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-14752

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many young people who are living at their parental home have applied for local authority housing in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-14997

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what project management techniques it has regard to in the development of policy and strategy, in particular regarding the tracking of costs and resources to ensure transparency and accountability for public funds, and whether these were employed in the development of the latest draft Biodiversity Strategy.

An approach informed by best practice methodology – Managing Successful Programmes – has been adopted to frame the development, planning and delivery of the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. This includes a programme board and programme manager to support and coordinate resources drawn from NatureScot and Scottish Government to deliver the Strategy.

Costs and resources are tracked via standard Scottish Government budget management procedures. This includes annual and monthly forecasting and monitoring returns.

Question reference: S6W-15423

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether an official and publicly available investigation report was produced by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service into the cause of the large fires in Flow Country, Sutherland, and Ballindalloch, Morayshire, in 2019.

Question reference: S6W-15411

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13127 by Patrick Harvie on 9 January 2023, when it expects to release the annual reports for the (a) Scottish House Condition Survey for (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022 and (b) Scottish Household Survey for (A) 2021 and (B) 2022.

There will be no Scottish House Condition Survey 2020 annual report. Following the suspension of face-to-face interviewing in March 2020, due to COVID-19, there was no further Scottish House Condition Survey data collection in 2020. The 2021 results will be published in May 2023, and the 2022 results in early 2024.

The Scottish Household Survey results for 2021 will be published in April 2023, and the 2022 results will be published in late 2023 / early 2024.

Question reference: S6W-15426

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of all rural wildfires attended by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) in the last five years have been officially investigated by the SFRS to determine the cause, and where any such investigation reports are published.

Question reference: S6W-15296

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many STEM teacher education bursaries were available in each academic year since 2018-19.

Question reference: S6W-15297

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many STEM teacher education bursaries were awarded in each academic year since 2018-19, broken down by teaching subject area.

7 March 2023

Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Scottish Labour Party): To ask the Scottish Government how many STEM teacher education bursaries were awarded in each academic year since 2018-19, broken down by teaching subject area.

S6W-15297

Shirley-Anne Somerville:

Year	Maths	Physics	Chemistry	Computing	Teach Ed	HE	Dual maths/Physics	Dual Chemistry/ biology	Dual Tech Ed/ Physics	Dual Maths/biology	Total
2018	38	17	19	11	20	Not offered in 2018	1	1	0	0	107
2019	29	12	27	14	18	9	2	0	0	0	111
2020	31	25	31	12	24	18	5	3	0	0	150
2021	38	18	31	14	20	11	3	1	1	0	137
2022	32	11	5	8	7	13	6	1	0	1	84

Question reference: S6W-15252

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its independent report on the future prospects for the North Sea, as referenced in the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, including (a) the pathway for oil and gas production projected for the basin, (b) Scotland’s energy requirements, (c) alignment of Scotland's energy activity with its climate change commitments, and (d) the just transition impacts of a declining North Sea basin and rising employment in low carbon and renewable energy industries.

The analysis was published on 3 March and can be found here - https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-system-transition-independent-analysis/ . This publication is an independent report, reviewed by an independent panel, which provides a significant volume of evidence and analysis and will contribute to our understanding of the opportunities and challenges in energy transition. To allow stakeholders to fully consider this material before responding, the consultation period for the draft ESJTP has been extended by 5 weeks, and will now close on 9 May.

Question reference: S6W-15247

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will allocate to the HIV transmission elimination implementation group.

The Scottish Government is committed to reaching its target of eliminating HIV Transmissions in Scotland by 2030.

On 1 December 2022 the Public Health Minister announced the establishment of the HIV Transmission Elimination Implementation Group for Scotland. The groups primary focus will be on prioritising the recommendations within the HIV transmission elimination proposal, having particular regard to their impact, deliverability and resource implications.

In her statement on the 1 st of December the Minister announced significant funding of £400,000 to support two pilots, the development of an E-PrEP clinic and a national media campaign. Both pilots support the findings within the HIV Elimination Proposal.

Officials will continue to liaise closely with the chairs of the implementation group as this process unfolds to understand any implications for central funding.

Question reference: S6W-15249

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to piloting opt-out HIV testing in NHS emergency departments in areas of highest prevalence, as has been done in other parts of the UK.

We know that opt-out testing in emergency departments in areas of high prevalence in other parts of the UK has worked well. However, it is important to evaluate the learning from this to understand both how it might apply in a Scottish context. Specifically how it compares to other interventions recommended by the HIV Transmission Elimination Oversight Group in their HIV Elimination Proposal which was published in December 2022.