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-15497

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Golden Jubilee regarding the use of the hotel to generate income.

Question reference: S6W-15825

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15443 by John Swinney on 8 March 2023, whether it will name the law firms that have received a share of the £100,244, broken down by how much each firm received.

Since the response to question S6W-15443 on 8 March 20232, further legal fee claims have been paid. As of 15 March 2023, £124,650 has been paid to 10 firms.

It is not appropriate to name the firms as to do so could be interpreted as guiding applicants to particular firms. Applicants are directed to the Law Society of Scotland for support in finding a solicitor. In addition, as some firms have a claim in respect of only one application there is a small risk of applicant identification if the full list is provided.

Table 1 : Breakdown of Legal Fees paid up to 15 March 2023

Firm	Fees Paid (up to 15 March 2023)	Number of associated applications
A	£2,400	1
B	£2,400	1
C	£76,440	33
D	£19,200	8
E	£5,340	3
F	£540	1
G	£2400	1
H	£13,080	7
I	£2,400	1
J	£450	1
Total Paid	£124,650	57

While applications can be made without the need for a solicitor, applicants are strongly encouraged to take up the offer of funded legal advice, particularly before signing a waiver and accepting a redress payment.

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-15768

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), also known as drones, have been available for use by Police Scotland officers in each year since 2019, and how many officers have received RPAS training.

Question reference: S6W-15713

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the administration cost has been to date of delivering the (a) Social Security Scotland agency and (b) Scottish Child Payment.

Social Security Scotland’s administration costs are published in our Annual Report and Accounts . This document is laid before the Scottish Parliament annually.

Since 2018 our Annual Report and Accounts have recorded administration costs of:

2018-2019 - £12.8 million (part year)

2019-2020 - £36.0 million

2020-2021 - £130.3 million

2021-2022 - £194.9 million

These figures are the total cost of the organisation, which includes the cost of administering the Scottish Child Payment.

As Social Security Scotland staff and systems are organised to provide more than one form of assistance, it is not possible to separately identify the cost of Scottish Child Payment administration.

Question reference: S6W-15692

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the tender awards for the Climate Just Communities programme, and what percentage of the £36 million Climate Justice Fund will go towards this initiative.

The Scottish Government thanks all those who submitted proposals in response to the Climate Just Communities invitation to tender. The Scottish Government anticipates announcing the contract winner early into next financial year.

Up to £24 million will be awarded from the Climate Justice Fund (CJF) to the Climate Just Communities programme, making it the largest programme launched under the CJF. This will be split across the three countries of Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia through three separate contracts equalling up to £8 million each over 3 years.

Question reference: S6W-15715

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what the anticipated date is for the completion of the full roll-out of the Scottish Child Payment.

Question reference: S6W-15693

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when its ministers last met UK ministers to discuss issues surrounding loss and damage.

The Scottish Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development met with the UK Minister for Development and Africa on 15 March, where they discussed a number of key international development issues including climate justice. In particular, in relation to loss and damage, the Bridgetown Initiative and the Scottish Government’s recently published report , Practical Action for Addressing Loss and Damage were covered. Additionally, Scottish Government officials meet on a semi-regular basis with UK Government officials to discuss international climate change matters, including loss and damage.

Question reference: S6W-15635

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many National Progression Award (NPA) in Beekeeping at SCQF level 5 qualifications have been awarded in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Details of the number of candidates awarded SCQF Level 5 National Progression Award in Beekeeping between 2018 and 2022, broken down by Education Authority are set out in the following table:

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Aberdeen City	0	0	0	0	0
Aberdeenshire	0	0	[c]	5	10
Angus	0	0	0	0	0
Argyll & Bute	0	0	[c]	[c]	[c]
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	0	0
Dumfries & Galloway	0	0	[c]	0	[c]
Dundee City	0	0	0	0	0
East Ayrshire	0	0	0	0	0
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0
East Lothian	0	0	0	0	0
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	5
Edinburgh, City of	0	0	0	0	0
Falkirk	0	0	0	0	0
Fife	0	0	0	0	0
Glasgow City	0	0	0	0	0
Highland	0	0	0	0	10
Inverclyde	0	0	0	0	0
Midlothian	0	0	0	5	25
Moray	0	0	0	0	0
Na h-Eileanan Siar	0	0	0	0	0
North Ayrshire	0	0	5	0	[c]
North Lanarkshire	0	0	0	0	0
Orkney Islands	0	0	0	0	0
Perth & Kinross	0	0	0	0	0
Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0
Scottish Borders	0	5	0	0	0
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	0	0	0	0	0
South Lanarkshire	0	0	0	10	15
Stirling	0	0	0	0	0
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0
West Lothian	0	0	0	0	0
Scotland	0	5	15	25	70

Source: SQA December attainment (https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/102188.html)

Note:

1. All figures are rounded to the nearest five. Figures between one and four inclusive have been suppressed to protect against the risk of disclosure of personal information.

2. All percentage figures for a course have been suppressed where values between one and four inclusive have been suppressed. Cells containing suppressed figures are marked up with the shorthand [c].

Question reference: S6W-15570

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of patients who have been put forward for a clinical trial, in each year since 1999, went on to access the clinical trial following their assessment.

While data on the number of people in Scotland who have consented to participate in the range of clinical research studies that are supported by Health Boards in Scotland are routinely collected, data on the number of people referred to and screened for enrolment into the range of clinical research studies supported by Health Boards in Scotland are not. Therefore, the percentage of patients put forward for all clinical trials in Scotland that subsequently consent to be enrolled into those trials is not known.

Question reference: S6W-15682

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whose role it is to enforce Education Scotland inspection guidelines.

Scottish Ministers’ powers relating to inspection of educational establishments and services are set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. Inspections of educational establishments are carried out by HM Inspectors.

HM Inspectors develop and maintain a set of specific inspection and review guidance which describes how HM Inspectors work in particular sectors or areas of provision. This is published on Education Scotland’s website.