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-02425

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the latest paper in the Building a New Scotland series, for what reasons it considers that an independent Scotland would need a written constitution.

Question reference: S6O-02440

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the role that the third sector plays in supporting education and developing skills.

Question reference: S6O-02447

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to end the marking and assessment boycott in Scottish universities.

Question reference: S6O-02424

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how the latest Building a New Scotland paper advances its prospectus for independence.

Question reference: S6O-02443

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which parts of the independent review of the skills delivery landscape it plans to implement.

Question reference: S6W-18327

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to monitor and evaluate the impact of full fibre roll-out on digital poverty levels.

The Scottish Household Survey 1 is published annually and contains statistics on internet access and use by a number of categories. The publication contains statistics covering internet access by household income, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile, tenure, and urban-rural classification, as well as internet usage by age, disability, household income, and SIMD quintile. Additionally, the publication contains information on access to smart appliances, methods of access (e.g. smartphone, tablet, personal computer, laptop etc.), and confidence in using the internet by age and tenure

Furthermore, the Scottish Government is taking forward evaluations of digital infrastructure projects which will enable understanding of the impacts of investment. We have published the Digital Appraisal Manual for Scotland 2 and, informed by this guidance, are taking forward evaluations of the Scottish 4G Infill Programme, and R100 Programme. Evaluations will involve research engaging with affected areas and communities, and allow for gathering of evidence on how people and businesses are using this infrastructure, the associated benefits (e.g. productivity, wellbeing, environmental), and barriers to access.

By embedding best practice in appraisal and evaluation in digital policy making in Scotland, we will not only be able to monitor the effectiveness of our investments as impacts materialise, but we will also be best placed to refine our evidence base and develop effective policies in future.

1. Scottish Household Survey: publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

2. Digital appraisal manual for Scotland: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-18332

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to expand on its AI CivTech Challenge on ethical and explainable AI in the public sector.

The CivTech challenge on ethical and explainable AI has directly lead to the recent launch of the Scottish AI Register.

The AI Register, developed in collaboration with Finnish start-up Saidot, as part of the challenge was launched in March 2023. It makes transparent the development and use of AI in the public sector, and offers the public a simple and effective platform to have a say in how AI is used to make decisions and deliver public services.

Question reference: S6W-18896

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much central and core funding has been allocated to Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs in each year since 2014.

Central and core funding are the same funding category, therefore, the funding provided below excludes funding related to specific projects. Core funding allocated to Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs is presented in the table below. Information prior to 2017-18 is unavailable as it was deleted in accordance with our standard records management practice, before the date of your request. Therefore, core funding allocated to the Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs from 2018-19 has been provided.

Funding allocated in financial year 2021/22 has been provided, however it is also publicly available at:

National Mission on Drugs: annual report 2021 to 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Table: Total funding allocated to Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs by financial year, from 2018-19 to 2022-23

Financial Year	Funding Allocated
2018-19	£108,735
2019-20	£160,000
2020-21	£160,000
2021-22	£160,000
2022-23	£168,000
Total	£756,735

Source: Scottish Government Enterprise Accounting System (SEAS) records.

Question reference: S6W-18906

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on whether the University of Strathclyde is involved in any fishing trials or surveys, or computer modelling work regarding fish stocks in the River Clyde.

The University of Strathclyde, through a PhD project co-supervised with Marine Directorate staff, is involved in data collation and stock assessment modelling for demersal fish stocks in the Clyde. The project uses fisheries-dependent data (from logbooks for landings), routine Marine Directorate on-board observer sampling data (for fish not officially landed), and fisheries-independent data from the Scottish West Coast groundfish survey. The PhD project is in the writing-up phase, aiming to submit at the end of the summer 2023.

Question reference: S6W-18944

Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow Southside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates the recommendations in the Infected Blood Inquiry Second Interim Report that apply to Scotland will be implemented.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the suffering of those who were infected with HIV or hepatitis as a result of NHS treatment in the 1970s and 1980s and welcomed the publication in April 2023 of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s second interim report on compensation.

I recently met UK and Welsh Ministers and the Permanent Secretary for the Northern Ireland Department of Health to seek to ensure progress on the Inquiry’s report. There is a common determination to provide appropriate redress for victims of this dreadful tragedy.

The UK Government's position that there is a moral case for compensation to be paid was welcomed and Ministers and the Northern Ireland Permanent Secretary looked forward to working together in considering the recommendations in the report to enable a response as soon as possible after the Inquiry concludes. It was noted however that this does not preclude earlier announcements as work progresses and it was agreed that a further meeting would take place in the coming weeks to take stock of progress.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme continues to provide ongoing financial support and all beneficiaries on the schemes - both infected individuals and bereaved partners - received an interim compensation payment of £100,000, following the Inquiry's recommendation in its first interim report of July 2022.