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-16248

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work was carried out to determine that a Memorandum of Understanding with financial partners, as announced on 1 March 2023 on the NatureScot website, was the best vehicle for increasing private funding in nature projects, and what alternative approaches were considered and ruled out.

Question reference: S6W-16250

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to analyse the accuracy of the statistic regarding a £20 billion finance gap for nature in Scotland, as used in the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045: Tackling the Nature Emergency in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-16418

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost is of the planned repair works at Bute House.

Question reference: S6W-16417

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what costs have been associated with the transfer of the use of Bute House from the former First Minister to the new one.

Question reference: S6W-16241

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it invited Circularity Scotland to respond to its consultation on the post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

The Scottish Government did not specifically invite Circularity Scotland Ltd to respond to the Access to Information Rights in Scotland consultation, however it was open to anyone to respond to via the Scottish Government consultation hub. The Scottish Government has, as is standard practice, shared information on this consultation widely to ensure anyone or any organisation who wishes to response is aware of how to do so.

Question reference: S6W-16223

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to NatureScot’s Pollinator Strategy - 2022 Progress Report.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that pollinators play in agriculture and horticulture as well as supporting our biodiversity, and that Nature Networks are key to helping pollinators thrive. Enabling land managers to support biodiversity is central to delivering the vision and outcomes set out in our final draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, published in December 2022. The Strategy highlights the need to improve ecological connectivity across Scotland in order to address the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

We welcome the publication of NatureScot’s Pollinator Strategy 2022 Progress Report, which shows a range of positive work underway across Scotland to deliver the aims of the Pollinator Strategy. The report highlights the strength of partnership working in Scotland and that delivery of the Strategy relies on the shared vision of many partners including NGOs, local authorities, community groups, the scientific community and individuals.

An increasing range of pollinator-friendly projects were reported across Scotland, including the Irvine to Girvan Nectar Network and Pollinators Along the Tweed.

Question reference: S6W-15892

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that some local authorities have been unable to process payments of arrears of pay in March, following the recent agreement of a pay deal for teachers, and reported concerns that this means that some teachers' back pay will be subject to higher tax rates if not processed before the end of the 2022-23 tax year, what guidance it has given to local authorities on whether the tax on teachers' back pay is to be calculated and deducted for the closed year as if the additional pay had been paid at week 53, in accordance with HMRC guidelines.

Local authorities are responsible for administering their payroll operations and ensuring any tax is paid at the correct rates.

His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are responsible for the collection of Scottish Income Tax and all technical guidance relating to the correct tax treatment of earnings. Any teacher who is concerned about this issue should contact their employer and engage with HMRC.

Question reference: S6W-16942

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prioritise (a) alcohol harm and (b) obesity prevention in order to reduce the burden of liver disease.

The Scottish Government takes a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol. Our 2018 Alcohol Framework contains 20 actions to tackle alcohol related harm.

We want everyone in Scotland to eat well and have a healthy weight to help reduce the impact of a range of diet-related ill health conditions including liver disease. We continue to implement the wide-ranging actions set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan . This includes our commitment to restrict less healthy food promotions and improving the availability of healthier options when eating out as outlined in our Out Of Home Action Plan .

We also continue to support NHS boards to deliver adult, children and young people’s weight management services in line with our Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, Early Detection and Intervention Framework and Public Health Scotland’s National Standards .

Question reference: S6W-17080

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many court locations managed by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service are (a) fully, (b) partially and (c) not accessible for disabled people.

Question reference: S6W-17077

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Culture and Major Events Directorate has had with (a) ScotRail and (b) Transport Scotland, regarding planning for rail services during the Edinburgh festivals in 2023.

There have been no recent discussions between the Scottish Government Culture and Major Events Directorate (a) ScotRail and (b) Transport Scotland.

However Culture and Major Event Officials, along with relevant transport stakeholders, routinely take part in the multi-agency Events Planning and Operations Group (EPOG) dealing with Summer Events. EPOG is run by the City of Edinburgh Council as the lead planning authority in respect of Summer Events within Edinburgh, such as Edinburgh Festivals.

Outwith Edinburgh, Transport Scotland continue to discuss planning arrangement for major events with transport deliver partners and key stakeholders through quarterly Major Events Planning meetings in addition to regular event specific meetings.

In addition, ScotRail is required under the terms of its grant agreement to use all reasonable endeavours to provide for reallocation of Passenger Carrying Capacity to serve Special Events.