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: S6F-01608

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2022

To ask the First Minister how many single-crewed ambulances, responding to an emergency, have been deployed in the last six months.

Question reference: S6F-01603

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01604

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01607

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2022

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will provide an update on whether it will instruct Scottish Water to freeze water rates for 2023-24 to help with the cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-12360

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the impact on Scotland on whether the climate compatibility checkpoint design, published by the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 22 September 2022, is sufficiently robust in relation to allowing the approval of new oil and gas fields, in light of the International Energy Agency report, Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, which states that no new oil and gas fields are required to limit global warming to 1.5C.

My response to the UK Government consultation in March made clear that any credible and effective package of conditionality tests must include both domestic and international dimensions - extending to at least all of the six tests outlined in the consultation document.

The First Minister also called on the UK Government for a four nations’ discussions to agree on a final Climate Compatibility Checkpoint process which was ignored. The UKCCC said that any effective and credible climate compatibility checkpoint for offshore oil and gas licensing must extend beyond new licensing rounds to also cover fields that are already consented but not yet in production.

It is extremely disappointing that the Climate Compatibility Test proposed by the UK Government is limited to new exploration, and that the bar has been set so low in terms of the Test itself. It is particularly unfortunate that the Climate Compatibility Checkpoint fails to consider the impact of emissions associated with the use as well as the production of fossil fuels on the world’s climate commitments made in Paris and reaffirmed in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

It is a lightweight version of the Test consulted upon earlier this year.

Question reference: S6W-12529

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many ministerial appointments over the past five years to (a) public bodies and (b) NHS boards have declared a political affiliation, broken down by political party.

Question reference: S6W-12549

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact on Scotland, what its position is on whether the Energy Charter Treaty is functioning well.

Question reference: S6W-12265

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to (a) launching an inquiry to assess the potential value of retrofit over demolition and (b) the introduction of a demolition levy, in light of the Chartered Institute of Building’s report, Levelling the playing field, not Scotland’s built environment: a case for retrofit over demolition, which states that introducing a demolition levy could catalyse a shift in priority to favour retrofit projects and fund green initiatives.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of retrofitting existing buildings, as noted in our Town Centre Action Plan review and Housing to 2040 Strategy. We are aware that current VAT rules may incentivise demolition over retrofitting. However, VAT policy is currently reserved to the UK Government. As such, we have called on the UK Government to address this issue, but to no avail. We called on the UK Government to issue changes in a letter of 19 March 2021, but this request was declined in a response received in May 2021.

The Scottish Government will, of course, continue to consider what it can do to address the current imbalance, including through the promotion and facilitation of retrofitting within our policies. However, it is clear that the key powers lie with the UK Government.

The Scottish Government welcomes the report from the Chartered Institute of Building. We too have been clear that coordinated action is needed to tackle the challenge of building decarbonisation. We will carefully consider the report, including the recommendation of introducing a demolition levy in Scotland. However, a change to the VAT structure remains the preferred solution. As the imbalance is caused by the design of the VAT system, this would be most efficiently and effectively resolved through VAT reform.

The Scottish Government will continue to call on the UK Government to address the current imbalance.

Question reference: S6W-12437

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on Childsmile in each of the last five financial years, broken down by year.

Funding provided to NHS Boards for Childsmile programme delivery is set out in the following table.

In addition to direct programme allocations, funding is provided to NHS Boards through the annual Outcomes Framework allocation to deliver a range of core services, including for Childsmile. The total value of this allocation for each of the five years is also set out below:

Year	Programme Allocation (£m)	Total Outcomes Framework (£m)
2017-18	2.0	68.0
2018-19	2.0	66.2
2019-20	2.3	75.7
2020-21	2.2	71.9
2021-22	1.4	74.1

Question reference: S6W-12320

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has indicated when any investigations into the Park Inn tragedy of 26 June 2020, in Glasgow, will conclude.

The investigation by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) into the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident is ongoing and no final decisions have been taken regarding any court proceedings. There are a number of complex issues raised by those circumstances which require to be carefully considered and it is not possible to provide a definite timescale for those enquiries being concluded.

Green Party	1
Independent	2
Labour Party	5
Liberal Democrats	4
SNP	7

Independent	2
Labour Party	4
Liberal Democrats	2
SNP	10