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-00873

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the MND Scotland report, No Time to Lose: Addressing the housing needs of people with MND, which highlights the barriers faced by people with MND in securing adaptations or accessible homes.

Question reference: S6F-00866

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00865

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-06887

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the report in The Scotsman on 6 February 2022, what action it is taking to support independent publishers deal with rising costs for items such as printing and materials.

The Scottish Government is aware of the increased production costs faced by independent publishers and their impact across the publishing sector. It is providing a range of business support through activities delivered by our enterprise and creative agencies. This includes: regular business surveys; support accessed through the FindBusinessSupport website; and XpoNorth, the year-round support programme for the Highlands and Islands.

Independent publishers may be eligible for financial support from Creative Scotland through the new Recovery Fund for Cultural Organisations; and Creative Scotland’s Open Fund. Further information about these funds can be found on Creative Scotland’s website.

Question reference: S6W-06860

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04421 by John Swinney on 24 November 2021, whether it will provide an update regarding what progress it has made in delivering The Promise.

The Scottish Government remains committed to Keeping The Promise by 2030, working in partnership with Local Authorities, The Promise Scotland, third sector, health boards and importantly the care community.

On 18 February the First Minister announced that the Scottish Government would publish its Implementation Plan for Keeping The Promise before Easter. The Implementation Plan will set out our routemap to 2030 as well as key actions we will take to Keep The Promise.

Question reference: S6W-06843

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have introduced additional payment for the uplift of garden waste.

That information is not held centrally.

There is no statutory requirement for local authorities to separately collect garden waste and charging for its collection is not a new option available to councils. Garden waste is included in Schedule 2 of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 which contains the types of waste for which a charge for collection may be made. It is up to individual councils whether to charge or not.

As set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan, we will consult on requirements to separately collect garden waste by 2023, to further promote recycling.

Question reference: S6W-06670

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many organisations have now signed up to Scotland’s Redress Scheme as contributors.

Question reference: S6W-06661

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 18 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that NHS Scotland is reaching at least the equivalent of the NICE guidelines for adults with cerebral palsy (CP), in light of the reported findings of a survey by Cerebral Palsy Scotland that 65% of people with CP do not consider the service is meeting their needs.

The Scottish Government welcomes the survey undertaken by Cerebral Palsy Scotland in November 2021 and notes the findings.

Scottish Government officials recently met with Cerebral Palsy Scotland to further discuss the care and support available to people with this condition. We will continue to work with NHS, third sector partners and people with Cerebral Palsy to drive up standards of care and service development.

In December 2019, we published a Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action . We are investing £4.5 million of funding over five years to implement the Framework’s 17 commitments.

The aims include improving the provision of co-ordinated health and social care and support, developing sustainable workforce models and ensuring high standards of person-centred care for people with neurological conditions, such as Cerebral Palsy.

Question reference: S6W-06303

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that climate change and nature recovery will be the primary priorities of the Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4).

Meeting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and securing positive effects for biodiversity are two of six high level outcomes for the National Planning Framework set out in The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

The draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) currently subject to Scottish Parliament scrutiny, alongside public consultation, is clear that we must rebalance our planning system so that climate change and nature recovery are the primary guiding principles for all our plans and decisions. Its four overarching themes work together towards net-zero, adaptable places and addressing the nature crisis.

Our radically improved and new policies contained in draft NPF4 include new universal policies addressing the climate emergency and nature crisis, to be applied to all planning decisions. These policies create a requirement to give significant weight to the global climate emergency in plans and decisions. They also aim to deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity from development without the need for overly complex metrics.

Question reference: S6W-06302

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 7 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the Onshore Wind Policy Statement is reflected in the Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) reforms.

Our draft NPF4 gives spatial expression to a wide range of Scottish Government plans, programmes and strategies. It sets out a vision for how our places will change in the future and reflects priorities across Scottish Government portfolios, including how our approach to planning and development will achieve a net zero, sustainable Scotland by 2045.

Draft NPF4 includes green energy policies which support renewable energy development other than in National Parks and National Scenic Areas, subject to an assessment of their impacts on a case by case basis. Through the draft NPF4, we are also proposing to designate a national development which would establish the need for a large increase in renewable energy generation and substantial reinforcement and expansion of grid infrastructure throughout Scotland.

We laid the draft NPF4 in the Scottish Parliament on 10 November 2021. Alongside Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft, we are running a public consultation, supported by an extensive engagement programme, and comments are invited by 31 March 2022. Following this period, we will consider the responses received and any appropriate amendments to the draft NPF4 before presenting a final draft to the Scottish Parliament for its approval, in advance of adoption by the Scottish Ministers.