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-22538

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the additional £100 million of funding for arts and culture includes, and, in particular, whether it includes an explicit increase to the national performing companies annual budget line for the next five years.

On 17 October the First Minister announced plans that will see Scottish Government investment in arts and culture more than double, so that in five years investment will be £100 million higher than it is now. Ministers will take decisions about where the funding is allocated in 2024-25 and future years subject to the outcome of the Scottish Budget process and associated approval by the Scottish Parliament. The draft budget will be published later this year and will be the subject of Parliamentary scrutiny in early 2024. The Scottish Government intends to present the Draft Budget 2024-25 to Parliament on 19 December 2023.

Question reference: S6W-22535

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many overseas trips its ministers and officials have taken to attend Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) meetings since the group was formed on 28 November 2018, and what the total cost of these trips has been.

Since the launch of the Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) in December 2018, the group have engaged mainly through online events. Two in-person policy lab events have been held in Scotland with officials attending from WEGo member governments - in Edinburgh on 1-2 May 2019 and in Glasgow on 21 November 2022.

Two Scottish Government officials took part in a short WEGo meeting with officials from other governments in Reykjavik, Iceland on 15 June 2023 whilst attending the Wellbeing Economy Forum held by the Icelandic Government. The cost of the officials attending the Forum was £2,415.02. I spoke to the Forum on 14 June 2023 in my role as Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, but did not attend the WEGo meeting. My expenses for the visit are published here: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts: June 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6W-22362

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received free university tuition since it was first introduced.

Question reference: S6W-22405

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what objectives it set for the funding it provided to the British Allergy Foundation in 2022.

Question reference: S6W-22321

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established a long-term strategy for sustainable fibre production in Scotland, and, if so, what the goals of the strategy are.

Question reference: S6W-22618

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to introduce controls on pavement parking in urban areas.

The prohibition on pavement parking was brought in with the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. To support this, a suite of secondary legislation is required to bring this legislation into force. Final enforcement and accounts Regulations were laid in Parliament on 2 October and are due to come into force on 11 December 2023, subject to Parliamentary approval. These Regulations give local authorities the power to enforce the restrictions on pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs by issuing Penalty Charge Notices of £100 (reducing to £50 if paid within 14 days).

Question reference: S6W-22572

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to press the Scottish Information Commissioner to issue a decision on a complaint (Case ID: 202200650) about the non-disclosure by SEPA of environmental information relating to salmon farming, which was requested on 12 January 2022.

Question reference: S6W-22158

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what involvement it has had in the designation of assistance centres or pre-positioning of generator capacity to support communities during times of severe weather.

The Scottish Government does not designate assistance centres or make decisions regarding the pre-positioning of generator capacity.

These issues are rightly for the front line responders, principally Local Authorities, to consider following any emergency. In the Scottish Government's June 2022 update to the Storm Arwen Review, we noted that "All LRPs (principally via Local Authorities) have a wide range of pre-identified rest or assistance centres, with associated arrangements for activation.”

They are supported in this by the energy distribution companies, who deploy their own generator capacity during emergencies to minimise the impact to the public.

The Scottish Government’s Preparing Scotland guidance on Care for People, available at ready.scot, also provides a wide range of guidance to responders on the effective activation of these capabilities if required.

Question reference: S6W-22450

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of any savings to hospitals that transfer patients undergoing high energy use intensity treatment in hospital to home treatment, such as home dialysis for people with chronic kidney disease.

Question reference: S6W-22447

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Kidney Care UK publication, Home Dialysis Energy Reimbursement in Scotland, what support is available to people with chronic kidney disease who undertake home dialysis and experience higher energy bills as a result of their treatment.