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-06897

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-06154

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that over half of Scotland's fire stations are identified as being in poor, or worse, condition, and how much capital budget it will allocate to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for the specific purpose of improving them.

SFRS has a capital budget of £32.5 million in 2022-23. Decisions on the allocation of its capital budget, including whether to prioritise fleet, equipment or buildings is a matter for SFRS.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with SFRS to ensure it has the resources it needs to keep communities safe. SFRS is currently undertaking an assessment of the risks faced by communities and the assets which are needed to deal with those risks and this will inform future discussions on both capital and resource budgets.

Question reference: S6W-06121

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Motability Operations in connection with the transfer of the disability benefits scheme to Scotland.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government met Motability Operations Limited on 21 October 2021 to discuss the Accessible Vehicle and Equipment Scheme in Scotland and the role of Motability as an accredited provider for the Scheme.

Scottish Government officials meet with Motability Operations Limited regularly to discuss matters related to the implementation of the Scheme.

The Scottish Government’s Accessible Vehicles and Equipment Scheme delivers a similar service to the current Motability scheme to people in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-06449

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects all of the provisions of the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021 to be in force.

Question reference: S6W-06298

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05488 by Ben Macpherson on 28 January 2022, whether it will provide the information requested regarding how many of these reports have been solved and how many remain unresolved, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer.

All reports received via the mygov.scot portal between 24 August 2020 and 30 November 2021 have been analysed, with appropriate actions identified and initiated. Social Security Scotland therefore consider that these information reports are resolved.

Information on fraud is regularly published in our Annual Report and Accounts. Social Security Scotland carefully considers the information on counter fraud activity that can be placed into the public domain to ensure that any information release does not undermine the ability of Social Security Scotland to prevent and detect crime.

Question reference: S6W-06327

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the assumption was for Scottish Water's capital spending for new capital works required in the 2021-22 period and funded as part of the 2021-27 regulatory period.

Question reference: S6W-06326

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05611 by Michael Matheson on 17 January 2022, whether Scottish Water expects to have undertaken all the residual work from the 2015-21 regulatory period by the end of the 2022-23 financial year, as indicated in its 2020-21 annual report.

Question reference: S6W-06275

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether provision has been made in the new devolved disability benefits system to allow disabled people to relocate between nations of the UK and maintain their benefit eligibility.

The Scottish Government has been working with counterparts at both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland to ensure any person moving to or from Scotland who is in receipt of disability benefits can do so without disruption to their benefits.

The Disability Assistance for Children and Young People (Scotland) Regulations 2021 allow a person moving from Scotland to the rest of the UK to retain their benefit entitlement for up to 13 weeks. This is to allow time for the person moving to establish a new entitlement in the country they are settling in. We understand that the intention of other UK administrations is to mirror this arrangement.

The Scottish Government is also working with DWP to ensure anyone coming to Scotland from the rest of the UK will have the Scottish equivalent of their existing benefit awarded automatically, without a need to apply. However, it is our understanding that the DWP and the Department for Communities will require anyone moving from Scotland to these administrations to submit a new application before they can be considered for award of the equivalent disability benefit in the rest of the UK.

Question reference: S6W-06324

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05612 by Michael Matheson on 17 January 2022, how much Scottish Water Horizons Holdings Ltd paid for the PFI company referred to; how much external bank debt funding remains, and whether Scottish Water is the only shareholder in Scottish Water Horizons Holdings Ltd.

Question reference: S6W-06328

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05606 by Michael Matheson on 17 January 2022, what commitment it will make to review the Water Charges Reduction Scheme, in light of the potential erosion of its value to the least affluent customers with each year that Scottish Water increases charges above the rate of inflation.

The expansion of the water charges reduction scheme (WCRS) from April 2021 is worth £86m across the 2021-27 period and it will provide support for over 470,000 households. The increase in discount from 25% to 35%, again from 2021, means that customers in receipt of the WCRS will be protected from price increases over the regulatory period. There are therefore no plans to review the scheme at this time but it will be part of the strategic review of charges ahead of the next regulatory period.