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: S6O-01964

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will propose scheduling parliamentary time to debate strengthening the scrutiny role of the Parliament in holding the Scottish Ministers to account.

Question reference: S6O-01978

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by how much local authority non-domestic rates bills will increase, following revaluation of public sector properties based on rebuild costs using the 1 April 2022 tone date.

Question reference: S6O-01974

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the fourth National Planning Framework since its adoption on 13 February 2023.

Question reference: S6O-01980

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the retirement of Hunterston B and Torness on Scotland’s CO2 emissions.

Question reference: S6O-01965

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact on turnout at future Scottish Parliament and local authority elections of the introduction by the UK Government of voter ID requirements for elections to the UK Parliament.

Question reference: S6O-01976

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support, in addition to the local government settlement, will be allocated to Inverclyde Council in 2023-24, and how this compares to 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-14886

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 1 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to relocate Helensburgh fire station to another site, rather than refurbishing the existing building.

Question reference: S6W-14888

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 1 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost is of the refurbishment of Helensburgh Fire Station.

Maintenance of its estate and the allocation of its capital budget is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

SFRS is currently conducting an options appraisal exercise to identify the best and most economic options for the 14 fire stations identified with Reinforced Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (RAAC) roof construction.

SFRS is also continuing to work with partner agencies to explore if there is potential for greater shared services across all of its estate and in particular those fire stations which require significant capital maintenance because of the defective RAAC roofing.

Question reference: S6W-14778

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 1 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the potential delays to the delivery of the Winter Heating Payment, and when the payments will reach those in need.

There has been no delay to making Winter Heating Payments. Payments started in February and will continue to be made automatically during March to support 400,000 eligible people.

While it was not possible to make payments earlier this year since the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were unable to provide the data required prior to 31 January, the Scottish Government is working with the DWP to review the feasibility of bringing forward payments in future years.

Question reference: S6W-14887

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 1 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when Helensburgh Fire Station was first identified as requiring urgent capital maintenance due to having a flat roof constructed from reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC), and what work has been done at Helensburgh Fire Station since then to ensure that the site is safe for those who (a) work in and (b) visit the building.

Maintenance of its estate and the allocation of its capital budget is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The safety of its staff is paramount and SFRS are continuing to monitor the measures put in place to rectify the defects and support staff to deliver its service safely.

In 2019 an urgent issue was identified in relation to an obsolete method of roof construction (Reinforced Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (RAAC). As soon as the defects were discovered (from May 2019 to 2020) action was immediately taken with temporary support (acrow props) to reinforce identified weak points and scaffolded out crash decks to catch roof collapses and minimise the risk of injury to occupants. All roofs are subject to quarterly inspections by building surveyors to monitor the condition/identify any deterioration. There has been no negative impact on SFRS operations from these sites.