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-19575

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18533 by Jenny Gilruth on 9 June 2023, what the anticipated timescale is for when the Parliament will be updated regarding its commitment to reduce teacher contact time.

As set out in a letter I sent to Pam Duncan Glancy MSP on 27 June and as covered during portfolio questions in Parliament on 28 June https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-28-06-2023?meeting=15400&iob=131343#orscontributions_M16199E320P809C2508836 I remain committed to working with the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers to explore how we can progress a reduction in teachers’ class contact time by ninety minutes per week (from the current contracted figure of 22.5 hours to 21 hours). To help inform this discussion and ensure effective and evidence-informed workforce planning I will be commissioning an external piece of work which will consider and bring together a range of factors, including effective local and national teacher workforce planning, pupil teacher ratios and the projected decline in the number of school-aged children in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-20133

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards the National Care Service Fair Work Workstream 4 on sectoral bargaining, including its target timescale for this being fully in place.

The Fair Work workstreams, including workstream 4, are independently chaired by ENABLE's Andy Kerr. I understand that workstream 4 is making progress in discussions with partners including local government, social care providers and trade unions. The Scottish Government is committed to putting in place appropriate collective bargaining arrangements within social care and that can only be delivered with the co-operation and agreement of all our partners.

Question reference: S6W-20031

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available for homeowners or landlords of properties that have heat pumps installed, and who want to maximise the decarbonisation of their properties and decrease their energy bills by installing solar PV and battery storage systems.

The Scottish Government provides funding to both homeowners and landlords of properties through the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme and the Private Rented Sector Landlord (PRS) Loan Scheme respectively.

For homeowners who already have a heat pump installed in their property, the HES Grant and Loan Scheme currently offers up to £6,000 (£4,750 interest free loan and £1,250 grant) funding for solar PV and up to £6,000 (£4,750 interest free loan and £1,250 grant) for battery storage as part of a package.

For landlords who already have a heat pump installed in their property, the PRS Loan Scheme offers funding of up to £5,000 loan for solar PV and up to £6,000 for battery storage. Loans to landlords with five or fewer properties are interest free whereas loans to landlords with six or more properties in their portfolio will attract an interest rate of 2.5%APR.

Question reference: S6W-20059

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scottish Government funding for the charity Autism Understanding Scotland for 2023-24 has reportedly been delayed, and when the charity will receive its funding for 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-19681

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has (a) made any estimate and (b) had any discussions regarding the cost of (i) managing the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in public sector buildings and (ii) removing RAAC from any such buildings entirely, and how much has been spent to date on addressing RAAC in public sector buildings.

We are engaging with public sector organisations to seek reassurance of both their awareness and of any action identified on this issue.

From our discussions with local authorities regarding RAAC to date, West Lothian Council indicated that addressing RAAC issues across its estate could cost around £76.8m, whilst East Lothian Council advised that costs relating to one affected school are estimated at around £3.8 million. The current information gathering exercise offers the opportunity to identify similar assessment made by other local authorities.

NHS Scotland Assure are conducting a survey programme which will confirm how many buildings in the NHS estate contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Work undertaken as part of the programme has included a desktop review, pilot and prioritisation exercises by an appointed survey partner at a cost of just over £150,000 to date. It is not currently possible to assess costs until this survey work is complete.

Question reference: S6W-19701

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Comunn na Gàidhlig since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.

Question reference: S6W-19661

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on the number of hours of paid work, unrelated to the course being studied, that students in further and higher education are undertaking during term time of their course.

Question reference: S6W-20122

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-02399 by Gillian Martin on 21 June 2023, what its proposed timescale is for introducing proposals for crofting law reform.

I am committed to reforming crofting law by 2026, however, a decision on the timing of a Crofting Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes in the normal way.

The Crofting Bill Group is making good progress in reaching a consensus on the issues raised in 2016-2019, and further issues put forward by the Law Society and the Crofting Commission.

Question reference: S6W-20060

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what fund it has used in previous years to provide funding for the charity Autism Understanding Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-19686

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any estimate of the number of public sector buildings currently (a) partially and (b) fully closed due to issues related to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, broken down by (i) building type and (ii) location.

As noted in the reply to S6W-19672, five organisations have contacted The Scottish Government on the presence or suspected presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within their building estate.

At this time, the following public sector buildings are reported to us as partially or fully closed:

Building type	No.	Location	Partially or fully closed?
School	1	East Lothian	Partially closed
School	5	West Lothian	4 partially closed, 1 fully closed
Police Scotland property	1	Edinburgh	Partially closed
Police Scotland property	1	Dundee	Partially closed

We will continue to work collaboratively with local authorities’ Scottish Heads of Property Services network and Scottish Futures Trust to better understand the presence of RAAC across the school estate.