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-13168

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the total cost has been, in terms of public expenditure, for public bodies to deal with “chemical incidents” as defined by Public Health Scotland (a) from 12 May 1999 to 5 May 2021 and (b) since 6 May 2021.

Question reference: S6W-13217

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) airports it expects will be impacted by the planned strike action on 19 and 22 December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-13148

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many industrial units for SMEs have been built in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-12614

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many socially rented homes have reported damp and mould in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not have a reporting system in place to track instances of damp and mould in all socially rented homes.

Data on the presence of mould and damp is collected through the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS), including from a sample of about 700 social rented homes each year.

Survey results from the SHCS provide an indication of the prevalence of mould and damp in social rented housing. These results are expressed in the following table as percentages of homes with and without mould and damp.

It should be noted that as these results are based on a sample survey, the level of accuracy on the results can vary between +/-1% and +/-3%, as shown in the table. This means that the changes between years in prevalence in mould and damp estimated from the SHCS may not be statistically significant as they are within the margins of error of the survey estimates.

Table 1: Percentage of social sector dwellings with presence of mould and (any rising or penetrating) damp, SHCS 2012 to 2019

Year	No mould or damp (Accuracy +/- 3%)	Any mould or damp (Accuracy +/- 3%)	Both mould and damp (Accuracy +/- 1%)	Only mould (Accuracy +/- 3%)	Only damp (Accuracy +/- 1%)
2012	82%	18%	2%	14%	2%
2013	85%	15%	1%	11%	2%
2014	85%	15%	2%	12%	1%
2015	88%	12%	2%	9%	1%
2016	87%	13%	1%	11%	1%
2017	88%	12%	1%	10%	1%
2018	84%	16%	1%	14%	1%
2019	86%	14%	1%	13%	1%

Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Accuracy based on the margin of error associated with 95% Confidence Intervals.

To derive the corresponding number of homes with and without mould and damp, the percentage estimates from the SHCS can be applied to the social rented housing stock figures published by Scottish Government (SG).

It should be noted that as these results are based on a sample survey, the level of accuracy on the results can vary between +/-10,000 and +/-20,000 dwellings, as shown in the following table. This means that the changes between years in estimated numbers of dwellings with mould and damp estimated from the SHCS may not be statistically significant as they are within the margins of error of the survey estimates.

Table 2: Estimated number of social sector dwellings with presence of mould and (any rising or penetrating) damp, SHCS 2012 to 2019 and SG social rented housing stock figures 2012 to 2019.

Year	No mould or damp (Accuracy +/- 20,000)	Any mould or damp (Accuracy +/- 20,000)	Both mould and damp (Accuracy +/- 10,000)	Only mould (Accuracy +/- 20,000)	Only damp (Accuracy +/- 10,000)	SG Social Rented Stock Total
2012	490,000	110,000	10,000	80,000	10,000	597,000
2013	510,000	90,000	< 10,000	70,000	10,000	596,000
2014	500,000	90,000	10,000	70,000	< 10,000	594,000
2015	520,000	70,000	10,000	50,000	< 10,000	595,000
2016	520,000	80,000	< 10,000	60,000	< 10,000	595,000
2017	520,000	70,000	< 10,000	60,000	< 10,000	594,000
2018	500,000	100,000	< 10,000	80,000	< 10,000	595,000
2019	510,000	90,000	< 10,000	80,000	< 10,000	600,000

Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10,000. ‘<10,000’ denotes any estimates below 10,000. Total Social Rented Stock figures rounded to the nearest 1,000. Accuracy based on the margin of error associated with 95% Confidence Intervals.

In 2019, 86% or 510,000 social sector dwellings were free from any damp or mould.

Though any mould or damp was present in 14% of or 90,000 social sector dwellings in 2019, it is important to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that its presence was extensive or a serious problem in all dwellings. For example, in 94% of social sector dwellings where mould was present, its extent throughout the whole dwelling was found to be less than 2%, assessed on an area basis on wall and ceilings.

Data from the SHCS on the presence of damp and mould was readily available for 2012-19. For 2002-03, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2007 to 2011 the information was collected as part of the survey but is not in a readily analysable form. We have answered this question using readily available information.

Due to enforced changes in response to Covid-19 restrictions the 2020 SHCS was not completed and it was not possible to collect this data as part of the 2021 SHCS. This data is being collected as part of the 2022 SHCS and we expect to publish this data in late 2023 / early 2024.

Question reference: S6W-13107

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to any claims by members of the cross party groups on chronic pain, long COVID, and arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions that it did not notify them about its proposed timing of the debate on chronic pain on 16 November 2022, and that this prevented them from informing large numbers of patients with chronic pain about the debate.

Details of Parliamentary business, including motions for debate, are published in the Business Bulletin when the Parliament is in session. This includes details of current and future business of the Parliament and the business motion setting out the date for the debate on ‘Improving care and services for people with chronic pain’ was proposed and agreed by MSPs on Tuesday 8 November 2022. This is available to view on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-06687

In advance of this, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care met with the convenors of the Cross Party Group on Chronic Pain (CPGCP) on 7 November 2022 to inform them that the debate was imminent and wrote to them on the 11 November 2022 once the date had been confirmed. We will continue to seek to work in a collaborative and constructive manner with the CPGCP and other stakeholders as we implement the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery.

Question reference: S6W-13135

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many newbuild affordable homes in rural communities have been completed in each year since 1999.

Whilst there have been homes delivered in rural areas since 1999, this has only been reported on since 2015 -16. Data on new build affordable homes in rural areas is therefore provided from that year onwards in the following table below. Figures relating to 2021-22 will be published early in 2023. There were also non-new build homes provided and the final column in the table includes all affordable homes delivered in rural areas.

Financial Year	Total AHSP New Build Rural Homes	‎ Total AHSP Programme Rural Homes
2015-16	911	954
2016-17	975	1,095
2017-18	898	980
2018-19	1,404	1,419
2019-20	1,296	1,310
2020-21	1,223	1,284
Total Homes	6,707	7,042

The figures only include homes delivered through the core Affordable Housing Supply Programme and Rural and Island Housing Fund.

Question reference: S6W-13094

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many SME housebuilders have been engaged in the delivery of the affordable housing supply programme in each year since 2016-17, and how it analyses the involvement of SME housebuilders in the supply chain on the basis of (a) geography, (b) project type and size and (c) grant recipient.

Question reference: S6W-13085

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12469 by Jenny Gilruth on 6 December 2022, what discussions it has had with (a) police forces in England and Wales, (b) Living Streets Scotland, (c) the British Horse Society Scotland, (d) the AA, (e) the RAC, (f) Brake, (g) the British Motorcyclists Federation and (h) Cycling UK regarding a National Dashcam Safety Portal in Scotland, and whether it has an estimated timeframe for its implementation should the pilot be successful.

Question reference: S6W-13123

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to GP practices in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde through the sustainability payment in financial year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-13095

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10597 by Shona Robison 20 September 2022, what information it does record about the house builder or construction company once a project is tendered, and how it engages with those SME house builders.

The Scottish Government does not mandate the recording of contractor or housebuilder details within a tender application. If supplied, the information we collect relates solely to the name of the contractor. The Scottish Government has no direct engagement with the contractor as the contractual relationship is between the grant applicant and the housebuilders/contractors. Scottish Government More Homes Division engagement at a strategic level is through industry bodies such as Homes for Scotland.

2021-2022	£3,278,717
2022-2023	£2,228,180