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: S6O-01729

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported warnings from COSLA that local government job losses are "inevitable" and that services will have to be reduced.

Question reference: S6O-01723

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the new North East Hub Health and Care Centre in Parkhead, Glasgow.

Question reference: S6O-01724

Asked by: Stephanie Callaghan, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Child Poverty Action Group report, The Cost of a Child in Scotland in 2022 - update.

Question reference: S6O-01731

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the social justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the support available to families experiencing poverty, including as a result of rising energy costs, where a seriously ill child relies on life-sustaining equipment at home.

Question reference: S6O-01720

Asked by: Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what help it is providing to suicide support services, including SAMH and its recently launched campaign, Ask Them About Suicide, ahead of the festive season.

Question reference: S6O-01714

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last engaged with the UK Government on the subject of EU replacement funding with respect to the rural affairs portfolio.

Question reference: S6O-01713

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-01718

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of air pollution is on mental health.

Question reference: S6W-12682

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will receive as a result of the UK Government’s announcement on 21 November 2022 regarding an additional £484 million for research and innovation, and whether it will confirm whether this funding will be passed on in full to universities in Scotland.

Scotland will receive £24.6 million from within the £484 million package of support announced by the UK Government. This will be distributed to the sector via the Scottish Funding Council. Universities and research institutions may be eligible for other aspects of the package announced by the UK Government.

This allocation is intended to address the shortfall in research funding caused by delays in negotiating association to the Horizon Europe Research programme. The funding awarded reflects Scotland’s previous track record of success and influential position in this prestigious and highly competitive research programme.

We highly value European partnerships and collaborations, built through initiatives like Horizon, which help drive Scotland’s strength and excellence in research. The impact of Brexit has risked our ability to continue to access funding and compete as a world leading research nation. Therefore, the Scottish Government’s position remains that maximising participation in Horizon Europe is the best outcome for Scotland.

We urge the UK Government to work together with the European Commission to limit the damage caused by their ideological pursuit of a ‘hard’ Brexit. Finding a mutually beneficial solution for our research and innovation communities remains of pressing importance.

Question reference: S6W-12674

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04901 by Mairi McAllan on 24 December 2021, whether it will provide an update on which of the 42 formal flood protection schemes or engineering works are (a) under construction and (b) at the planning or other stage of development, broken down by (i) the expected completion date, including the reason for any date being beyond the 2021 timeframe, (ii) the number of properties that will be protected and (iii) the (A) initial forecast and (B) final expected cost of each.

Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes. The 2015-2021 Flood Risk Management Strategies included 42 formal flood protection schemes. Local authorities were expected to start work on development of these schemes by 2021. However as flood protection schemes can have significant impacts on individuals, communities and the environment, and so require careful and detailed planning and consultation, it was recognised that construction work may not be completed within the 2015-2021 timeframe.

Schemes (a) under construction are as follows:

Scheme	(ii) Properties protected	(i) Completion Date	(iii A) Initial cost (£ million) (1)	( iii B) Estimated final cost (£ million) (2)
Upper Garnock	600	2023	15.5	18.5
Hawick	970	2023	37.4	78.6
Stonehaven	376	2023	19.9	27.5
Caol and Lochyside	296	2023	8.4	15.7
Arbroath	530	2023	1.4	13.5
Campbeltown	770	2023	9.3	15.2

Schemes (b) under development are as follows:

Scheme	Stage	(ii) Properties protected	(iii A) Initial cost (£ million) (1)	( iii B) Estimated Final Cost of Scheme (2)
Kilmacolm – Glenmosston Burn	Confirmed (3)	Not held	0.5	0.5
Comrie	Confirmed (3)	189	15.7	28.4
Millport Coastal	Confirmed (3)	657	12.1	48.6
Dumbarton - Gruggies Burn	Confirmed (3)	370	14.5	20.0
Quarrier’s Village	Confirmed (3)	60	0.2	0.4
Dumfries - Whitesands	Confirmed (3)	166	18.9	37.5
Water of Leith (Coltbridge, Gorgie, Saughton) Phase 3	Confirmed (3)	75	Not held	Not held
Mill Burn Millport	Confirmed (3)	124	1.1	1.7
Musselburgh	Under development	2500	8.9	95.9
Milnathort	Under development	79	1.9	2.2
Stranraer	Under development	350	0.4	1.2
Langholm	Under development	200	2.0	15.5
Newton Stewart/ River Cree	Under development	270	7.5	18.5
South Kinross	Under development	Not held	3.2	3.8
Bridge of Allan	Under development	Not held	4.4	17.3
Callander	Under development	30	2.4	4.7
Haddington	Paused (5)	320	8.5	8.5
Stirling	Paused (5)	810	26.2	86.6
Grangemouth FPS	Paused (5)	2980	111.5	420 (4)
St Andrews - Kinness Burn	Paused (5)	133	3.2	3.2
South Fords	Paused (5)	58	1.4	1.4
Scone	Paused (5)	44	0.7	0.8

(1) Note: Initial costs as provided by local authorities in 2016-17.

(2) Note: Final Scheme costs are the latest estimates provided by local authorities. Differences between these latest estimates and initial cost estimates arise because flood protection schemes are put forward for prioritisation at various stages of their development to fit with Flood Risk Management Planning cycle set out in the FRM Act. Costs are revised over time as designs are finalised and more detailed investigations are carried out and as new information emerges.

Schemes will only be taken forward for construction if they receive the necessary statutory and regulatory approvals so the expected completion date is not yet known.

More detailed information on each of the schemes can be obtained from the relevant local authorities whose responsibility it is to develop and deliver flood protection schemes and who are best placed to answer specific questions on each of the schemes.

(3) Note: Formally confirmed under Flood Risk Management Act (2009).

(4) Note: The reasons for cost variations set out in Note 2 also apply to Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme. The presence of critical national infrastructure (port, refinery and fuel distribution) and the scale of the overall project (27km of defences) means that the variation may be larger than other flood protection schemes.

(5) Note: In July 2021 COSLA recommended to Scottish Ministers that the flood protection schemes prioritised in the first cycle which were not yet “legally committed” were paused and that a review of projects was undertaken to examine the status of each project and carry out an assessment of whether the project is still suitable to proceed. Six schemes remain paused and an SG/COSLA working group is now investigating ways to progress with the paused schemes and proposed schemes put forward for cycle 2.