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-01445

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered all the implications of a border between an independent Scotland and England.

Question reference: S6O-01449

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its international work, following the constitution secretary’s attendance at the recent Arctic Circle Assembly.

Question reference: S6W-11522

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost has been of funding any private dental treatment for NHS patients due to a lack of available NHS services in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, and (c) 2022 to date, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-11523

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times NHS boards have funded private dental treatment for NHS patients due to a lack of available NHS services in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 to date, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-11289

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07194 by Neil Gray on 16 March 2022, whether it will provide an update on the progress of protecting the properties in the care of Historic Environment Scotland that are reportedly being left to “gracefully die”.

While Historic Environment Scotland is currently undertaking a prioritised inspection programme on each Property in Care affected by High Level Masonry issues, no site is being left without care. Each individual assessment will study the condition and the impact of climate change on the site and will inform a subsequent programme of repairs and conservation work at affected properties.

There are over 300 Properties in Care managed by Historic Environment Scotland, the vast majority of which are currently open and with free entry to visitors. Providing access to our world-renowned historic sites, particularly during the cost-of-living crisis, is one of the ways we can make cultural places accessible, understood, shared and enjoyed by everyone.

I will continue discussing future potential approaches for our Properties in Care with Historic Environment Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-11403

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has agreed all of the recommendations in the Blake Stevenson report on the new ME/CFS NICE guidelines.

Question reference: S6W-11287

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the creation of a fund for public artwork, fulfilling the SNP manifesto commitment, and when it anticipates that this will be in place.

We are committed to broadening the range of people represented in Scotland’s public places, in particular the contribution of women and ethnic minorities. We will work with Creative Scotland, whose remit includes public art, on what form a fund would take and how a fund might best be deployed within available resources. The effects of the pandemic and the current cost crisis facing the culture sector, along with the challenging outlook for public expenditure, mean that we do not have a confirmed timeframe for when this will be in place.

Question reference: S6W-11291

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what legal protections are in place to ensure that disabled people are safe from any disability discrimination during the employment seeking process.

The Scottish Government has no functions concerning the legal protections in place to protect disabled people from disability discrimination during the employment-seeking process. These functions are reserved to the UK Parliament, as set out in Section 5 of the Scotland Act 1998. More information is available on the Scottish Parliaments website( https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/devolved-and-reserved-powers )

Question reference: S6W-11397

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any inequalities within NHS maternity services, and what plans it has to eliminate any such inequalities.

The Scottish Government co-funds and participates in the Perinatal Audit and Perinatal Mortality Review Tool as part of Mothers and Babies, Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK).

The Scottish Government continues to support implementation of The Best Start programme, in partnership with senior leaders and clinicians, and evidence suggests that Best Start interventions such as continuity of carer are particularly important for women and babies who may experience inequalities in health outcomes. Scotland has a programme of work underway to tackle racialized inequalities in health outcomes, and NHS maternity services are part of that work. Scotland also participates in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Race Equality Taskforce .

Question reference: S6W-11288

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on establishing a Percentage for the Arts scheme, and when it anticipates that this will be in place.

We are currently in initial stages of scoping a ‘Percentage for the Arts’ scheme, which would channel a small percentage of spending on all new public buildings and spaces into support for arts and culture. This work will require significant engagement and consultation with the culture, creative and heritage sectors, local authorities, and across Government, to put in place assessments of the legal, analytical, regulatory, and financial issues. Consideration must also be given to the environmental and equalities impacts of the scheme.