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-05618

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 19 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available to (a) bed and breakfast and guest house operators that have been impacted by ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

Our £9 million funding package to deal with the Omicron crisis has been targeted at those businesses most severely impacted. We recognise that the public health advice to reduce the spread of omicron and the re-introduction of regulations has affected some businesses more than others within tourism and hospitality.

B&Bs and Guesthouses are not as severely affected by restrictions as other businesses, and therefore not in scope for this tranche of funding. We recognise that this is a challenging time for businesses of all kinds and are continuing to press the UK Government for more comprehensive support.

Question reference: S6W-05602

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the (a) impact on patient survival and (b) health economics of establishing a national lung cancer screening programme.

Question reference: S6W-05653

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00396 by Maree Todd on 16 June 2021, when the Nicotine Vapour Products (NVPs) public consultation will be launched.

We plan to launch the consultation into proposed further restrictions on the advertising and promotion of Nicotine Vapour Products in the coming weeks.

Following requests not to consult during the Christmas and New Year period – one of the busiest for the retail sector – the Scottish Government has taken the opportunity to review and update the document to take into account, the most recent emerging evidence. This review is now in its final stages.

Question reference: S6W-05654

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00396 by Maree Todd on 16 June 2021, for what reasons it has not met its previous commitment to launch the Nicotine Vapour Products (NVPs) public consultation in Autumn 2021.

The Scottish Government has taken the opportunity to liaise with a short-life working group and update the consultation in line with the most recent emerging evidence. We have also taken on board requests not to launch the consultation in the run-up to Christmas which is the busiest trading period and may not allow retailers the full opportunity to share their views.

The document is now in its final stages of review and will be published in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-05601

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to test the efficacy of a national lung cancer screening programme.

As noted in the answer to question S6W-05600 on 19 January 2022, the Scottish Government is currently awaiting the outcome of the UK National Screening Committee’s review into whether a programme of national lung screening should be introduced. This will rigorously review the harms and benefits of lung screening, and will include consideration of efficacy, health economics and mortality.

At the same time as the ongoing UK NSC review, the Scottish Government has provided funding to the University of Edinburgh to support an exploratory piece of research into the feasibility of the introduction of lung health checks within Scotland targeting those from areas of deprivation at higher risk of lung cancer.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-05655

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government (a) whether it has provided or (b) when it will provide a full response to the previous parliamentary session's Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee’s Inquiry into Regional Marine Planning, as committed to in the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment’s letter to the Committee of 23 March 2021.

We welcomed the previous Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Committee’s Inquiry report into regional marine planning. This report and its 29 recommendations have been carefully considered to help inform our future approach to regional marine planning. There will be a formal response to the ECCLR inquiry, with individual responses to each recommendation, made in advance of an announcement about the next steps for marine planning in Spring 2022.

Question reference: S6W-05226

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the objectives and key deliverables are for the Just Transition Fund (a) in year 1 (2022) and (b) for the first tranche of £20 million of funding, as announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy on 9 December 2021.

The objectives of the ten-year £500m Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray are to support and accelerate energy transition, create good, green jobs and maximise the region’s future economic potential. This reflects our determination to tackle the climate emergency and mitigate the impacts of that transition for communities across Scotland. We are therefore working at pace to deliver our sectoral, regional and site plans for a just transition.

As this is a new Fund, we are currently undertaking detailed policy design work and implementation planning ahead of the new financial year. The delivery of the Fund will be supported by a programme of engagement with partners, communities and other stakeholders across the North East and Moray and be underpinned by the principle of co-design. Further updates will be shared as this engagement develops.

Question reference: S6W-05280

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 18 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been taken out of the social rent sector as a result of building safety issues in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-05357

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what research it is (a) undertaking and (b) aware of on turning waste into fertiliser.

Question reference: S6W-05162

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 18 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03128 by Shona Robison on 1 October 2021, and in light of the progression of the Nationality and Borders Bill in the UK Parliament, whether it has given further consideration to whether any amendments to the Bill could trigger the need for a legislative consent memorandum, and, if so, in respect of what provisions of the Bill.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor the Nationality and Borders Bill and has not yet concluded legislative consent consideration, following amendments made to the Bill in December.

If we conclude that any provisions in the Bill are on matters within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, or change the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament or executive competence of the Scottish Ministers, I will seek to lodge a legislative consent memorandum and will set out the relevant provisions for the consideration of the Scottish Parliament.