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-12541

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is any duty on those operating in Scotland or its waters to report gas escapes, and if this is the case, what the threshold escape volume of CO2-equivalent gas for reporting is, in light of The Guardian article from 8 November 2022, World’s ‘most potent greenhouse gas’ escaped during work on UK windfarm.

Question reference: S6W-12446

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £31.224 million allocated to corporate support under health and social care expenditure in its 2022-23 budget has been (a) allocated and (b) spent to date, broken down by expenditure.

The majority of this budget relates to Corporate Running Costs (CRC) which supports staffing and other costs of central functions, with this allocated out across all portfolios, as set out in annual budgets. The remainder of the spend is fully allocated in support of staffing costs within two Health and Social Care Directorates – Health Finance, Corporate Governance and Value and Directorate of Chief Operating Officer. Final confirmation of spend will be included as part of the Scottish Government provisional outturn.

Question reference: S6W-12433

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £262.5 million allocated to the Primary Care Fund in its 2022-23 budget, which was announced on 9 December 2021, has been (a) allocated and (b) spent to date, broken down by expenditure.

Question reference: S6W-12308

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria for Scottish or UK workshare has been specified by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited in its request for tenders for the detailed design, construction, testing, survey, equipping, completion and delivery of two Ro-Pax ferries for UK domestic waters, which has a deadline for responses of 6 December 2022.

CMAL have used a closed tendering process through the Public Contracts Scotland portal for the procurement of 2 further Islay Class RoPAx vessels. This procurement allows for local content to be considered as part of the evaluation process amongst many other commercial and technical aspects. No specific criteria has been set.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12306 on 5 December 2022 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-12558

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid in Private Finance Initiative (PFI) or Not for Profit Distribution (NPD) payments in the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

Information on Private Finance Initiative (PFI) or Not for Profit Distribution (NPD) projects in Scotland, including NHS projects is available online from

Infrastructure investment - Government finance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The following table presents how much has been paid for NHS projects delivered through Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Not for Profit Distribution (NPD) in each of the last 10 years.

	UNITARY CHARGE PAYMENT
CATEGORY	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	TOTAL
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m

PFI/PPP	223	228	230	232	228	234	240	246	252	258	2,370

NPD/HUB	1	3	6	15	35	53	76	85	87	87	448

The NPD model unlike PFI ensures the following:

Private sector returns are capped
There is no dividend bearing equity
Enhances stakeholder involvement in the management of projects
Surpluses can be directed in favour of the public sector

Question reference: S6W-12554

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the highest amount paid to private agencies for a (a) nursing, (b) consultant and (c) care assistant shift has been in each of the last 10 years.

The information requested on what the highest amount paid to private agencies for a (a) nursing, (b) consultant and (c) care assistant shift has been in each of the last 10 years is not centrally available.

Information on Medical & Dental and Nursing & midwifery bank and agency spend by NHS Board since March 2014 can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence Bank and Agency) tab.

Question reference: S6W-12559

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid to private social care providers by (a) local authorities, (b) the NHS, (c) integration joint boards and (d) any other public sector body in each of the last 10 years.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how much has been paid to private social care providers by any of the bodies as referenced within the query.

Social Care services are commissioned by Local Authorities and information on their expenditure can be found in the annual publication of the Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics report.

Should the information requested not be available from this resource then a direct enquiry should be made with the relevant local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-12551

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many procedures the private sector has tendered for through the Dynamic Purchasing System within the NHS, and whether it will provide a list of them.

Question reference: S6W-13076

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to develop a purpose and principles for post-school education, research and skills development.

Today, we have published the Interim Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Research and Skills.

This publication sets out and seeks views on the interim Purpose and Principles and the topics that have to be explored to develop a plan for implementation that will deliver against them. This has been developed on the basis of feedback from previous research, reviews, reports and engagement, including the SFC Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability and the National Strategy for Economic Transformation , and sets out the priorities that must guide our decision making in the face of a challenging set of imperatives for reform. A stakeholder engagement plan for the next phase of work and a discussion guide to support people to hold their own sessions on the interim Purpose and Principles are also published today, which is available in Gaelic or easy read format.

Question reference: S6W-12523

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times a Modern Apprenticeship contract has been terminated in line with clause (a) 22.1.2.1, (b) 22.1.2.2 and (c) 22.1.2.3, as set out under section 22, Termination for Reputational Damage, on page 25 of the Skills Development Scotland publication, Modern Apprenticeship Programme Conditions 2021-2022 (as extended to 31 March 2023).

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has operational responsibility for the Modern Apprenticeship programme and administer funding, on behalf of the Scottish Government.

SDS have confirmed that no Modern Apprenticeship contracts have been terminated in line with clause (a) 22.1.2.1, (b) 22.1.2.2 and (c) 22.1.2.3, as set out under section 22, Termination for Reputational Damage in the Modern Apprenticeship Programme Conditions.