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-03748

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the introduction of a digital sales tax.

Question reference: S6W-03660

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what consideration it is giving to reinstating passengers to the Edinburgh South Suburban railway line.

Question reference: S6W-03663

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many female butchers there are in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-03600

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding the recruitment of oncologists.

Scottish Government officials have a weekly call with NHS Tayside’s Cancer Team to track all patients on an urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) pathway and update on service delivery, including workforce.

In March 2021, after a request for national support, Scottish Government representatives met with NHS Tayside Chief Executive and senior medical staff and other health boards to provide support to ensure the continuation of its breast oncology services following the departure of one consultant.

We are continuing to work with NHS Tayside to ensure the long term continuation of service for women in the NHS Tayside area. A new consultant has been appointed who took up post in mid-July and there is ongoing recruitment for a further post. Ongoing clinical support will continue to be provided by NHS Grampian.

Question reference: S6W-04001

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether live facial recognition will be used by (a) Police Scotland and (b) other security organisations as part of COP26 policing operations.

The use of facial recognition technology is an operational decision for Police Scotland, operating within the boundaries of current legislation. The Scottish Government understands from the service that there are no plans to use the technology during COP26, either in a live or retrospective capacity.

The use of facial technology by security teams within the COP26 Blue Zone is a matter for them given the designated status of the area for the duration of the conference.

Question reference: S6W-03972

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether a call will be made for candidate areas for national park status.

Question reference: S6W-03983

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considered introducing regulations to prevent the price gouging of accommodation during the COP26 conference.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware of reports of excessively high pricing in the accommodation sector in Glasgow during the COP26 summit and there are existing policies in place designed to address this issue.

Responsibility for consumer protection policy is reserved to the UK Government. Consumer protection enforcement lies with Local Authority Trading Standards Services (LATS) unless it is a market-wide issue which would be considered by the Competition and Market Authority. If people see potential price gouging issues they should contact Advice Direct Scotland (ADS) a national service funded by Scottish Government which is available to all citizens of Scotland. They are available at https://www.consumeradvice.scot/ and also on 0808 164 6000 . ADS will in turn notify LATS and the national team, Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), for further examination.

Although we recognise that this is ultimately a situation of market supply and demand, it is important to note that actions like this are likely to influence consumer attitudes and behaviour in the future. Businesses offering good quality accommodation at a fair price will continue to uphold Scotland’s reputation as a welcoming country, encouraging visitors to return.

Question reference: S6W-03842

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the UK Government regarding the application of VAT to deposits made under its Deposit Return Scheme; whether it has reached an agreement with the UK Government on this matter, and when it anticipates being able to confirm to businesses and consumers whether VAT will be applied to these deposits.

The Scottish Government’s position is that VAT should not be applied to deposits charged under Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and we have made official and ministerial representations on this issue. It is important that where we can we promote rather than hinder progress towards a circular economy.

As VAT is a reserved matter, the final decision will rest with the UK Government and will be for them to confirm.

Question reference: S6W-03640

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points, and how much funding it has provided to each local authority in each of the last five years in this regard.

The Scottish Government has provided £45M to all 32 of Scotland’s Local Authorities and continues to offer support to enable the further increase in the number of electric vehicle chargers.

Investment in public charging infrastructure has enabled the development of the ChargePlace Scotland network (CPS), now one of the largest in the UK. Investment has also included schemes to support installation of business and domestic electric vehicle chargepoints, and associated infrastructure to support the decarbonisation of light and heavy vehicles in the public sector, and the decarbonisation of buses used for public transport.

Table 1 shows the investment within the last five financial years that each local authority has received to deliver public electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including a cumulative total. The majority of funding has been awarded through our Local Authority Install Programme, with a number of local authorities also being supported through challenge fund awards, including those under the Switched on Towns and Cities and Low Carbon Travel and Transport programmes.

Table 1

Local Authority / Financial Year	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	Total
Aberdeen City	£ 113,182	£ 82,000	£ 268,500	£ 300,000	£ 152,436	£ 916,118
Aberdeenshire	£ 73,000	£ 33,000	£ 331,500	£ 355,000	£ 122,420	£ 914,920
Angus	£ 11,000	£ 51,000	£ 515,300	£ 270,000	£ 130,897	£ 978,197
Argyll & Bute	£ 91,000	£ 62,000	£ 273,000	£ 150,000	£ 100,000	£ 676,000
Clackmannanshire	£ 22,000	£ 15,000	£ 216,000	£ 150,000	£ 107,000	£ 510,000
Dumfries & Galloway	£ 22,000	£ 51,000	£ 599,000	£ 250,000	£ 206,689	£ 1,128,689
Dundee City	£ 147,000	£ 60,000	£ 1,202,728	£ 452,902	£ 781,414	£ 2,644,044
East Ayrshire	£ 11,000	£ 33,000	£ 505,000	£ 300,000	£ 208,608	£ 1,057,608
East Dunbartonshire	£ 51,000	£ 27,500	£ 222,500	£ 250,000	£ 110,000	£ 661,000
East Lothian	£ 73,000	£ 11,000	£ 786,000	£ 200,000	£ 500,000	£ 1,570,000
East Renfrewshire	£ 11,000	£ 11,000	£ 150,000	£ 150,000	£ 132,000	£ 454,000
City of Edinburgh	£ 102,000	£ 99,000	£ 954,981	£ 1,187,677	£ 747,182	£ 3,090,840
Falkirk	£ 11,000	£ 11,000	£ 799,064	£ 676,977	£ 416,709	£ 1,914,750
Fife	£ 93,191	£ 100,000	£ 329,000	£ 597,370	£ 140,000	£ 1,259,561
Glasgow City	£ 102,000	£ 171,000	£ 1,629,295	£ 371,929	£ 524,878	£ 2,799,102
Highland	£ 130,000	£ 51,000	£ 1,483,000	£ 800,000	£ 175,000	£ 2,639,000
Inverclyde	£ 11,000	£ 22,000	£ 150,000	£ 150,000	£ 104,129	£ 437,129
Midlothian	£ 73,000	£ 51,000	£ 110,000	£ 160,000	£ 206,861	£ 600,861
Moray	£ 51,000	£ 51,000	£ 982,000	£ 150,000	£ 109,666	£ 1,343,666
North Ayrshire	£ 22,000	£ 20,000	£ 207,500	£ 250,000	£ 778,320	£ 1,277,820
North Lanarkshire	£ 51,000	£ 11,000	£ 235,000	£ 225,000	£ 2,708,409	£ 3,230,409
Orkney	£ 40,000	£ 11,000	£ 220,876	£ 180,000	£ 82,000	£ 533,876
Perth & Kinross	£ 102,000	£ 138,000	£ 600,547	£ 250,000	£ 177,500	£ 1,268,047
Renfrewshire	£ 51,000	£ 51,000	£ 687,500	£ 310,000	£ 566,840	£ 1,666,340
Scottish Borders	£ 97,000	£ 94,249	£ 922,411	£ 250,000	£ 99,700	£ 1,463,360
Shetland	£ 22,000	£ 11,000	£ 139,500	£ 150,000	£ 100,000	£ 422,500
South Ayrshire	£ 12,000	£ 35,000	£ 347,000	£ 250,000	£ 135,000	£ 779,000
South Lanarkshire	£ 73,000	£ 84,000	£ 1,266,375	£ 500,000	£ 2,771,548	£ 4,694,923
Stirling	£ 73,000	£ 60,000	£ 1,338,956	£ 437,211	£ 297,072	£ 2,206,239
West Dunbartonshire	£ 11,000	£ 13,500	£ 181,500	£ 170,000	£ 79,410	£ 455,410
West Lothian	£ 69,000	£ 67,000	£ 235,500	£ 320,000	£ 190,000	£ 881,500
Western Isles	£ 51,000	£ 11,000	£ 151,000	£ 150,000	£ 76,177	£ 439,177

Total: £44,914,084.89

Also included in 2020-21 is a £5.3m Scottish Government funded demonstrator project delivered by SP Energy Networks across North and South Lanarkshire (Project PACE). The project has been coordinated as part of a Strategic Partnership involving the Scottish Government and Scotland's electricity Distribution Network Operators, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks and SP Energy Networks, which aims to demonstrate the benefits and efficiencies of a coordinated approach to the planning and delivery of electric vehicle charging and electricity infrastructure.

Future funding programmes have yet to be fully determined but the Scottish Government Infrastructure Investment Plan published in February 2021 committed to £120m investment for net zero electric buses and £287m from the Future Transport Fund to support a range of low and zero carbon transport initiatives between
‎ 2021-22 and 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-03587

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of some reported evidence of the beneficial effects of hyperbaric treatments, whether it will consider offering these treatments to people diagnosed with long COVID.

We continue to closely monitor all emerging evidence on new treatments related to the long-term effects of COVID-19 (long Covid) and their clinical effectiveness.

The current Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) clinical guideline , developed in collaboration with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), provides evidence based information for clinicians on the identification and management of people affected by long-term effects of COVID-19.

The clinical guideline which is being actively reviewed and updated in line with the evidence base on the treatment of long COVID as it continues to develop.