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-08564

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken to ensure that teachers and other professionals in statutory services who work with children, including those whose hearing was tested by NHS Lothian Paediatric Audiology Service between 2009 and 2018, are aware of the reported failings of the service, and that the opportunity exists for the children they work with to have a retest if there are concerns about their hearing.

The British Academy of Audiology (BAA) reports have been widely distributed amongst professionals, including all GP practices in NHS Lothian, ENT surgeons, community child health doctors, and speech and language therapists. NHS Lothian has had extensive communication with a range of partners including teaching staff and the Director of Education. As part of this process, those working with children who had any concerns about a child's hearing were encouraged to contact the Audiology department directly or to refer the child through the normal route.

The frequently asked questions, which was developed, has also been shared with specialised teams in education in the four local authority areas across NHS Lothian. My officials are also engaging with local authority heads of service for deaf education and NHS Lothian to address any additional concerns regarding support and education planning for families.

So far, 124 families have been contacted directly by NHS Lothian and offered a retest; 39 children have now had their retest with a further 11 with an appointment to date. From the 39 retested, 10 children have been found to have a new hearing impairment.

Officials continue to work closely with NHS Lothian regarding paediatric audiology, including communications. As highlighted, information has been widely circulated amongst professional staff groups working directly with children and their families, with clear mechanisms for children to be referred to the audiology department where there are concerns about their hearing. NHS Lothian established a telephone line in December last year and this continues to be operational to make it easy for families to make direct contact with the Board about any audiology concerns, the board is also working closely with the National Deaf Children Society.

Question reference: S6W-08580

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with energy providers regarding residents in Scotland whose developments have a single energy supplier that is classified as commercial rather than domestic, in light of these residents' energy bills reportedly not being subject to Ofgem's price cap.

Powers related to consumer protection, and to the energy price cap set by Ofgem, are reserved to the UK Government. However, I am concerned that energy consumers who are not registered directly with a licenced energy supplier may not be protected by the price cap and may not be eligible for the £400 rebate support announced by the UK Government. This affects those living in park homes, for example, in which a landlord bills households for their for energy use and is also a particular issue for heat networks.

The Scottish Government has raised the issue of unequal treatment of those households who do not have a domestic supply contract with the UK Government, who must ensure that any support for consumers is applied to all those that need it. I am also concerned by the current lack of regulation around the supply of heat via heat networks and I am clear that work to address this by the UK Government through Energy Security Bill is needed urgently, and suppliers must take action to support their customers ahead of any legislation coming into force.

Where concerns have been raised over affordability my officials have contacted the suppliers involved to highlight these and push for improved practice from those involved, we have also worked closely with Citizen’s Advice Scotland and others to support affected customers.

Question reference: S6W-08590

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to ease the reported delays within the justice system caused by continuous late-stage evidence disputations by the defence that force proceedings to be persistently rescheduled.

The Scottish Government recognises the adverse impact on victims, witnesses and on the accused of prolonged proceedings, and is supporting justice agencies to improve the management of cases to minimise unnecessary delays. For example, through its investment in the Recover, Renew and Transform Programme, justice agencies are delivering reforms to support early resolution of summary cases at the outset and to focus trial preparation in cases which cannot be resolved. This work builds on the introduction by the judiciary of Pre-Intermediate Diet Meetings (PIDM) in December 2020, a new procedure aimed at reducing the risk of late-stage rescheduling.

Question reference: S6W-08619

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Department for Transport regarding the legalisation and regulation of the use of e-scooters in Scotland.

Transport officials have had one specific meeting on micro-mobility including e-Scooters at which the possibility of legislation and regulation was discussed. This was an information provision session and not a discussion.

The Secretary of State for Transport wrote to me in April 2022 about his proposals for a new framework for micro-mobility in UKG’s forthcoming Transport Bill. In my response I stated that where proposals may encroach on devolved interests, it is expected that UKG should seek the Scottish Parliament’s legislative consent in a timely manner, and respect the outcome of the Scottish Parliament’s decision on consent.

Question reference: S6W-08826

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will provide a substantive answer to question S6W-04695, which received a holding response on 13 December 2021.

Question reference: S6W-09035

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will support families and households to make the switch to zero-emission transport.

The Scottish Government is delighted to announce a package of funding totalling over £30 million to support a more equitable transition to zero emissions transport, ensuring that those who often face the biggest barriers to adopting EVs are not left behind.

This includes almost £2m to support households living in flats and rural areas across Scotland, recognising that access to EV infrastructure must be more equal across our communities. We will intensify our focus in these areas, helping homeowners, businesses and charities cope with post-covid recovery and the cost of living crisis.

We are providing additional funding through our Plugged in Communities Scheme to community transport operators and not-for-profit third sector organisations. This will support zero emission car-clubs and the procurement of zero emission community transport vehicles for lower income and rural communities across Scotland.

Our Low Carbon Transport Loan will make available £28m in interest free loans to support the purchase of used electric vehicles. The electric vehicle market has transformed significantly, and now is the time to encourage growth in the second hand market which will provide more options to those on lower incomes. We will also continue to support businesses including the taxi industry make the transition to zero emission vehicles.

I am proud of our bold action to decarbonise Scotland’s Transport sector by supporting the shift to electric vehicles. Over the past 10 years we have provided interest free loans worth more than £165m to support the purchase of low emission vehicles, our plugged in community car clubs have covered over 400k zero emission miles. And we have also supported individuals and businesses across Scotland to install over 17,500 EV charge points.

To help encourage the shift to electric vehicles, we have also invested over £50 million to develop ChargePlace Scotland, Scotland’s public charging network, which now has more than 2200 publicly available charge points. The latest figures show that Scotland is leading the way in electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK, with Scottish electric vehicle drivers benefitting from over 50 public charge points per one hundred thousand people, compared to less than 40 in England (regional totals and London excluded), just over 30 in Wales and less than 20 in Northern Ireland.

As further evidence of our commitment to decarbonise transport, in January this year we announced a new draft vision for Scotland’s public electric vehicle charging network. It provides the guiding vision on how Scotland’s public electric vehicle charging network will continue to grow across Scotland in a fair and inclusive way.

At its heart is a commitment to make the public charging network truly people-focussed, catering for the needs of all of its users and ensuring that it is reliable, accessible and affordable. The raft of financial support being announced today will strengthen this commitment further and provide much needed help for those who are coping with the rising cost of living.

Question reference: S6O-01198

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting farmers to adapt to new technologies.

Question reference: S6O-01201

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding the impact of food shortages and rising food prices in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-01196

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on future road infrastructure projects in the north east.

Question reference: S6O-01194

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its target of generating 50% of energy use from renewables by 2030 is sufficiently ambitious in light of new opportunities arising for Scotland.