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: S6F-00858

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to mark Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2022.

Question reference: S6F-00854

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

To ask the First Minister what urgent steps will be taken to address lung disease in Scotland, in light of the reported comments of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland that “the state of lung health in Scotland is shameful, with over 7,000 people dying a year".

Question reference: S6F-00849

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Information Commissioner’s Office recently issuing a reprimand to it and NHS National Services Scotland in relation to the COVID-19 status app.

Question reference: S6F-00843

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00844

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-07008

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angus Robertson on 28 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when Scotland’s next census will be held.

Scotland’s next census will be held on Sunday 20 March 2022, with letters arriving in households across Scotland from today (28 February), providing instructions on how to take part.

Scotland’s census is the official count of every person and household in the country and the only questionnaire of its kind to ask everyone the same questions at the same time.

It is the responsibility of National Records of Scotland (NRS) to put in place a census that enables everyone across Scotland to participate so that information collected can be used to produce high quality outputs and deliver the benefits required by the people of Scotland. For the first time, Scotland’s Census 2022 will ask a question about previous service in the UK Armed Forces and voluntary questions on trans status or history and sexual orientation, for those over 16.

Scotland’s Census provides people, businesses and organisations with high quality data and analysis which is used to inform key decisions in relation to policy making, investment decisions and the planning and delivery of key services. The census also helps paint a rich picture of the of the population, helping us to better understand the similarities and differences in the population’s characteristics locally and nationally, now and over time. The census also becomes part of our history. In the future our descendants will be able to find out about us and how we lived.

This will be the first census to take place since the Scottish Government pledged to make public services “digital first”, recognising that this is now a favoured channel for many. This approach will also deliver a number of benefits in terms of ease of completion and accessibility for respondents. It is important however that all households are able to complete their census return, with paper questionnaires available upon request. Help and support will also be available for those who need it via a dedicated contact centre and the Scotland’s Census website.

I urge members to help ensure a successful census by encouraging maximum participation amongst all communities across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-06532

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government (a) what its position is on and (b) whether it is aware of the use of Hikvision cameras by (i) Police Scotland and (ii) private companies in Scotland, and whether it has any plans to prohibit or limit their use.

The Scottish Government published the National Strategy for Public Space CCTV in Scotland in March 2011. The Strategy was created to provide guidance and a common set of principles to operators of public space CCTV across Scotland. It did not impose requirements but sought to provide advice and clarity to support decisions on the development of CCTV systems.

A number of Police Scotland CCTV cameras within the estate will be Hikvision or will contain Hikvision components. We are aware that the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee last year recommended to the UK Government that equipment manufactured by Hikvision and other such companies should not be permitted to operate within the UK. The UK Government’s response, published in November 2021, outlined the steps that had been taken to address the situation and undertook to take further steps in the coming months. The Scottish Government will continue to keep in close touch with developments and act accordingly, including consulting with Police Scotland on what measures they might take in response to these next steps.

Question reference: S6W-06467

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what data was used to inform the decisions by the Scottish Ambulance Service on its demand and capacity review, and whether this will be published.

Internationally renowned modelling company Operational Research in Health (ORH) were commissioned by the Scottish Ambulance Service to carry out an analysis on 7 years’ worth of data to help inform the review of demand and capacity.

ORH used a population growth data to predict future demand and resources required to meet performance standards. This included patient demand, types of clinical presentation, on scene times, at hospital times, travel times, vehicle tracking data, resourcing levels, receiving hospitals, station locations, rest periods and standard operating procedures.

In addition, Working Time Solutions were also commissioned to assist with the design and implementation of rosters that better match demand profiles.

Following approval, SAS will publish the third phase of the business case.

Question reference: S6W-06466

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Scottish Ambulance Service has had with trade unions regarding its demand and capacity review.

The Demand and Capacity programme and core principals have been designed and delivered in partnership with unions - with representatives of GMB, Unite the Union and Unison all being members of the steering group which meets monthly.

A staff engagement and consultation process, also agreed in partnership with Unions at the outset, is being conducted in all regions.

SAS continue to hold regular discussions with staff side representatives, including weekly meetings with the Project Team on this review.

Question reference: S6W-06337

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 28 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the net benefit figure for Business, in table 2 of annex F of the publication, A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Final Business Regulatory Impact Assessment, of £333 million is calculated as the sum of -£1,291 and £920 million, and, if so, whether the figure is correct, and, if not, how the figure is calculated.

Annex F of the updated Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which we published alongside the draft DRS Regulations on 15 December 2021, provides a sensitivity analysis of the economic case for DRS by analysing two assumptions for key scheme parameters raised by industry: a figure of 2.7bn containers per year placed on the market (compared to the 2.2bn originally modelled) and a figure of 37,000 return points (compared to the 17,000 originally modelled).

Although the original assumptions published in Table 3 of the same BRIA remain our final, and best, estimate of the costs and benefits associated with DRS, we analysed the impact on the 25-year net present value (NPV) based on these two figures suggested by industry.

Annex F, Table 2 sets out an overall NPV of £583m if the two industry assumptions are taken into account, and provides a breakdown of this figure by sector. The overall figure of £583m has been re-validated and is correct. However, a manual error was made in copying over some of the data cells in this table. The corrected figures are set out in the table below. It is important to note that the error does not affect the overall findings of the BRIA; nor does it change the overall net present value that was presented in Table 2, Annex F.

When we were notified of this error we immediately corrected it by writing to the Convener of the Net Zero, Energy, and Transport Committee. We have amended the published Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Scottish Government website. To provide further reassurance following the detection of this error, all other data presented in the BRIA have been re-validated and confirmed to be correct.

Actor Name	Costs (£m)	Benefits (£m)	Net Benefit (£m)
Local Authorities	- 45	219	173
Business	- 1,325	931	- 394
Regulator	- 17	0	- 17
System Operator	- 603	1,331	727
Society	- 1,116	1,209	94
Total	- 3,106	3,690	583
Note. The DRS for Scotland is designed to optimise delivery against the four strategic outcomes and to be complementary to any future packaging EPR scheme.

Figures may not sum due to rounding