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-05696

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual salary will be for the role of the new Chief Operating Officer of ScotRail.

The salary information relating to the Chief Operating Officer appointment is personally confidential information pertaining to an employee of Abellio ScotRail Ltd.

Once the Chief Operating Officer becomes a public sector employee and in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, details of the Chief Operating Officer’s remuneration will be published in due course within Scottish Rail Holdings’ year end accounts. These accounts will be published on Transport Scotland’s website once audited and laid before Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-05308

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) correspondence and (b) meetings it has had with (i) Tata Steel and (ii) Liberty House since identifying that it may have broken state aid rules while facilitating the sale of the Dalzell steelworks, and whether it will publish any (A) minutes and (B) documents regarding this since 1 January 2021.

Since Ministers were informed of the potential presence of State Aid with respect to its 2016 contract with Tata Steel UK Scottish Government officials have engaged with (a) Tata Steel UK on the following occasions, 9-12-21; 10-12-21; 13-12-21; 14-12-21; 15-12-21; 24-12-21 and 12-1-22 and (b) Liberty Steel-GFG Alliance on the following occasions 9-9-21; 8-11-21; 15-12-21; and 24-1-22.

Channels of communication between the Scottish Government and relevant businesses remain open but it would not be appropriate to publish the detailed content of these commercially sensitive exchanges.

Question reference: S6W-05451

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the medium-term resilient route through Glen Croe at the Rest and Be Thankful on the A83, including (a) whether Transport Scotland is on track to develop a finalised proposal by the beginning of 2023 and (b) when it expects construction to (i) commence and (ii) be completed on the medium-term resilient route.

As part of our plans for the Rest and Be Thankful, we are developing a medium term solution to provide resilience whilst the long term solution is progressed. A number of options are currently being assessed, including the possible use of the existing forestry track and improvements to the Old Military Road.

Depending on whether statutory consents are needed, it is envisaged that a finalised proposal for a medium term solution could be developed by late 2022.A timetable for the construction phase of a medium term solution can only be set once the scope of the proposals are finalised and any statutory procedures required have been successfully completed.

Question reference: S6W-05329

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has to support the view stated by the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, during his ministerial statement on 15 December 2021 on Dalzell Historical Industrial Transactions, that “the circumstances upon which it [the indemnity] would be called upon are unlikely to materialise”.

Question reference: S6W-05698

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual salary is for the role of Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway.

The Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway is an employee of Network Rail, which is owned by the UK Government. His salary may be found in line 175 of the ‘Senior Officials high earners salaries as at 30 September 2020’ spreadsheet contained in the HM Government website and can be accessed via the following link:-

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-officials-high-earners-salaries

Question reference: S6W-05328

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what review it has conducted of other contracts in relation to (a) state aid rules and (b) assuming liabilities such as environmental remediation, in light of the results of its review of the facilitation of the sale of the Dalzell steelworks.

We have considered the compliance and disclosure risks associated with significant and complex transactions. This includes the high-profile interventions that the Scottish Government has supported in recent years as outlined in 2020-21 Annual Accounts.

These transactions have been reviewed and, on the basis of information available it remains the case that there was no state aid present in any of the transactions. We have also obtained assurances in respect of the appropriate recognition and disclosure of contingent liabilities.

Question reference: S6W-05305

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government on what date (a) its officials first identified and (b) the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, or his predecessor, was first informed of (i) the existence of the liability in relation to the facilitation of the sale of the Dalzell steelworks and (ii) issues with this potentially breaking state aid rules.

There is no liability in relation to the facilitation of the sale of the Dalzell steelwork.

Initial advice was provided to Ministers of concern on the grounds of potentially non-compliant State aid on 17 August 2021 and Officials were asked to undertake further investigation including obtaining additional specialist advice.

I was provided with a further update on a potential issue concerning non-compliant State aid on 25 October 2021 following further investigation.

Final advice was provided to Ministers on 8 December 2021.

Question reference: S6W-05310

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for how long precisely it owned the Dalzell steelworks in 2016.

Question reference: S6W-05312

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether Tata Steel provided it with an estimate of the cost of the total potential environmental remediation cost of the Dalzell steelworks upon purchasing the site in 2016.

Question reference: S6W-05634

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government to what degree and in what ways the Scottish Green Party and the Cooperation Agreement influenced the decision to reduce funding for capital works on motorways and trunk roads from £155.7 million to £136.9 million.