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-15092

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any exclusive rights have been conferred on Circularity Scotland in relation to the collection of deposit return materials from (a) public and (b) private sector sites.

Question reference: S6W-15825

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15443 by John Swinney on 8 March 2023, whether it will name the law firms that have received a share of the £100,244, broken down by how much each firm received.

Since the response to question S6W-15443 on 8 March 20232, further legal fee claims have been paid. As of 15 March 2023, £124,650 has been paid to 10 firms.

It is not appropriate to name the firms as to do so could be interpreted as guiding applicants to particular firms. Applicants are directed to the Law Society of Scotland for support in finding a solicitor. In addition, as some firms have a claim in respect of only one application there is a small risk of applicant identification if the full list is provided.

Table 1 : Breakdown of Legal Fees paid up to 15 March 2023

Firm	Fees Paid (up to 15 March 2023)	Number of associated applications
A	£2,400	1
B	£2,400	1
C	£76,440	33
D	£19,200	8
E	£5,340	3
F	£540	1
G	£2400	1
H	£13,080	7
I	£2,400	1
J	£450	1
Total Paid	£124,650	57

While applications can be made without the need for a solicitor, applicants are strongly encouraged to take up the offer of funded legal advice, particularly before signing a waiver and accepting a redress payment.

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

Question reference: S6W-15497

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Golden Jubilee regarding the use of the hotel to generate income.

Question reference: S6W-15768

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), also known as drones, have been available for use by Police Scotland officers in each year since 2019, and how many officers have received RPAS training.

Question reference: S6W-15253

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the process by which the contract for dualling the A9 from Tomalin to Mor was awarded.

There was no Scottish Government process to contract dualling for ‘Tomalin to Mor’.

The procurement for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy contract, however, involved a 10-month procurement process using a Competitive Dialogue procedure in accordance with Regulation 31 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. During this process two tenders were invited to submit a Final Tender, however only one tender was received.

In accordance with the above procedure, the tender evaluation followed a pre-defined methodology which included an assessment of the technical, quality and financial aspects of the tender submission received.

Following this evaluation, Ministers concluded that the tender received did not represent best value for the taxpayer at this time and made the decision not to award the contract.

Question reference: S6W-15782

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12361 by Mairi McAllan on 1 December 2022, whether the Steering Group carrying out the review of its goose management policies shared a draft report with stakeholders in February 2023.

Question reference: S6W-15609

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the February 2023 Cranfield Trust report, Demand, Survival, Change: The challenges facing charity management in Scotland.

The third sector is hugely diverse and works alongside the public and private sectors across all services and industries, often providing lifeline services in our most vulnerable communities. It faces many pressures but we know that there are particular challenges given fixed grants and falling donations.

We recognise that the third sector needs stability of funding and the opportunity for longer term planning and development. We are committed to delivering a Fairer Funding approach for the third sector, the cornerstone of which is multi-year funding, and we are now beginning the roll out of this commitment. We hope this will provide a much needed stable platform to enable the sector to work to its full potential.

Question reference: S6W-15625

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of a brain tumour.

The Scottish Government is committed to raising awareness of all forms of cancer, including brain, through our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme, which we continue to invest in.

A new Detect Cancer Earlier campaign was launched on 06 March 2023 to reduce fear of cancer and encourage those with possible symptoms to contact their GP practice. The NHS Inform website highlights the common symptoms of brain tumours .

The Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer support primary care clinicians in identifying patients who are most likely to have cancer and therefore require urgent assessment by a specialist. DCE funded a clinical refresh of eight pathways in 2018, including brain, with revised guidance published January 2019. Work continues with primary care clinicians to raise awareness of the Guidelines and share best practice.

A new cancer strategy is under development, which will include a new earlier diagnosis vision for Scotland. It is expected to publish in Spring 2023.

Question reference: S6W-15352

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many people have accessed the Home2Fit online accessible housing database in each year since it was established.

Question reference: S6W-15628

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what grant support it is providing to Larkhall and District Volunteer Group to ensure that the organisation has sustainable funding for the services that it provides for the local community.

In 2022-23 Larkhall and District Volunteer Group have received:

£108,467 from our Plugged-in Communities fund to support the purchase of a zero emission community transport vehicle, we also provided a grant of £1,999 from our EV infrastructure fund which supported the purchase and installation of electric vehicles infrastructure to support the new vehicle.
They have successfully applied for £5,704 in continued support from the Open Fund for their Shopping Buses project, delivery of which will extend in to 2023/24.
They have also claimed £3,259.30 through the Network Support Grant.