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-26842

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Self-Build Loan Fund, how many people have defaulted on their loan repayments in each financial year since it was launched.

A total of 49 loans have been made to applicants, with 44 loans either fully repaid within agreed timescales or in the process of doing so. A total of 6 loans became subject to the default interest rate during 2023-24, 2 of these were repaid in full during that financial year, and 4 of these loans remain subject to the default interest rate. During the current financial year, 1 loan has been subject to the default interest rate.

We are delighted to provide support to people to build their own homes with the completion of 39 homes through the Self Build Loan Fund since it was established in September 2018.

Question reference: S6W-26843

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it (a) is spending and (b) plans to spend any funds raised from the interest applied to the Self-Build Loan Fund.

The Self Build Loan Fund is recyclable meaning that when loans are repaid, the money can be re-used, during the life of the fund, supporting more self-builders and providing more homes for future generations.

Interest from the SBLF is used to offset the cost of administering the Fund, including legal fees associated with each loan and administration costs paid to Communities Housing Trust who were appointed as the administering agent following a procurement process carried out in 2022.

Question reference: S6W-27088

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many buildings are listed as category (a) A, (b) B and (c) C, broken down by local authority area.

The information requested is available on the Historic Environment Scotland website at https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/search . A search can be conducted using the filters to specify a category of listed building as well as the local authority area. Guidance on how to use the Historic Environment Scotland portal is available at https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/guidance and https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/portal/docs/designations_search_user_guide.pdf .

Question reference: S6W-27004

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £500,000 that it made available to help older and disabled people install fire alarms has been allocated.

The Scottish Government provided a total of £2.1 million between Care and Repair (£1.1 million) and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (£1 million) during 2021-22 to support those in greatest need or at greatest risk of fire, to meet the new standard.

An announcement was made on 22 January 2022 about the original funding for Care and Repair being doubled to just over £1.1 million to meet demand. All the money has been allocated and spent.

Question reference: S6W-26793

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been an increase in the number of patients accessing appropriate diagnostic tests, such as spirometry testing, for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), since the publication of the Respiratory Care Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-26792

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how the 12 commitments in the Respiratory Care Action Plan have been prioritised, and which commitments have been achieved.

Since the publication of Respiratory Care Action Plan (RCAP) for Scotland, we have established the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee (SRAC) to oversee its implementation. The key priorities identified were: increasing access to pulmonary rehabilitation; developing a respiratory core data set and developing best practice guidance for children living with asthma and transitioning to adult services.

Sub-groups were established to take this work forward. The Transitions sub-group have produced their recommendations for best practice, and these have been shared with key stakeholders in order to improve consistency across the country.

We are working closely with Public Health Scotland and are currently in the early stages of developing a national respiratory audit, which will help to better identify areas of improvement and track progress across Scotland.

In September 2023, the British Thoracic Society published their refreshed pulmonary rehab guidelines, we are considering how best we can support its implementation across Scotland. We are also working closely with the Scottish Pulmonary Rehab Advisory Group (SPRAG) and the Respiratory Specialty Delivery Group within the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) in order to determine how we can best support improvements in pulmonary rehab services across Scotland.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery are also developing national pathways for respiratory conditions including severe asthma; COPD and sleep apnoea. This work aligns closely with the RCAP and we will continue to ensure that close links continue.

Question reference: S6W-26810

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the potential implications of the announced closure of the Grangemouth refinery as part of its work on the forthcoming Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

The Scottish Government continues to work with the business and other key stakeholders to understand the implications of any future announcement made by the business and have committed to publishing this work in due course. Whilst this commercial decision will clearly have implications on a wide range of factors, the Scottish Government’s commitment to meeting our 2045 net zero target remains resolute and the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will reflect that. We have also committed to publishing a Draft Grangemouth Just Transition Plan which will be the first place based approach to Just Transition, and is being actively worked on with a range of stakeholders. We have also convened the Grangemouth Future Industries Board to analyse current and future opportunities at the industrial site.

Question reference: S6O-03414

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any reduction in the number of taxis in Glasgow as a result of the introduction of the Low Emission Zone in June 2023.

Question reference: S6O-03412

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what work it is doing to ensure that teachers get permanent contracts.

Question reference: S6O-03413

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how a public health approach to justice can reduce crime and make communities safer.