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-03707

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial and (b) administrative support it will give to the Clyde 2020 initiative, and over what timeframe.

Question reference: S6W-03547

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many two-year-olds are currently (a) receiving and (b) eligible for 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare in the (i) North Ayrshire and (ii) Inverclyde Council area.

The latest annual ELC Census data published in December 2020 as part of the Schools in Scotland Summary Statistics report showed that 178 and 123 two year olds were accessing a funded ELC place in North Ayrshire and Inverclyde Council respectively in September 2020.

In December, the Scottish Government will publish Schools in Scotland, Summary Statistics report for 2021. This report will include figures to show the number of registrations of two-year-olds at national and local authority level in September 2021.

Eligibility criteria for 2 year old funded ELC is largely determined by a parents’ receipt of low or no income ‘ qualifying benefits’ which are administered by UK Government. We do not have robust information on the current eligible population at a local authority or national level due to UK Government restrictions on data-sharing. The Scottish Government is working with UK Government departments and the Office for National Statistics to establish a legal gateway through which we can acquire further UK Government held data which will enable us to measure the eligible population more accurately.

Question reference: S6W-03596

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes assessed to be at high risk from fire as part of a home fire safety visit have had a fire and smoke alarm system installed that is compliant with the new standard as a result of the £1 million funding provided through the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in the period 2018-20.

To protect the most vulnerable, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) will fit interlinked alarms into owner-occupied homes where the individuals or households are assessed as high risk through their Home Fire Safety Visit assessment process. As of 20 October 2021, SFRS have installed 9,363 linked smoke alarms, 3,506 linked heat alarms and 1,733 CO alarms. This is a total of 3,482 homes assisted to comply with the new standard.

Question reference: S6W-03580

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported shortage of bus drivers.

We are aware that bus operators are reporting increasing shortages of bus drivers which is affecting bus services in some areas. These shortages are linked to wider workforce pressures such as high demand for drivers in the HGV and other sectors as well as ongoing staff sickness due to COVID-19. We are working with the industry to monitor the impact on service levels and officials are also in regular contact with the Department for Transport to identify and address issues delaying licence applications and driver testing which is a reserved matter. We continue to support operators to run services despite continuing reduced demand due to the pandemic with up to £210 million in additional funding being made available since June 2020.

Question reference: S6W-03462

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, under section 8N sub section (2) of its draft Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, what constitutes “manifest public policy”.

The draft section 8N in the Bill as published for consultation provides that, where a person has obtained ‘overseas gender recognition’ (as defined), the person is to be treated as if the person had been issued with a full gender recognition certificate by the Registrar General for Scotland. But this rule doesn’t apply if it would be manifestly contrary to public policy (for example, in a case where gender recognition was obtained overseas at a very young age).

Whether or not a public policy exception applies will depend on the facts and circumstances, and may in a disputed case be determined by the courts under new section 8P, which provides that a court may make an order determining the question, if the question arises in the course of civil proceedings before the court or on an application to the court by a person having an interest in it. This is set out in the draft explanatory notes to the Bill, which were published as part of the consultation on the draft Bill.

Question reference: S6W-03594

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to Care and Repair Scotland for the purpose of supporting older and disabled homeowners on low incomes to install fire and smoke alarms that are compliant with the new standard, and whether that support includes the cost of (a) equipment, (b) installation or (c) both.

Question reference: S6W-03595

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have had a fire and smoke alarm system installed that is compliant with the new standard as a result of the £0.5 million funding provided through Care and Repair Scotland to support older and disabled homeowners on low incomes.

Question reference: S6O-00336

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the number of students studying pharmacy at Scottish universities and colleges, in light of the reported shortage of pharmacists.

There has been an increase in the overall numbers of students studying pharmacy with more Scottish domiciled students undertaking the course. In 2020/21 there was an increase of 51 undergraduate students accepted in to first year and again an increase of 53 undergraduate pharmacy students in 2021/22.

The two Schools of Pharmacy in Scotland are encouraging applicants from parts of Scotland where there are gaps in the pharmacy workforce and working with schools to promote pharmacy as a career.

The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS National Education for Scotland and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in developing a joint programme to encourage more students, and not just school leavers, to consider careers in pharmacy .

Question reference: S6O-00335

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the University of Dundee about Unite the Union's industrial action over its position that proposed pension changes will disproportionately affect workers on lower pay grades.

Question reference: S6O-00349

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the employment gap for disabled people, in light of the reported findings from the Annual Population Survey 2020-21 that the employment rate for disabled people was 47.4%, which was lower than that for non-disabled people.