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-18648

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs (a) last met and (b) will next meet with the Scottish Police Federation to discuss (i) pay and (ii) working conditions.

On 10 May I met with David Kennedy and David Threadgold from the Scottish Police Federation as part of my regular meetings where we discussed various topics of interest. As the pay claim for 2023-24 had been submitted, in line with the Police Negotiating Board, (PNB) protocols, it was not appropriate for us to discuss details of this during our meeting.

Our next planned meeting has been arranged for the 14 September 2023.

Question reference: S6W-18650

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the pay of police officers is not outstripped by inflation.

The Scottish Government’s 2023-24 Public Sector Pay Strategy (PSPS) sets the framework to deliver fair and affordable pay awards. It takes into account the impact of high inflation on households and governments, whilst balancing the need for sustainable public finances.

The Police Negotiating Board (PNB) provides the negotiating forum for the pay and conditions of service of police officers in Scotland. While police officers are not subject to PSPS, PNB negotiations are guided, but not bound, by its parameters, alongside a range of other evidence, as part of its ongoing considerations and negotiations around officer pay. As the pay claim for 2023-24 has been submitted, in line with PNB protocols, it is not appropriate to comment further.

Question reference: S6W-18665

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many households with medical equipment have been identified as vulnerable to power outages in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-18475

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to decarbonise the rail network between Aberdeen and the Central Belt.

No date has been set for the decarbonisation of the lines between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and Aberdeen and the electrified network at Dunblane. However, in line with the Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan, these routes are under consideration for decarbonisation through electrification by Transport Scotland, with plans at an early stage of development.

As out in the Decarbonisation Action Plan, the order and pace in which decarbonisation is undertaken will depend on business cases and available budgets.

Question reference: S6W-18626

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the menu of food and drink sold on ScotRail’s onboard trolley services is consistent with Food Standards Scotland advice on nutrition and healthy eating, and for what reason calorific information is not listed on ScotRail’s onboard trolley services menu as it appears on ScotRail’s website.

Question reference: S6W-18609

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the successful tender was for the ScotRail Class 170 sander project, and in what location this project will be carried out.

Question reference: S6W-18557

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a detailed breakdown of how much the Scottish Prison Service gender identity and gender reassignment policy review has cost to date.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Apart from costs of a transcription service used to transcribe interviews and surveys during the engagement phase of the review, all costs relating to the Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment (2014) policy review have been absorbed as part of the overall annual SPS Delivery Plan resourcing budget.

For information, the cost of the transcription service was £2,153 including VAT.

Question reference: S6W-18471

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update, including in relation to Transport Scotland’s engagement with stakeholders, on the rail enhancement project to reduce the average journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt by 20 minutes by 2026.

Question reference: S6W-18498

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17578 by Lorna Slater on 18 May 2023, whether it is aware that, on 24 March 2021, the then Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform wrote to Circularity Scotland stating that “the detailed schedule for you to collect scheme packaging from return point operators and pay them the deposit and handling fee has still to be agreed”, and that “we would consider a failure to provide a schedule (or at least to make such agreements) by 1 October 2021 as a material change in circumstances requiring notification to the Scottish Ministers”; whether any such notification was received by the specified date, and, if so, whether it will provide a copy of that notification.

The letter and anticipated schedule to which the member refers was in the context of a scheme launch date of July 2022. Following an independent Gateway Review in June 2021, the Scottish Government confirmed that it would conduct a review of that go live date, with input from Circularity Scotland, industry and independent advice.

As a result of that review, the Scottish Parliament voted to move the launch date of DRS from July 2022 to August 2023, accounting for the impacts of EU exit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Circularity Scotland has since published information on returns collections as part of their Blueprint for Return Point Operators and Hospitality Providers . You may wish to review section 9, starting on page 9 which sets out that Return Point Operators (RPOs) will provide details to support collection schedules as part of the DRS registration process. Page 28 provides a sample collection frequency and Circularity Scotland specify that collection frequencies and/or schedules will be agreed following the registration process. Please note that said schedules would be a contractual matter between Circularity Scotland and individual RPOs to manage and that they are not obligated to provide copies of these to the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-18579

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to add National Entitlement Cards to ScotRail ticket machines as an option to access concessionary train tickets for the card holder and their companions.