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-25429

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that there will be no further delay to the replacement for University Hospital Monklands.

The UK Government did not inflation-proof its capital budget which has resulted in nearly a 10% real-terms cut in the Scottish Government’s capital funding over the medium-term between 2023-24 and 2027-28.

The result of this cut is that new health capital projects have currently been paused. Our emphasis for the immediate future will be on addressing backlog maintenance and essential equipment replacement. However we are in active discussions with NHS Lanarkshire on the impact of this budget settlement on the proposal to replace University Hospital Monklands.

Question reference: S6W-25431

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what contingencies it has put in place to ensure that NHS Lanarkshire has sufficient capital funding for the completion of the replacement for University Hospital Monklands.

Question reference: S6W-25432

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will receive the full business case for the Monklands Replacement Project from NHS Lanarkshire.

Question reference: S6W-25233

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21777 by Maree Todd on 24 October 2023, what analysis it has undertaken of any reduction in the number of young people participating in sport.

The Scottish Government and sportscotland passionately believe that sport is for everyone. We should all feel included, and able to take part and access the benefits of sport.

An ongoing priority for the Scottish Government is to support participation across all groups and tackle inequalities in participation.

Currently available Scottish Health Survey data shows that 11-15 year old’s participation in sport appears to have remained stable since pre-covid levels at 65%. Other data that we use to track participation in sport is published by sportscotland.

Recent data published by sportscotland in 2023 shows significantly increased participation levels in their national Active Schools programme, across the past academic year (2022-23), with over 4.6 million visits (a rise of 34% on 2021-22) made to almost 247,000 Active Schools sessions. The number of Active Schools participants (over 269,000 children and young people), deliverers (over 17,900 with 90% of those being volunteers), and school/club links (over 2,500) also increased from the previous academic year as the recovery from covid continued.

Question reference: S6W-25618

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reported calls from the Scottish Retail Consortium and Scottish Tourism Alliance for a restoration of tax-free shopping for overseas visitors as a means of supporting Scotland’s retail and tourism sectors.

The Scottish Government does not have policy control over VAT rates or VAT exemptions. This is a fully reserved policy.

In a letter of 22 October 2021, the then Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Kate Forbes, and the then Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, Fiona Hyslop, jointly called on the UK Government to reverse their decision to end VAT-free shopping following EU Exit. The letter called on the UK Government to introduce a VAT-free shopping scheme for EU and non-EU visitors to the UK.

The UK Government, as part of their ‘Mini Budget’ on 23 September 2022 announced the introduction of a new digital VAT-free shopping scheme. This however was scrapped as part of the reversal by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

I have called on the Chancellor in my pre-Spring Budget letter to listen to industry and urgently reconsider his position.

The removal of this policy is likely to be having a detrimental impact on retail businesses and may be discouraging tourists from visiting the UK. and Scotland specifically. Many EU countries continue to offer tax-free shopping for non-EU visitors, which make them a more attractive tourist destination. Scotland’s vibrant retail sector is put at a disadvantage as a result.

The Scottish Government’s position remains that the restoration of VAT-free shopping for all overseas visitors to the UK would help support this vital sector in Scotland.

Ultimately, the Scottish Government believes that all tax powers should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament so that we can provide the support that Scottish retailers and tourism businesses need.

Question reference: S6W-25344

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided to the Scottish Growth Scheme, and, of that funding, how much has been allocated to businesses, in each year since the scheme was established.

The Scottish Government has committed £97 million (over the 10 year period to 31st March 2029) to the Scottish Growth Scheme which was established in December 2018 and operational during financial year 2019-20. In the 4 year period to 31st March 2023 the Scottish Growth Scheme has invested £66.8 million in businesses as follows:

2019-20 = £13 million

2020-21 = £21.3 million

2021-22 = £17.5 million

2022-23 = £15 million

Question reference: S6W-25284

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what total value of government-funded grants for heat pumps has been awarded to homes in the Aberdeen City Council area in each year since 2022.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme, launched in December 2022, offers homeowners and self-builders in Scotland a grant, interest free loan or a combination of both to support the installation of clean heating systems and energy efficiency measures. Prior to this, homeowners could access support for installation via the HES Loan and Cashback Scheme.

The following table details grant funding awarded for the installation of air, water or ground source heat pumps to homeowners in the Aberdeen City Council area in financial years through the HES Loan and Cashback Scheme or HES Grant and Loan Scheme, up to the end of the Quarter 3, December 2023. This does not include funding for other interventions such as energy efficiency.

Financial Year	Total Grant funding awarded
2021-22	£148,720
2022-23	£244,648
2023-24 to December 2023	£189,876

The Scottish Government also funds the installation of heating systems and insulation measures for homeowners through Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based Schemes. Overall these schemes are of a comparable scale to the HES scheme. However, as these are government-funded installations rather than grants awarded to homeowners, and because they fund a range of measures sometimes including heat pumps, they are not included in the figures provided.

Question reference: S6W-25608

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that its guidance document, Supporting Transgender Pupils In Schools, accurately reflects the revised Equality and Human Rights Commission document, Technical guidance for schools in Scotland.

The non-statutory guidance on supporting Transgender Young People in Schools sets out a range of advice on legislation, policy and practice including illustrative examples. It is for education authorities and schools to use the guidance as they see fit, in line with local priorities and circumstances.

As would be usual with any relevant significant legal or policy developments, the Scottish Government will consider whether the guidance requires to be updated to reflect these.

Question reference: S6W-25609

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the credibility, transferability and reliability of the statistics used to inform its guidance document, Supporting Transgender Pupils In Schools.

The Supporting Transgender Young People in Schools non-statutory guidance sets out a range of advice on legislation, policy and practice including illustrative examples of the concerns faced by young people through a range of statistical information. All statistical material used in the production of the guidance was reviewed for suitability when the guidance was written. It is for education authorities and schools to use the guidance as they see fit, in line with local priorities and circumstances.

Question reference: S6W-25603

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the results from the Police Scotland pilot, Proportionate Response to Crime, in north east Scotland.