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-00100

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are to replace the passenger footbridge at Kirkconnel Railway Station to improve platform access for disabled people.

Accessibility is a reserved matter under the Devolution Settlement and for rail accessibility there is a DfT-sponsored fund, Access for All, that enables eligible projects to be supported. Unfortunately, Kirkconnel did not fulfil the criteria for funding under that programme. Accordingly, an application was made by SWestrans to the Scottish Government’s Local Rail Development Fund to assess the need for the bridge.

The application was successful and £30,000 was allocated for a study. SWestrans subsequently began engagement with the local community and disability representatives which was then unfortunately paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions. Transport Scotland is keen SWestrans continues to make progress with this project and will work with SWestrans to provide any assistance if required.

Question reference: S6W-00242

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure the full recovery of mental health services following the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 8 October, we published Scotland’s Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan . The plan commits to developing a renewal programme for mental health services, to support Covid-19 recovery. This includes a tailored programme of enhanced improvement support for those NHS Boards with the longest waits to address backlogs and recover Mental Health performance over 2021-22.

The plan is backed by a £120 million Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund, which takes our total spend on mental health in 2021-22 in excess of £1.2 billion. It will prioritise our ongoing work to improve specialist CAMHS services, address long waiting times, and clear waiting list backlogs.

Question reference: S6W-00113

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support homeowners who are facing difficulties in selling their properties due to building cladding.

Homeowners whose flats have external cladding are being offered a safety assessment, costs of the ‘Single Building Assessment’ announced on 19 March will be met by the Scottish Government. The whole building approach, will release affected buyers and sellers from difficulties in accessing mortgages without them having to pay for the current External Wall System (EWS1) Report on their individual property.
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The phased approach to the introduction of SBA, started on 31 March with an invitation to affected homeowners to submit data about their buildings and ‘expression of interest’ in participating in a pilot exercise in June.

Where problems are identified with the cladding system in place this will help to identify the scale of funding needed to take necessary remedial work. Where problems are not identified, this will assist with the property sale process.

Question reference: S6W-00179

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will offer to people on restricted incomes to install interlinked heat and smoke detectors in their properties in advance of the February 2022 deadline.

While it will be the responsibility of the homeowner to meet the new fire and carbon monoxide alarm standard, we have provided over £1m funding to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to support them to install alarms for people at high risk of fire. In addition, local authorities have broad discretionary powers to provide advice and assistance to home owners with work needed to look after their homes, as they are best placed to determine what assistance should be provided in their area. We are continuing to review support people need to make the appropriate changes, including a marketing campaign later in the year to ensure strong awareness of the changes, and we will continue to keep parliament updated.

Question reference: S6W-00198

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to Glasgow City, on what date it was informed that the B.1.617 strain of COVID-19 was (a) a variant of interest or (b) under investigation, and on what date it was informed that it was a variant of concern.

The B.1.617.2 variant (subtype of the B.1.617 variant) of SARS-CoV-2, cases of which have been identified in Glasgow, was classified as a variant under investigation (VUI-21APR-02) on 28 April 2021. It was escalated to a variant of concern on 6 May 2021 (VOC-21APR-02).

Upon escalation, the Scottish Government worked with public health officials and have monitored the progress of this variant and have deployed appropriate measures where cases have been identified.

Coronavirus variants are classified a variant under investigation or variant of concern for the whole UK by Public Health England working with the other Public Health Agencies.

Question reference: S6W-00055

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with ScotRail in regard to the ongoing industrial action.

Responsibility for collective bargaining rests with ScotRail and the Unions concerned. The Scottish Government has advised both railway Unions and ScotRail of the substantial additional funding provided to maintain full employment of railway staff throughout the pandemic period. And therefore, that any pay increase, including any further increase to overtime payments for rest day working, would need to be funded by efficiencies agreed through meaningful discussions.

Throughout the process, the Scottish Government has encouraged all parties to resolve this issue for the benefit of passengers, staff, the environment and the economy.

Question reference: S6F-00067

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 June 2021

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will consider issuing a formal apology to the historic victims of forced adoption.

Question reference: S6F-00059

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 June 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to a recent survey stating that 29% of police officers are experiencing moderate burnout, and a further 16% are enduring high levels.

Question reference: S6F-00058

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 June 2021

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure there are sufficient resources in place to prevent schools exceeding its maximum class size limits during the next academic year, in light of reports that a number of schools are currently exceeding these limits.

Question reference: S6F-00048

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 June 2021

To ask the First Minister what engagement the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the extension of the deadline for application to the EU Settlement Scheme.