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-02993

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to "remove a majority of fossil fuel buses from public transport in Scotland by 2023", what analysis it has undertaken of the capacity of domestic bus manufacturers to deliver this.

Manufacturers are represented on the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, a joint initiative between industry and government to co-design a pathway to a fully zero-emission bus fleet. At the Taskforce meeting on the 15 July representatives from the manufacturing sector expressed enthusiasm to rise to the decarbonisation challenge, and confirmed that the supply of zero-emission buses in the coming months and years would not constrain progress. Details of the work of the taskforce and minutes from the meetings can be found on the CPT website - https://www.cpt-uk.org/news/bus-decarbonisation-taskforce/

Question reference: S6W-03039

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many of (a) its and (b) Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd officials are participating in events being held as part of London International Shipping Week 2021.

Question reference: S6W-03037

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02372 by Graeme Dey on 13 September 2021, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether buses funded through the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS) that were built abroad have been subsidised by foreign governments, and, if so, to what extent, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its response.

Question reference: S6W-03436

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Lorna Slater on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on plans for the review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland.

Our primary focus is on reducing waste and increasing the proportion of waste we reuse and recycle. As set out by the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport in May 2021 and in the shared policy programme agreed between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party, we will review the role incineration plays in Scotland’s waste hierarchy, including the need for new incineration capacity. To that end, we will appoint an independent chair to oversee the review, with a view to having a chair in place in October. And will update Parliament with a statement.

We intend that the review will prioritise consideration of national capacity requirements for incineration, given the Scottish Government’s ambitious targets for waste reduction. The review will also have scope to consider how emissions from existing incinerators can be reduced and residual heat may be reused; and consider the societal impacts of residual waste treatment, including health and community impacts. The independent chair will determine the detailed shape of the review.

The timeline for the review will be agreed with the independent chair. However, we are aware that the outcomes of this review will be important to inform ongoing discussions around local authority planning decisions and wider investment decisions. Therefore, we aim to begin to invite evidence for the review in November and to review available evidence between December 2021 and March 2022. We will publish the review as soon as possible once the review has been completed.

Question reference: S6W-03427

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the principles and commitments that support the care for people with long COVID.

Question reference: S6W-03053

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many link workers for post-dementia diagnostic support have been recruited in each year since 2019.

Question reference: S6W-03100

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government which islands and remote communities it plans to examine for potential new fixed links, as part of its Strategic Transport Review 2.

Following publication of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), Initial Appraisal: Case for Change Reports in February 2021. The following fixed links were included for consideration as part of the appraisal process for Phase 2 of the review:

New rail connection to/from Cowal linking to the West Highland Line or rail network in Inverclyde or North Ayrshire, including fixed link or ferry crossings
New rail connection to/from Kintyre linking to Cowal, including fixed link or ferry crossing
From South Ronaldsay (Orkney Islands) to Gills Bay (Scottish Mainland)
Sound of Harris
Sound of Barra
From Western Isles to the Scottish Mainland
Between Mull and Scottish mainland
A tunnel between Benbecula and Skye

Question reference: S6W-03079

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether ScotRail Trains Ltd will be responsible for commencing negotiations with the recognised trade unions regarding the 2022 pay award for ScotRail staff, which has an anniversary date of 1 April 2022.

Question reference: S6W-03123

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on electric vehicle charging station maintenance in each year since 2018.

It isn’t standard practice for Scottish Government to provide specific funding for maintenance of electric vehicle charging stations, and as such we do not hold such information. Units funded through Scottish Government schemes would have a 3/5 year warranty/maintenance pack included within the initial quote to install the unit, after this initial 3/5 year period it is the responsibility of the owner/host to maintain the unit and pay for any work that may be required to keep the unit fully operational.

Question reference: S6W-03011

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to enforce the wearing of face coverings on ScotRail trains.

By law, you must wear a face covering on trains and inside railway stations in Scotland.

ScotRail has clearly communicated this message to customers via prominent signage and announcements on trains and within stations, social media messaging and joint media releases with the British Transport Police (BTP) and Network Rail Scotland.

Enforcement of the wearing of face coverings on the railway rests with the BTP. BTP officers continue to conduct join initiatives with ScotRail and deploy to non-compliance hotspots.