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-19187

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 29 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to any local authorities that are struggling to fill teacher vacancies.

The Scottish government is committed to supporting the recruitment of more teachers in all local authorities. For example, we are providing £145.5 million in this year's budget to protect increased teacher numbers and support staff.

Local authorities are directly responsible for teacher recruitment, and they have autonomy to provide incentives – as some already do - to attract teachers to their area.

Question reference: S6W-19151

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18098 by Lorna Slater on 6 June 2023, whether the Circular Economy Business Support provided by Zero Waste Scotland provides grant funding; if so, whether it will provide a breakdown of what grant funding has been provided to early-stage circular textiles projects in each of the last five years, and, if not, whether it will provide a breakdown of early-stage circular textiles projects that have been supported in each of the last five years, broken down by the type of support each received.

Circular Economy Business Support (CEBS) offers a range of support to small and medium-sized enterprises depending on the needs of each business. This includes, but is not limited to, technical and market support, developing growth strategies, building business cases, and assessing the market feasibility of novel products.

Over the last 5 years CEBS has supported 16 Scottish businesses to develop circular textile models. The following table provides a summary;

Company	Year	Summary
Beyonder	2018	Support with product development and technical / market feasibility
FishFash	2018	Technical and market feasibility into creation of fish skin leather
Glencraft Mattresses	2018	Technical and market feasibility into creation of modular / deconstructable mattress technology supported by service model for retail
Bruach Cashmere	2019	Exploring product diversification and development, including materials and manufacture. Support to engage the market and communicate effectively.
KH Dressmakers	2019	Support to explore technical and operational feasibility of 3D printed fabric patterns as dress components to minimise wastage from offcuts etc.
Sioda	2019	Support for textiles rental model (clothing as a subscription service)
tensArc	2019	Opportunity and textile assessment for use of end of line / offcut technical textiles material
ApparelXChange	2020	Technical and market support clothing rental / subscription model with specific focus on school uniforms
Cashmere Circle	2020	Support for high value textiles / garment repair and remanufacturing model
Harris Tweed Authority	2020	Opportunity and technical assessment for use of end of line / offcut textiles material
Stitch the Gap	2020	Support to explore repair skills and education as part of a wider repair orientated business model incorporating mobile / regional service offering
WasABedNowABag	2020	Support build business case for textiles re-use / upcycling
Darach Social Croft	2023	Feasibility of creating a regional solution to excess fleece / wool from farms
Graceful Changes	2023	Technical and market support for children's clothing rental / subscription model
King Size Recycling	2023	Scaling up support and exploration of higher value routes for mattress parts, and ‘Return on Investment’ study on a textile shredder.
Sisaltech / East Africal Sisal	2023	Support to explore scale textiles processing infrastructure in support of a wider textiles-based business model for sustainable insulation materials.

Question reference: S6W-19146

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the train line between North Berwick and Edinburgh to (a) reduce journey times, (b) increase the number of daily services and (c) improve reliability.

The only obvious way to improve times would be to remove existing calls at intermediate stations and this is not currently being considered due to the adverse impact it would have on these communities.

The current service levels are based on projected demand which is regularly reviewed. Based on the projected demand, there are currently no plans to increase the number of daily services on this route.

The performance of trains on the North Berwick to Edinburgh route is currently very good at 92.4% PPM, which is markedly better than the GB average.

Question reference: S6W-19178

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will investigate the preventative maintenance processes used by CalMac for its ferries, in light of the reportedly high level of unplanned maintenance events relative to comparable shipping fleets.

Transport Scotland and CMAL will continue to engage with CalMac on maintenance, repair, and vessel resilience activities, considering preventative approaches as part of this. The ongoing engagement is aimed at minimising unplanned outages which affect performance of the fleet and at helping to deliver reliable services to our island communities. Direct comparison with other fleets is not straight forward but it is noted that the unplanned events in the CalMac fleet are, in part, a consequence of challenges of maintaining equipment which, in some cases, is no longer supported by original manufacturers. These activities are supported by the ongoing commitment to the additional maintenance and resilience funding. The phased replacement of the older vessels in the major and small vessel fleets, along with the related standardisation of equipment, will reduce unplanned maintenance, and make overhaul and repair activities more efficient over the coming years.

Question reference: S6W-19107

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

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Lord Braid's opinion on the judicial review of the City of Edinburgh Council's short-term lets licensing policy, which states that the policy is unlawful at common law and in breach of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009, what its position is on what the implications of this are for the Scottish Government’s short-term lets licensing scheme.

Question reference: S6W-19174

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18378 by Lorna Slater on 12 June 2023, whether GS1 UK was invited to join any of the stakeholder groups.

Question reference: S6W-19232

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Public Health Scotland's recently published statistics, whether it will provide a breakdown of the reasons why 225 referrals for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in NHS Forth Valley were not accepted between January 2023 and March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-19172

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet with the Law Society of Scotland to discuss the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-19226

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many adult social care workers are not currently receiving the adult social care workers minimum pay, broken down by sector.

Question reference: S6W-19115

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on replacing the Home Energy Scotland (HES) loan and cashback scheme with a loan and grant scheme.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme was launched in December 2022 and offers homeowners the option of a grant, interest free loan or a combination of both to support the installation of energy efficiency measures and zero emissions heating.

The launch of the HES Grant and Loan Scheme fulfils our commitment set out in the Programme for Government 2022-23 to replace the cashback element of HES funding with a standalone grant, and offers applicants a straight forward, flexible and accessible way to access funding for priority measures.

For zero emission heating measures, grant funding of up to £7,500 is available, with an additional £7,500 of funding available as an interest free loan. For energy efficiency measures, grant funding of up to 75% of the combined costs of measures up to a maximum £7,500 is available, with an additional £7,500 of funding available as an interest free loan.

There is a rural uplift of £1,500 for both the zero emission heating and energy efficiency grants for rural and island homes, meaning rural households can claim up to £18,000 in grant funding.

From the launch of the HES Grant and Loan Scheme in December 2022 to April 2023, 3606 applications for the scheme were received.