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-03537

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions its ministers have had with short-term lets businesses and sole traders in (a) North Ayrshire and (b) Inverclyde regarding its proposed short-term lets licensing scheme and planning control area legislation.

In developing proposals for the regulation of short-term lets we have engaged extensively with a range of stakeholders across Scotland, including short-term let hosts and operators and organisations representing their interests, through three public consultations, the Short-Term Lets Stakeholder Working Group and through other meetings with Ministers and officials. Across the three public consultations, we have received over 3,000 responses, of which over half were from hosts and operators, and considered over 1000 letters and e-mails from all types of stakeholders. We have engaged directly with self-caterers, B&B owners and Airbnb hosts. We do not have this data broken down by area.

Question reference: S6W-03536

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the potential job losses in (a) Inverclyde and (b) North Ayrshire as a result of its proposed short-term lets licensing scheme and planning control area legislation.

Our regulatory proposals will give local authorities powers to strike a balance between the needs and concerns of their local communities, with the wider economic and tourism benefits of short-term lets.

We published a draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) on 25 June 2021 for consultation. The economic and Scottish firms impact of the legislation is discussed at paragraphs 120 to 131 of the BRIA. We are now in the process of updating the BRIA as part of preparing the Licensing Order for laying in November 2021.

We have conducted an Island Communities Impact Assessment which we published in December 2020 and will update to reflect the revised Licensing Order. The ICIA can be found in our December 2020 consultation report: Short-term lets – licensing scheme and planning control areas: consultation analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-03460

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any agreements in place with any preferred installers or providers of interlinked fire alarms.

Question reference: S6W-03426

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of households that have installed interlinked fire alarms in advance of the new legislation coming into force in February 2022; whether it anticipates all households will meet the new standard by this date, and how it is monitoring this.

It is not possible to determine exactly how many owner occupied homes have alarms of the prescribed type installed as this information is not currently collected as part of the Scottish House Condition Survey.

We consider that, in principle, all houses could meet the standard by the date it comes into force. But, as with existing standards, it is possible that some owners will be unwilling to carry out work to substandard houses, and that others might need more time, for example, due to illness or because of the cost. The legislation allows some flexibility, as it says work should be carried out within such period as is reasonable in all the circumstances.

When the regulations on the new fire alarm standard have come into effect, we will collect more precise data because compliance with the tolerable standard is included in the Survey. This will allow us to monitor progress in bringing Scotland’s homes up to the new standard.

Question reference: S6W-03715

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the cat ID chipping scheme currently being rolled out in England to help track any improvements in kitten breeding and trading following the new licensing of breeding regulations, whether it plans to introduce the scheme in Scotland.

The Scottish Government Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats recommends that all cat owners should consider neutering and microchipping their pets as the best way of being reunited with them should they be separated.

The Scottish Government is aware of the Defra call for evidence and recent public consultation on the microchipping of cats. We will give full consideration to the results of this consultation and the details of any proposed legislation when they are available.

We remain willing to consider areas where consistent changes to legislation in all GB administrations will improve the welfare of kept animals.

Question reference: S6W-03677

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to consult on legislation to extend the framework for the licensing of activities involving animals to include dog (a) walking, (b) grooming and (c) boarding services.

The Programme for Government 2020-21 commits the Scottish Government to consult on legislation to extend the new framework that came into force on 1 September for the licensing of animal welfare establishments, dog, cat and rabbit breeding and pet sales to performing animals and animal care services. This could include dog walking and grooming, as well as boarding services which are currently regulated under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963.

We plan to bring forward consultations in this area in due course after allowing a period of familiarisation with the recent licensing changes, so that the practical experiences of local authorities in implementing these can be considered in any future proposals.

Question reference: S6W-03591

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the policies and funding streams that it considers to be targeted at the cost of living.

The Scottish Government publish annual estimates of spend targeted at supporting low income households, with almost £2.5 billion invested to support low income households in 2020-21, including nearly £1 billion specifically targeted to children.

Full detail of this calculation, including the policies and funding streams included, are set out within the Tackling Child Poverty: third year progress report. This can be accessed via the link below:

Tackling child poverty: third year progress report 2020-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In light of increasing pressure on household budgets, as a result of the rising cost of living and £20 cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credits, the Scottish Government have committed a range of further action this year.

This includes investing around £65 million to support around 500,000 low income households through £130 Low Income Pandemic Payments, to be made by the end of October; putting £130 million in the pockets of families through the Scottish Child Payment and Bridging Payments and making additional investment of around £21 million to double the December 2021 Carer’s Allowance Supplement payment for more than 91,000 people.

We are continuing to explore what more we can do to provide the support people need this winter and will announce plans in due course.

Question reference: S6W-03350

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with short-term lets businesses and sole traders regarding its proposed short-term lets licensing scheme and planning control area legislation, and how many of these individuals and businesses are based outside of the City of Edinburgh Council area.

In developing proposals for the regulation of short-term lets we have engaged extensively with a range of stakeholders across Scotland, including short-term let hosts and operators and organisations representing their interests, through three public consultations, the Short-Term Lets Stakeholder Working Group and through other meetings with Ministers and officials. Across the three public consultations, we have received over 3,000 responses, of which over half were from hosts and operators, and considered over 1,000 letters and e-mails from all types of stakeholders. We have engaged directly with self-caterers, B&B owners and Airbnb hosts. We do not have this data broken down by area but, of those responses supplying a postcode, only around 14% of responses to the 2021 consultation supplied an EH postcode.

Question reference: S6W-03869

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-03380

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to maintain the current NHS waiting time standards following the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and what assessment it has made of the waiting times for NHS operations.

We currently have no plans to amend the existing waiting times standards although recovering our NHS and improving waiting times for patients is a top priority for this Government.

In response to the pressures on NHS services caused by the pandemic the NHS Recovery Plan was launched on 25 August 2021. The Plan which is backed by more than £1 billion of investment, sets out the Scottish Government’s key headline ambitions and actions to be developed and delivered now and over the next 5 years. While recovery is the immediate task, the Plan is fundamentally about ensuring that the process of recovery focusses on alternative pathways of care that allow people to be treated sooner and closer to home .