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-15821

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have accessed its Digital Planning tools in each of the last five years.

The eDevelopment service currently has 52,000 registered users.

In the last 5 years the eDevelopment homepage has been accessed 3,294,533 times. The figures in the following table set out the number of times that users have accessed the homepage. The information is broken down into each of the 5 years.

As of January 2023, over 1.41m planning and building standards applications have been submitted online via eDevelopment since the service went live in 2016.

The service regularly receives over 5,500 submissions each week.

We estimate that in 2021-2022, up to 95% of all planning submissions and 90% of building warrant applications are submitted online through the service.

No.	Year	User Sessions
1	2018	603,021
2	2019	634,241
3	2020	655,648
4	2021	722,284
5	2022	679,339

Question reference: S6W-15963

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many "lead teachers" have been appointed in each local authority, in each year since 2020, and how much has been (a) budgeted for and (b) spent to fund any such appointments.

There were five full-time equivalent lead teachers that met the required inclusion criteria for the 2022 School Staff Census, these were all from Scottish Borders. The role of lead teacher was established in June 2021, therefore figures are not available for earlier years.

The School Staff Census predominantly reports on posts with a classroom teaching remit, some lead teachers may be employed in posts without a classroom teaching remit and therefore will not be included in the counts collected and reported as part of the annual census.

There is no information held centrally on the budget or funding for lead teacher appointments. The recruitment and employment of teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual councils, as they have the statutory duty for education expenditure and to deliver education. Councils have the statutory responsibility for providing a complement of teachers, including lead teachers, and all other necessary support staff which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils within the resources available.

Question reference: S6W-15987

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13337 by Patrick Harvie on 10 January 2023, whether it will provide an update on whether it has published the data, in light of it already being used for policy formulation and implementation, and of it committing to publishing it "early this year".

Question reference: S6W-15582

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much of the £10 million fund to install Changing Places toilets has been distributed to date, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets during this parliamentary term, in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country and to support mobile Changing Places Toilets to allow people easier access to events and outdoor venues.

We have already published a Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide to support communities to develop their initial plans and funding will be provided during this parliamentary term.

Question reference: S6W-15836

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether its new strategy for palliative and end of life care will specifically include bereavement support needs to reflect the entire experience of dying and death.

Scottish Government’s Palliative and End of Life Strategy is being developed with an overarching aim that everyone in Scotland receives well-coordinated, timely and high-quality palliative care, care around death and bereavement support based on their needs and preferences including support for families and carers.

We will develop a strategy that reflects what matters to people experiencing serious illness, dying and bereavement. We are reviewing the information and evidence we have about people’s experiences of palliative and end of life care, and bereavement, in order to inform our strategy going forward.

Question reference: S6W-15924

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 in relation to introducing guidelines that require owners to control their pets in public spaces.

The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 provided powers for local authorities to respond to incidents of dog owners allowing their dogs to be out of control in public places by imposing Dog Control Notices (DCNs).

The Scottish Government updated operational guidance for the 2010 Act in December 2020. This reflected the first decade of use of the 2010 Act and built on best practice to assist local authorities in discharging their responsibilities. This guidance is available at: Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010: guidance - updated - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A further review of this aspect of the 2010 Act is not planned at this time.

The Scottish Government has also introduced a national DCN database which is helping independent enforcement agencies (local authorities and Police Scotland) access information on dog owners who allow their dogs to be out of control.

The Scottish Government carried out a marketing campaign on dog control with the Scottish SPCA in 2021. This campaign has since been re-run on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on a number of occasions and directs the public to information about ‘The law on controlling your dog’ on the mygov.scot website at: Controlling your dog in public - mygov.scot

This website makes clear that dog owners are responsible for the actions of their dog, and the sets out potential penalties for failing to control dogs.

Local authorities can also consider byelaw making powers to address a specific problem.

Question reference: S6W-15736

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Deposit Return Scheme, how many applications for return point exemption were (a) made, (b) approved and (c) rejected since applications opened, broken down by month.

The following table shows the number of exemptions and voluntary return point applications, broken down by month, as of 16 March 2023.

	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sept-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Totals
Proximity Applications Received	1			1	3		9		1		1		21	1	38
Granted				1		4	7				1			1	14
Rejected								1	1		1			1	4
Environmental Health Applications Received	3				1		2	1	1	4	7	16	51	168	254
Granted										1	3	2	4		11
Rejected				1	1					2	7				11
Voluntary Return Point Applications Received													1		1
Granted															0
Rejected															0

Question reference: S6W-15819

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many looked after young people have been placed in unregulated accommodation in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-15947

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to consult on removing the 50kW threshold above which permitted development rights do not apply for solar panels on commercial rooftops.

Question reference: S6W-15929

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15344 by Lorna Slater on 10 March 2023, whether it will provide the information requested regarding (a) what communication it has had with drinks suppliers outside of Scotland to inform them of the Deposit Return Scheme, and (b) which companies it has informed of the scheme in each of the last 12 months, also broken down by country or region.