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-18627

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 how many downloads there have been of the ScotRail app since 2019, and whether it can provide statistics on usage data for the app, such as the average time spent on the app.

The current ScotRail mobile app went live on 1 July 2019 and the following data, as provided by ScotRail, is relevant from that date until the present day:-

- App downloads: 1.4 million (this figure includes re-installs which ScotRail is unable to differentiate)

- Average users per month: 619,000 (average across last three months)

- Average sessions per user per month: six (average across last three months)

- Average session length: one minute, five seconds (average across last three months)

Question reference: S6W-18608

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its sixth Medium-Term Financial Strategy, whether it remains committed to a £3.5 billion investment in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme during the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6W-18624

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, further to the answer to question S6W-16221 by Kevin Stewart on 11 April 2023, how many spaces for bikes are available at the 343 stations that have cycle storage facilities, and whether it will provide a list of any stations across the network that do not have cycle storage facilities.

Question reference: S6W-18628

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

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17942 by Shona Robison on 30 May 2023, for what reason no EPC information is available for Strathbeg House in Thurso.

Question reference: S6W-18526

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the Minister for Transport's concerns about strangers sharing cabins on the Serco NorthLink Ferries, what consideration it has given to obtaining vessels with single occupancy cabins.

Question reference: S6W-18629

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West 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 in how many instances A8 compensation has been awarded to ScotRail passengers in each year for which data is available, as per ScotRail’s Accessible Travel Policy document.

Question reference: S6W-18535

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the growing needs for dentistry and GP services in Lothian, in light of data showing that, for example, the population of East Lothian has increased by 21.5% compared to Scotland’s average of 8.2% between 2001 and 2021.

Health and Social Care Partnerships are responsible for planning for the health and social care needs of their residents.

Funding for general medical services is based on population level data about registered patients and practice shares are continuously adjusted to reflect the movement of patients.

Scottish Government continually reviews in conjunction with all Boards, including NHS Lothian, areas for inclusion within the Scottish Dental Access Initiative. This provides funding to dentists who wish to establish a new practice, or extend an existing practice in areas where access to dental services is challenging.

Scottish Government will continue to liaise with NHS Lothian and local Health and Social Care Partnerships to understand all their service-related infrastructure plans and priorities.

Question reference: S6W-18622

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 how much revenue ScotRail has received from charging fees for returning recovered lost and found items in each year for which data is available, and how many lost items have been returned in the same period.

Question reference: S6W-18474

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 when it expects contracts to be awarded totalling at least £200 million as part of the rail enhancement project to reduce the average journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt by 20 minutes by 2026.

Question reference: S6W-18576

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

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider adopting universal salt iodisation (USI) as a public health measure to address any iodine deficiency in the population.

The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to adopt universal salt iodisation.

Food Standards Scotland advises that adults need 140 micrograms (µg) of iodine a day and most people should be able to get all the iodine they need by eating a varied and balanced diet. Children need proportionally less depending on their age group.

Good food sources of iodine include cows' milk and dairy products, eggs, sea fish and shellfish. Iodine can also be found in varying levels in plant foods, such as cereals and grains.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) considered ‘Maternal iodine status, birth outcomes and child development’ at its horizon scanning meeting in June 2022. Members agreed that this would be added to the SACN work programme. The Scottish Government will continue to monitor this work as it progresses.