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-15202

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards achieving its commitment to "work with the private sector to deliver £60 million of public and private investment to double the size of the public charging network to at least 6,000 electric vehicle charging points over the next 4 years", as announced in its Programme for Government 2022-23.

The Scottish Government has invested over £65 million in the ChargePlace Scotland Network that now has over 2,400 publicly available electric vehicle charge points, meaning that Scotland already has by far the greatest number of charge points per head of population than any other part of the UK outside of London. Last year the Scottish Government announced the £60 million Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund that aims to draw commercial investment in the public charging network across all parts of Scotland. Transport Scotland has already provided funding to Scotland’s local authorities to help them to work together to establish electric vehicle charging strategies and infrastructure expansion plans. These plans are identifying local and regional charge point needs, the investment requirements, as well as the best approaches to delivering collaborative investments with commercial charge point operators. A series of projects and investments will be announced over the course of this year.

Question reference: S6W-14767

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing with Social Security Scotland to develop contingency measures for the redeployment of any staff who face redundancy following the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) closure of the Radnor House site in Clydebank.

Question reference: S6W-14768

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what communication it has had with the UK Government regarding the decision taken by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to close Radnor House site in Clydebank.

Question reference: S6W-14701

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much the redevelopment of Troon railway station will cost; by what date the work will be completed, and whether it will retain a staffed ticket office.

Question reference: S6W-14855

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to abolish return fares on ScotRail services.

Question reference: S6W-14847

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will seek a commitment from bus companies to reinstate or establish routes from towns in (a) Dumfries and Galloway and (b) the Scottish Borders Council areas to improve connectivity between these areas and the rest of the UK.

Most bus services across Scotland operate in an open de-regulated market and have done so since the 1980s. Scottish Ministers do not have the power to intervene directly in the provision of local services. This is solely a matter for individual bus operators who use their own commercial judgement on service routes, frequencies, and vehicle types. However, where there is a social need for bus services which are not provided commercially, local authorities, such as Dumfries & Galloway or Scottish Borders Councils can subsidise these at their discretion.

The Scottish Government is committed, in partnership with operators and local authorities, to looking at ways of ensuring that everyone has accessible public transport regardless of where they live. We have established a taskforce with stakeholders from across the bus sector and local government to explore what practical solutions we can deliver to help improve bus services across the country.

Question reference: S6W-14629

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that businesses seeking detailed information about how to comply with the Deposit Return Scheme consider that engagement activity by Circularity Scotland is insufficient, with requests for clarification reportedly going unanswered.

Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) has set up a dedicated support team which is accessible via a helpline to assist with inquiries from businesses to help them prepare for the launch of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

Furthermore, in February CSL hosted a series of information events around the country so that businesses could learn more, and ask questions about their DRS obligations.

I recommend that producers contact Circularity Scotland, either by way of this dedicated telephone help line, or via their website to remain up to date with the latest information regarding DRS.

Question reference: S6W-14822

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will instruct Transport Scotland to repair any existing defective lighting installations and generally improve the lighting of the public realm underneath the Kingston Bridge approach viaducts on the M8 at Anderston Cross, at the intersection point with Argyle Street and the Clydeside Expressway.

Question reference: S6W-15209

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to publish the interim findings from the Green Heat Finance Taskforce.

The Green Heat Finance Taskforce will publish the interim report in spring this year. This report is one of a number of documents relating to Heat in Buildings that will be published this year, such as the Consultation on Proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, introducing powers to create a regulatory framework which drives energy efficiency and zero direct emissions heating across Scotland’s building stock.

Question reference: S6W-15163

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the number of Police Scotland Special Constables fell to 423 in 2022, compared with 1,394 in 2014, and what steps it is taking to increase the number of Special Constables.

The Scottish Government is grateful to Special Constables who are an integral part of Police Scotland’s workforce mix.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on Police Scotland’s Special Constable programme. Statistics on Special Constable numbers and recruitment are a matter for the Chief Constable.

Whilst Police Scotland are actively recruiting they have in recent years focused their investment on fully trained Special Constables who are willing to deploy regularly and able to fully support officers in our communities.