April 2020-31 March 2021

£1,315

£213

£423

£1,952

1 April 2021-31 March 2022

£16

£3,628

£65,611

£69,255

1 April 2022-31 March 2023

£27,547

£8,035

£2,755

£84,861

£123,197

ScotRail advises that due to operational issues relating to the toilet facilities at Aberdeen Station between 1 st April 2020 and 31 st March 2022, revenue was not taken hence why no figure was provided.

Question reference: S6W-17799

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any regional variation in access to treatment for ovarian cancer.

Question reference: S6W-17779

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm whether NHS boards remain responsible for the running of pharmacotherapy and community treatment and care (CTAC) services; whether pharmacotherapy services will continue to be carried out in GP practices, in light of transitionary services arrangements being discontinued, and, if it is the case that pharmacotherapy will no longer be carried out in GP practices, what funding it will provide to NHS boards to ensure that these services are delivered.

NHS Boards are responsible for providing support to GP practices by providing Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) and Pharmacotherapy services and regulations were amended in 2022 to reflect this change. On account of the variation in the extent of implementation of these services, the Scottish Government is currently taking forward an exercise to collect and analyse data on the recurring workforce requirements, to ensure the financial and legal framework is fair and sustainable.

Local areas should continue to work in collaboration with all partners to ensure that services meet local needs. This may also include flexibility for local transitionary arrangements with practices to be funded as an interim and time-limited measure from within the existing Primary Care Improvement Fund funding envelope.

Question reference: S6W-17770

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many students are currently enrolled in the Rural Skills National Progression Award (NPA) at SCQF level 5, broken down by campus.

The following table shows the number of entries to the Rural Skills National Progression Award at SCQF Level 5 for the 2022-23 academic year broken down by centre.

Entries to Rural Skills NPA at SCQF 5, 2022-23

Centre Name	Entries
Ardrossan Academy	15
Argyll College	9
Borders College	9
Breadalbane Academy	21
Dundee and Angus College	35
Falkirk High School	12
Keith Grammar School	9
North East Scotland College	10
Orkney College	18
SRUC Scotland's Rural College	7
Stranraer Academy	5
Wallace Hall Academy	15
Webster's High School	7
Total	172

Source: Scottish Qualifications Authority

Note: Figures are up to and including 30 April 2023.

Question reference: S6W-17753

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has examined the reported evidence linking diets high in ultra processed foods with a range of negative health outcomes, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

The Scottish Government and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) remain committed to using the latest scientific consensus of established evidence to inform our view on ultra-processed foods.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) considered ultra-processed foods at a meeting in June 2022. SACN is now carrying out a scoping review of the evidence on processed foods and health. I understand SACN aims to publish a position paper on processed foods and health this summer.

Scottish Government and FSS await the outcome of this evidence review.

Question reference: S6W-17671

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it received Barnett consequential funding in connection with the 75% business rates relief that the UK Government is offering to some English business, and, if so, how any such funding was allocated in the Scottish Budget 2023-24.

The Scottish Government received £199 million in Barnett Consequentials in respect of the UK Government’s 75% relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government needs to consider its funding availability in totality and not by isolating each and every line of UK consequential funding. Decisions in the budget are taken in that context and the Scottish Budget delivered the number one ask of the business community by freezing the non-domestic rates poundage.

Delivering the freeze in the poundage came at a forecast cost of £308 million, in contrast with only £169 million of Barnett consequentials received for the equivalent policy in England. Despite this, the Scottish Government continues to deliver a number of other reliefs that are not available to businesses in England including Day Nursery relief, Fresh Start relief, the Business Growth Accelerator relief, and the UK’s most generous relief package for the renewable energy-generating sector.