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: S6F-01981

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the poverty statistics published last week in the report, Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2019-22.

Question reference: S6F-01967

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take to tackle the climate and nature emergencies.

Question reference: S6F-01965

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

To ask the First Minister, in light of last week's Fiscal Sustainability Report published by the Scottish Fiscal Commission, what the Scottish Government’s economic priorities are.

Question reference: S6F-01963

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01962

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-15009

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any plans to develop Glasgow Central Station so that it is capable of acting as the northern terminus of the HS2 network.

The procurement of HS2 trains and their operation are the responsibility of the UK Government, and therefore the information provided within this answer reflects the information the Scottish Government has received from the UK Government to date.

Despite there now being no firm plans by the UK Government to bring HS2 to Scotland it has been previously proposed that Glasgow Central will operate as the northern terminus of the HS2 network from day one of HS2 operation. Since HS2 trains will be fully compatible with the existing rail network there is no expectation by the Scottish Government that the station will require any alteration to accommodate them.

The UK Government’s consideration of yet another delay to the planned opening of HS2 is lamentable. They should be bringing forward plans for an earlier opening so that the benefits to Scotland and the rest of the UK may be realised sooner and the overall cost be reduced.

Question reference: S6W-15916

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that any bids that it receives for National Park status cover contiguous or overlapping areas, whether the Scottish Ministers will be able to consider combining those bids into one larger National Park.

The Scottish Government has committed to designating at least one new National Park in Scotland during this parliamentary session provided relevant legal conditions can be met. In the Spring we will publish a draft evaluation framework with proposed selection criteria before opening the nominations process for new National Parks later this year.

We are aware of several areas which are interested in National Park status, including some which have well established campaigns. Through the nominations process, we will ask interested parties to register their interest and submit a nomination. We intend to make support available to local groups and organisations wishing to submit a nomination, for example to help arrange and host local discussions and workshops.

All proposals for New National Parks that are received will be assessed against the criteria set out in the evaluation framework and a report will be prepared. A panel of experts will then review the evaluation report and will provide advice to Scottish Ministers on which nomination or nominations should be considered for National Park designation. In theory it would be possible for the panel to recommend that overlapping or contiguous areas are considered.

Question reference: S6W-15775

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, for each ferry in the CalMac fleet, how many vessels have had (a) Changing Places toilets, (b) other accessible toilets and (c) no accessible toilets, in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-14797

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of (a) Scottish and (b) non-Scottish firms that have been set out in the specification or maker's list, as part of the contract for two vessels for Islay, awarded by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL).

Kongsberg have an agreement in place with Cemre Marin Endustri for Fin Stabilisers, with the production facility based in Dunfermline. Fifty-eight companies (overseas or based in England) are also set to provide products and/or services for the new build vessels. Forty of these companies have signed agreements, with the remaining 18 companies obtaining signed agreements as the shipyard build programme progresses.

Question reference: S6W-15918

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in total have registered with the Deposit Return Scheme to date, and how this compares with the number of businesses that were expected to register.

More than 670 businesses have registered so far, representing 95% of products sold in Scotland.

The number of companies in the drinks industry inevitably changes over time and, at the outset of developing a deposit return scheme, approximately 4,500 companies were estimated to have an interest in the scheme.

However, significantly less would have to register – for example, once groups of companies registering under one registration are identified, the number of individual producers/importers is likely to be below 2,000.