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-16338

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a whisky levy.

Question reference: S6W-16699

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding Highly Protected Marine Areas in offshore waters around Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-16456

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the advisory group that has been formed to assist with the process of evidence gathering in relation to the Scottish Aggregates Levy proposals.

Consistent with Scotland’s Framework for Tax we are consulting and engaging to help inform the development of the Scottish Aggregates Levy Bill.

This process began with a public consultation conducted last autumn, complemented by engagement with stakeholders. Taking account of feedback, it was concluded that more work was needed to ensure that decisions on Bill provisions are based on optimal evidence.

In January 2023, the decision was taken to establish an advisory group to assist this process. The group is designed with a broad mix of expertise and perspectives and is chaired by a senior Scottish Government official.

The group has already met twice and expects to hold its next meeting on 19 April. Through constructive and informed discussions, it is providing valuable insights to help refine policy positions and, in turn, Bill provisions. Summaries of its work will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

The Scottish Government appreciates the contribution of all members of the group, which will likely have a further role to play as the Bill progresses.

Question reference: S6W-16268

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to integrate the findings of the report, The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts by Audit Scotland, into its policy setting agenda going forward.

The Scottish Government engages fully in the audit process and the related scrutiny. The Action Plan at Appendix 1 of the Annual Audit Report 2021-22 sets out the audit recommendations and the Scottish Government responses and agreed actions. It is the nature and timing of the audit process that there are aspects where action has already been taken and where action is in progress. The Public Audit Committee has considered the Auditor General’s report and the Permanent Secretary and relevant officials have attended a session with the Committee and responded to Committee questions.

Question reference: S6W-16294

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what grant funds have been made available to local authorities in each of the last 12 months.

The annual local government finance settlement consists of both revenue and capital grants and local authorities also receive additional ring-fenced funding outside the annual settlement.

In 2022-23 the General Revenue Grant funding within the annual local government finance settlement was paid in equal instalments every Wednesday throughout the year with the General Capital Grant payments being made monthly, in or around the middle of each month. All other ring-fenced funds are paid as and when required throughout the financial year.

Details of the final 2022-23 local government finance settlement are set out in the Local Government Finance Circular 3/2023 - Local government finance circular 3/2023: settlement for 2023-24 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and the provisional funding out-with the settlement was set out in the 2022-23 Scottish Budget document Table 5.17 - Scottish Budget 2022 to 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-16705

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the issue of marine protection.

Scottish Ministers have not met with the Defra Secretary of State to discuss marine protection. I have written to consecutive Defra Secretaries of State on two occasions (June 2022 and October 2022) regarding powers for Scottish Ministers to designate HPMAs in Scottish offshore waters and suggesting a meeting to discuss respective priorities regarding the delivery of HPMAs. This meeting has been postponed twice but is currently being arranged.

Question reference: S6W-16555

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions ChargePlace Scotland has had with the commercial sector regarding the setting of a maximum fee for overstay charges.

The shift to electric vehicles is an important part of responding to the climate emergency. To help incentivise this shift, Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have since 2011 invested over £65 million to support a range of organisations – including local authorities, other public bodies, businesses and third sector organisations – to install public charge points across Scotland. These organisations own the charge point infrastructure, and many of them use back-office services provided by ChargePlace Scotland, which is funded by Scottish Ministers.

A shift towards a public charging network largely financed and operated by the commercial sector is necessary to grow the network at pace and improve the consumer experience overall. To support that, the Scottish Government recognises that it’s vital that the public charging network has tariffs which are fair, sustainable and which enable the growth and maintenance of the network.

Responsibility for setting tariffs and overstay charges on ChargePlace Scotland lies with charge point owners. In considering whether to set a tariff, owners may consider a range of factors including local circumstances, utilisation levels and running costs. ChargePlace Scotland routinely provides charge point owners with data relating to the utilisation of their assets. ChargePlace Scotland do not advise charge point owners on tariff levels or overstay fees, however, they may signpost owners to the EV Association of Scotland (an independent group who represent the interests of EV users) website where tariff guidance can be found.

Question reference: S6W-16340

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Scotch Whisky Association to discuss decarbonisation, and what the objectives were of any such meetings.

The Scottish Government meets with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) regularly to discuss a range of topics, including decarbonisation matters.

The Scottish Government Industrial Decarbonisation Team is due to meet the SWA by mid April 2023 to discuss their implementation of the NetZero/Sustainability Strategy and opportunities for decarbonisation by fuel switching or shifting to more energy-efficient technologies.

The Scottish Government recognises the role that the Scotch Whisky industry has in moving towards net zero and welcomes the work carried out by the sector in this area.

Question reference: S6W-16544

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-14327 by Maree Todd on 7 February 2023, whether it will provide a timeline for the (a) Health and Social Care Alliance programme and (b) Wellbeing of Women research project, and whether its findings will be made publicly available.

The Scottish Government commissioned the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland to undertake a programme of lived experience engagement and information sharing, that supports the implementation of the Women’s Health Plan: 2021 - 2024 over the lifetime of the plan.

An update on the delivery of this work since the publication of the Plan can be found in our recently published Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress .

The jointly funded £250,000 endometriosis research project with Wellbeing of women covers a period of 3 years, and began in the financial year 2022-23.

The findings from the research will be published in an open access journal after the research completion in 2025. The results will also be presented at national and international endometriosis conferences.

Question reference: S6W-16533

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to hold discussions with the UK Government regarding the location of the proposed new Investment Zone in Scotland, as announced in the UK Government's Spring Budget.

Scottish Government officials are in exploratory discussion with the UK Government on their evolving proposals for Investment Zones and how they could work in Scotland. They have emphasised that any zones in Scotland must be developed in partnership between the Scottish and UK Governments; must be tailored to Scotland’s economic strengths and opportunities, and our policy and governance landscape; and must seek to build on existing activity in a way that works for business and supports innovation across sectors. Further information is awaited from the UK Government on a number of key issues, but we hope to make progress in the coming weeks.