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-03765

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33523 by Michael Matheson on 4 December 2020, whether it will provide the (a) updated figure for 2020-21 and (b) figure for 2021-22 to date.

Funding allocations to the E-bike Loan Fund, and unallocated funds for the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 up until mid-October are summarised in the following table.

Financial Year	Funding	Unallocated	Notes
2020-21	£3,786,966	£879,833
2021-22	£3,800,000	£2,553,887	* up until 14 October 2021

The unallocated funds in 2020-21 are made up of loan repayments received by EST throughout the year. These have been taken into account by EST and will form part of any future financial transaction e-bike loan budget.

Question reference: S6W-03966

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a bid in place for the purchase of Glasgow Prestwick Airport, and if so, whether it is lower in value than previous bids made.

Question reference: S6W-03594

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to Care and Repair Scotland for the purpose of supporting older and disabled homeowners on low incomes to install fire and smoke alarms that are compliant with the new standard, and whether that support includes the cost of (a) equipment, (b) installation or (c) both.

Question reference: S6W-03580

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported shortage of bus drivers.

We are aware that bus operators are reporting increasing shortages of bus drivers which is affecting bus services in some areas. These shortages are linked to wider workforce pressures such as high demand for drivers in the HGV and other sectors as well as ongoing staff sickness due to COVID-19. We are working with the industry to monitor the impact on service levels and officials are also in regular contact with the Department for Transport to identify and address issues delaying licence applications and driver testing which is a reserved matter. We continue to support operators to run services despite continuing reduced demand due to the pandemic with up to £210 million in additional funding being made available since June 2020.

Question reference: S6W-03466

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the current waiting times are for people to get an initial appointment at an NHS Gender Identity Clinic, and whether these waiting times have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Gender Identity Clinical Network for Scotland (NGICNS) publishes a general overview of gender identity clinic waiting times in Scotland in its annual reports. The latest published annual report from NGICNS is available at: https://www.ngicns.scot.nhs.uk/about-us/midannual-reports/

The next annual report from NGICNS is due for release from May 2022.

From March 2020 unfortunately, as with other parts of the NHS, services delivered by gender identity clinics were and continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the need to reduce waiting times to access NHS gender identity services. That is why we have committed to improving access to these services in our 2021/22 Programme for Government .

Question reference: S6W-03464

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has given to the Scottish Prison Service regarding the safe provision of custody arrangements for persons who make a self-declaration under the proposed provisions in its draft Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, including in relation to whether this declaration is made before trial, during trial or after conviction.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has a Policy in place regarding the treatment of Trans Prisoners in custody. This Policy is in line with the Equality Act 2010. The SPS carry out comprehensive risk assessments to assess risks to both prisoners and staff in determining how individual transgender prisoners are managed. The 2010 Act is generally reserved to the UK Parliament. The Scottish Government’s intention is this Policy would continue to have effect under the provisions in the draft Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-03950

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the use of renewable liquid fuel alternatives, such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), as a solution when replacing gas boilers, and, if so, whether it plans to provide incentives to homeowners who make such a change.

The Scottish Government is considering a number of options as solutions to replacing gas boilers and recognise that that, for a small number of buildings, bioenergy and in particular bio heating oil, bioLPG and biomass may prove to be the only practicable option for heat decarbonisation. However, it is likely that these properties will be in off gas grid areas.

Heat pumps and Heat Networks are widely used in other European countries and have been identified as near term priorities for replacing gas boilers in Scotland as set out in our recently published Heat in Buildings Strategy.

Regarding support for heat pumps, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02397 on 9 September 2021. 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

Heat networks are also a key strategic zero emissions heat technology. The Competition and Markets Authority found that up to 90% of heat network customers enjoy similar, or lower, bills than those with standard gas boilers and heat networks can cut both emissions and bills.

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel, like other bio fuels, is dependent on there being a sustainable supply of feedstock, and there remain concerns about lifecycle emissions. Further research is therefore required before Scottish Government could commit to any particular bio fuel. Scottish Government’s aim is to see bioenergy used where it has the greatest value in reducing emissions. However this decision is also dependent on lifecycle emissions and which sectors will make the best use of the bioenergy feedstocks. Emerging technologies and the push to decarbonise across the economy may also create new demands on these finite resources.

We intend to publish a Bioenergy Action Plan in 2023 which will set out a strategic framework for how the available biomass resources and technologies can be used to best effect.

Question reference: S6W-03592

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 November 2021

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

The pandemic has had a detrimental impact on people's finances, particularly those in low income households. Families who were already struggling before the pandemic have been pushed further into financial insecurity. For this reason, the Scottish Government has prioritised the financial security of low income families in its Covid Recovery Strategy.

Manageable debt is a normal part of many households’ financial management. The Scottish Government’s approach is to tackle problem debt in a supportive and empowering way. In 2021-22, the Scottish Government has allocated over £7 million from the debt advice levy to support frontline provision of free debt advice services for the people of Scotland. This advice is delivered face to face, over the phone or online.

In addition, the Scottish Legal Aid Board oversees over £2 million of funding on behalf of the Scottish Government, through projects that support people dealing with personal debt problems, including debt created by rent or mortgage arrears.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy administers Bankruptcy, Protected Trust Deeds and the Debt Arrangement Scheme, which provide statutory debt solutions to people struggling with their personal debt. In response to the pandemic, the Scottish Government made changes to personal insolvency to provide better support to people facing financial difficulties. A stakeholder led policy review of statutory debt solutions is underway with recommendations expected by the end of the year.

There are many other Scottish Government policies and funding streams that have an indirect but positive impact on problem debt, such as support for tenants struggling with rent arrears, the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and our wider support for low income households.

Question reference: S6W-03706

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the new remit of the Clyde 2020 initiative will be, and over what timeframe.

The Clyde 2020 initiative is currently considering their remit moving forward. As a sub-group of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership, the partnership are drafting a proposal on how Clyde 2020 will evolve, contribute and support the Clyde marine planning process. It is anticipated that the Clyde 2020 group will play an important role in the future governance of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership.

Question reference: S6O-00338

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported Crown Office findings that there has been a 9% increase in reported charges with a "domestic abuse identifier" during the COVID-19 pandemic, what action it is taking to support victims of domestic violence.