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-16307

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has held with Heads of Planning Scotland regarding the implementation of the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4).

Officials meet on a frequent basis with Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS), including through a monthly catch up between the Chief Planner and the HOPS Chair and Vice Chairs to discuss key issues, and by officials attending the HOPS sub-committees on development planning and development management, where NPF4 is a regular agenda item.

The HOPS annual conference is attended by Scottish Government officials and the Minister with responsibility for planning, most recently on 31 st March 2023. HOPS is also part of the High Level Group on planning performance, co-chaired by Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

We are committed to continuing a collaborative approach with a range of key stakeholders in the delivery of NPF4, including HOPS.

Question reference: S6W-16037

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Deposit Return Scheme.

I attended the recent Inter-ministerial group on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 6 March 2023 where Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme was discussed. The next meeting of this group is scheduled for 17 April.

Officials also meet regularly with other departments in the UK, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations to discuss DRS. Recently the following meetings have taken place:

30 March – Senior Officials Programme Board
30 March – UK Common Frameworks Project Board
3 April – Scottish Government / Defra bilateral meeting

Officials are also in regular contact with counterparts in the UK Government outwith these engagements.

Question reference: S6W-16276

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Aberdeen to Central Belt rail enhancement project, when it expects to publish the outline business case that it had previously planned to publish in 2022.

Question reference: S6W-16149

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an estimate of the cost of any future working capital loans for Ferguson Marine, in 2023, in addition to the working capital loan of £25,000, with interest, to support cash flow, as announced by the Deputy First Minister in a statement to the Parliament on 16 March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-16015

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the letter from the Scottish Government’s Health Finance Directorate to NHS boards stating that all capital investment projects are paused and that only projects that are legally committed to will be funded for the financial years to 2025-26, whether the plans to build the Edinburgh Eye Pavilion replacement project will be delayed, and when it expects this project will be completed and the asset to be operational.

The Health Finance Directorate has not written to NHS Boards stating that all capital investment projects should be paused. The Directorate does however, engage regularly with all NHS Boards, including NHS Lothian, on the overall funding position for both capital and revenue budgets. The replacement of the Edinburgh Eye Pavilion remains a government priority and the Scottish Government engage regular with the NHS Lothian team on project timescales.

Question reference: S6W-16119

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported record-high mortality rates in the Scottish salmon farming industry in 2022.

The recent increase in mortality should be considered in the context of the trend seen since 2002, which indicates average mortality levels are relatively stable with peaks and troughs in different years. This is demonstrated by comparison of the number of fish surviving to harvest within a production cycle, which provides for a better comparison between years than mortality figures alone, and which is presented in our published production survey Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government expects producers to drive mortality to lowest possible levels. We continue to work with the sector, regulators, fish vets and the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre to better understand causes of mortality, improve access to treatments and address the impacts of climate change.

Question reference: S6W-16100

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15610 by Michael Matheson on 14 March 2023, when it expects that new guidance on noise limits and amplitude modulation will be produced, following the review of ETSU-R-97, and whether it will impose a moratorium on the approval of all onshore windfarm proposals until such new guidance is produced.

Question reference: S6W-16108

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop and support a town planning apprenticeship scheme.

We are supporting the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Scotland and Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS) to implement the recommendations of the Future Planners Project Report.

The Future Planners Project Report, commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by HOPS and RTPI in 2022, explored the options available to support the growth of entrants into the planning profession in Scotland. The Report recommended that the RTPI lead on introducing a planning apprenticeship scheme over the next 3 years. We are currently supporting the RTPI to promote the case for creation of a planning apprenticeship scheme.

Question reference: S6W-16110

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many households in Scotland are on the Priority Services Register.

Question reference: S6W-16078

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to work with the food and drink industry to increase the use of healthy ingredients, including whole-grain foods, in light of the passing of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022.

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 requires Scottish Ministers to publish a national good food nation plan. The Scottish Government expects to publish a draft of the national good food nation plan for consultation in summer 2023.

Increasing consumer uptake of whole-grain food varieties remains one of our key healthy eating messages.

The Scottish Government collaborates with the food industry on a number of funded programmes that support an increase in the use of healthier ingredients, including, where appropriate, whole-grains.

An example is the Reformulation For Health Programme . The Programme received £105,000 funding from the Scottish Government in 2022-23 and is administered by the Food and Drink Federation Scotland. Established in 2018, the Programme makes small and medium-sized businesses aware of the benefits in reformulating products to be healthier. It provides small grant funding, training and sharing of sector specific expertise. While the overall aim is to reduce calories, the Programme is also generating reductions in salt, saturated fat and sugar and increases in fibre. A key component of the latter can include whole-grains.