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-12526

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) many times government vehicles have suffered damage from potholes and (b) much it has spent on repairs due to such damage, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-12386

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review existing public sector buildings to explore the possibility of retro-fitting solar panels.

There are no current plans to review public sector buildings specifically for the purpose of retro-fitting solar panels. However, the retrofitting of solar panels onto existing public sector buildings is supported through the Scottish Government’s Green Public Sector Estate Decarbonisation Scheme (GPSEDS).The Scottish Government is making £200 million available through this scheme from 2021-2026 to support the decarbonisation and increased energy efficiency of existing public sector buildings. For solar projects, there are two main support elements:

The Scottish Public Sector Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme, which offers zero interest loans to the public sector to enable them to undertake retrofit energy efficiency improvement projects.

The Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant scheme, which provides capital funding support to enable the delivery of decarbonisation projects across the public sector, including Solar PV. This operates under an open funding call, targeting Scottish central government organisations.

Question reference: S6W-12329

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional public electric vehicle (EV) charging points are planned across Scotland, broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) estimated timescale for delivery.

The Scottish Government has invested over £65m in the ChargePlace Scotland Network that now has over 2,400 publicly available electric vehicle charge points, alongside supporting homes and businesses to install almost 20,000 charge points. A range of factors will influence the number of charge points required – and delivery plans will be determined by both public and private investment.

Our focus is on making sure that the public charging network builds on the benefits of ChargePlace Scotland, which includes maintaining comprehensive coverage across all parts of Scotland. To that end, our £60m EV Infrastructure Fund has the potential to at least double the size of the public charging network over the next four years. This is over and above the commercial investment in charge points now taking place across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-12415

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are plans to develop a training and development fund specifically for the allied health professions.

A national oversight group responsible for a review of AHP Education and Workforce has recently concluded its work. The collaborative group involving a wide range of AHP stakeholders including professional bodies, HEIs and NHS Boards is due to report their recommendations to the Scottish Government. I will not pre-empt the recommendations of that group but look forward to receiving the suite of recommendations the group has put forward regarding the future of training and development of AHP staff.

Question reference: S6W-12318

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timescales for any actions it is taking to support and develop community eyecare services across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-12363

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11596 by Jenny Gilruth on 15 November 2022, when it will announce successor arrangements for the continued provision of Caledonian Sleeper services.

Question reference: S6W-12679

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Includem’s open letter titled "Simply Scran", how it will work with local authorities to eradicate school meal debt.

We recognise that rises in the cost of living are putting a huge strain on some families and they are facing unforeseen challenges. We are working with our partners in local authorities to fully understand the issue of school meal debt.

Councils have the power to make discretionary offers of free school meals to families, where they are experiencing financial hardship due to exceptional circumstances, who do not meet the regular eligibility criteria. We would urge local authorities to continue to do all they can to resolve any payment issues without withdrawing meals from pupils.

Question reference: S6W-12678

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Includem’s open letter titled "Simply Scran" and its call for three nutritious meals a day, how it will work with local authorities to ensure that, in light of rising costs of living, school meals will continue to be of good nutritional value to children and young people regardless of where they live.

All food and drink served in all education authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out in the 'Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020'. The Regulations are based on scientific evidence and dietary advice and are designed to ensure children and young people are provided with an appropriate amount of energy and key nutrients to support their healthy growth and development.

Question reference: S6W-12677

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Includem’s open letter titled "Simply Scran", whether there are plans to review the income eligibility thresholds for free school meals in order to reflect the real costs of living for families.

The Scottish Government keeps the income eligibility thresholds for free school meals under review and we will consider the current thresholds ahead of the start of the 2023-24 academic year. The income eligibility thresholds were most recently reviewed and updated and amended ahead of the current academic term in August 2022. Further information on eligibility criteria is available through the following web link: School meals - mygov.scot .

Question reference: S6W-12497

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many high school pupil-to-pupil fights on school property have been recorded in each year since 2017.