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-11591

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in delivering equity of access to mental health support services for college and university students.

We have met the manifesto commitment to provide more than 80 additional counsellors in Further and Higher Education over four years as set out in our 2018-19 Programme for Government and reiterated in our 2021-22 Programme for Government. The commitment was achieved ahead of time, with an investment of £11.5 million to date and a further £2 million committed in this Academic Year to March 2023. We are also committed to provide further funding for the remainder of the Academic Year (April to July 2023), which falls into the Government’s next financial year.

We have also invested in the NUS Think Positive Initiative which has led to the creation of institution led Student Mental Health Agreements to improve student mental health support in colleges and universities. In addition, the launch of the Think Positive hub, in spring 2022, provides students with extra clarity on how to access student mental health services in colleges and universities.

At the same time we have invested in a comprehensive package of support for mental wellbeing through NHS Scotland and in communities, including an investment of £21 million for adult community based initiatives.

Question reference: S6W-13349

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding will be allocated to the Climate Justice Fund in financial year 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-13313

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-20621 and S5W-26208 by Roseanna Cunningham on 8 January and 22 November 2019, whether it will make an assessment of the implications for its policies of the reported greater success rate of hen harrier nests on non-RSPB nature reserves compared to RSPB nature reserves.

The Scottish Government does not believe it is necessary to make a specific assessment of the implications of its policies of the reported greater success rate of hen harrier nests on non-RSPB nature reserves compared to RSPB nature reserves.

Hen harrier success rates are dependent on a number of different factors, as set out in the response to PQs S5W-20621 and S5W-26208. A significant reason for the lower productivity on RSPB reserves is because several are on Orkney where there is a high level of polygyny (males having 2-3 females). As males cannot provision up to 3 nests, failure of the 2nd & 3rd females is regular with fewer young raised (than a monogamous pair) even if they are successful.

Question reference: S6W-13290

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle sudden cardiac death amongst young people.

We continue to implement our Heart Disease Action Plan which seeks to ensure that everyone with suspected heart disease has timely and equitable access to diagnosis, treatment and care.

The Network for Inherited Cardiac Conditions Scotland (NICCS) is a National Managed Clinical Network which supports improvements in the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of people with inherited cardiac conditions (ICC).

Scottish Government are key partners in the Save a Life for Scotland Partnership who are working to deliver the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Strategy 2021 to 2026 . A key aim of this strategy is to increase survival from OHCA to 15% in Scotland by 2026.

Question reference: S6W-13217

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) airports it expects will be impacted by the planned strike action on 19 and 22 December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-13107

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to any claims by members of the cross party groups on chronic pain, long COVID, and arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions that it did not notify them about its proposed timing of the debate on chronic pain on 16 November 2022, and that this prevented them from informing large numbers of patients with chronic pain about the debate.

Details of Parliamentary business, including motions for debate, are published in the Business Bulletin when the Parliament is in session. This includes details of current and future business of the Parliament and the business motion setting out the date for the debate on ‘Improving care and services for people with chronic pain’ was proposed and agreed by MSPs on Tuesday 8 November 2022. This is available to view on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-06687

In advance of this, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care met with the convenors of the Cross Party Group on Chronic Pain (CPGCP) on 7 November 2022 to inform them that the debate was imminent and wrote to them on the 11 November 2022 once the date had been confirmed. We will continue to seek to work in a collaborative and constructive manner with the CPGCP and other stakeholders as we implement the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery.

Question reference: S6W-13135

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many newbuild affordable homes in rural communities have been completed in each year since 1999.

Whilst there have been homes delivered in rural areas since 1999, this has only been reported on since 2015 -16. Data on new build affordable homes in rural areas is therefore provided from that year onwards in the following table below. Figures relating to 2021-22 will be published early in 2023. There were also non-new build homes provided and the final column in the table includes all affordable homes delivered in rural areas.

Financial Year	Total AHSP New Build Rural Homes	‎ Total AHSP Programme Rural Homes
2015-16	911	954
2016-17	975	1,095
2017-18	898	980
2018-19	1,404	1,419
2019-20	1,296	1,310
2020-21	1,223	1,284
Total Homes	6,707	7,042

The figures only include homes delivered through the core Affordable Housing Supply Programme and Rural and Island Housing Fund.

Question reference: S6W-13148

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many industrial units for SMEs have been built in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-13044

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) scores the social value of shipbuilding tenders from overseas shipbuilders with the same weighting as tenders from Scotland or UK shipbuilders.

Question reference: S6W-13041

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be an opportunity for UK suppliers to supply into the contract for two ferries awarded to Cemre Marin Endustri in Turkey by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), or whether the shipbuilder will determine the supply chain.