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-14500

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the Public and Commercial Services Union industrial action, on 1 February 2023, on the work of VisitScotland.

Question reference: S6W-14027

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13514 by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023, when it anticipates the Menopause and Menstrual Health Policy Working Group will have developed a menopause and menstrual health workplace policy for NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14289

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the stroke care guidelines were last updated.

I refer the member to the answers to question S6W-06004 on 10 February 2022, and question S6W-06005 on 8 February 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Royal College of Physicians Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party (ICSWP) is leading development of the 6th edition of the National Clinical Guideline for Stroke. The next edition of the guideline is expected to be published in April 2023.

Question reference: S6W-14220

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its consultation on proposals to improve energy efficiency in non-domestic buildings.

Question reference: S6W-14155

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on artificial intelligence within health and social care since 2017, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government continues to consider the use of Artificial Intelligence in health and social care through Scotland's AI strategy and the forthcoming Data Strategy for Health and Social Care.

As the implementation of Artificial Intelligence technologies often rely on appropriate use of allocated funding to NHS boards, we do not hold information centrally on the amount specifically spent on Artificial Intelligence within health and social care.

Question reference: S6W-14266

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13688 by Maree Todd on 23 January 2023, whether it will provide a list of the 35 projects, broken down by (a) the work that each project completed as a result of the funding, (b) how much funding each project was awarded and (c) the area in which each project is based.

Details of the projects funded through the Neurological Framework can be found on the following page: Neurological Framework Funding: list of organisations funded - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . As projects reach completion, they are asked to submit a final report which details the outcomes achieved. These reports will be made available on this page in due course.

The Scottish Government, alongside the Neurological Alliance of Scotland, are hosting a series of practice-sharing sessions to help to showcase and promote innovative work undertaken by the funded projects. The first of these sessions were held in December 2022 and recordings of these initial three sessions can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/@neurologicalallianceofscotland . Further sessions are currently being planned, to be held on 01 and 08 March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-14265

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13758 by Keith Brown on 19 January 2023, for what reason it does not hold this information; what consideration it has given to doing so, and whether Police Scotland holds this information.

The data received from Police Scotland for producing the National Statistics on Recorded Crime, is a simple count of the number of crimes and offences, for each local authority, which the police have recorded and cleared up. As such we are unable to separately identify any offences that included the seizure of a 3D printer or 3D printed guns. We also produce Official Statistics on crimes and offences involving the use of firearms in Scotland, but this doesn’t include information on seizures of weapons.

Whilst user needs are kept under review, there are no current plans to collect data on this specific type of activity as Police Scotland can be contacted for further information. In terms of the current position, they have confirmed that as of January 2023, there have been no seizures of 3D printed guns or 3D printers being used for illicit purposes.

Question reference: S6W-14212

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) how it works with Capital Credit Union to promote any benefits of credit union membership to (a) SPCB and (b) MSP staff.

The SPCB is pleased to be able to confirm that it is a member of Capital Credit Union. SPCB staff and staff employed by MSPs are reminded that they can make regular monthly deposits into their savings account directly through payroll and a link to the Capital Credit Union website is provided to all staff on the SPCB’s payslips platform.

The SPCB is committed to supporting staff with the cost of living and as part of a range of measures to support staff it is actively working with Capital Credit Union and Work and Save Scotland to develop a range of resources designed to promote the benefits of credit union membership. Further details will be shared with SPCB staff and MSP staff in due course.

The SPCB believes that this is the right thing to do, recognising that financial wellbeing is an urgent priority for staff.

Question reference: S6W-13664

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many customer complaints ScotRail has received since it was brought into public ownership.

ScotRail has provided the below data for its closed customer complaints since 1 April 2022, by four-weekly rail period, with the prior year (2021-22) and final pre-pandemic year (2019-20) included for comparison:

Rail Year Period	Complaints 2022-23	Complaints 2021-22	Complaints 2019-20
Period 1	1,142	643	2,174
Period 2	1,867	1,079	2,218
Period 3	1,500	1,364	2,228
Period 4	1,015	1,316	2,130
Period 5	1,136	1,543	2,013
Period 6	1,038	924	2,125
Period 7	973	1,313	1,910
Period 8	1,088	1,951	1,482
Period 9	1,491	1,079	2,115
Period 10	1,269	1,034	1,534
Period 11	TBC	970	1,894
Period 12	TBC	575	1,519
Period 13	TBC	1,059	1,447
Total	12,519	14,850	24,789
Complaints as % of total journeys	0.0265%	0.0318%	0.0257%

ScotRail submits complaints data to the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), and this data is published quarterly on the ORR website at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/passenger-experience/passenger-rail-service-complaints/

Question reference: S6W-14120

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, with reference to the recently published Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, whether its commitment to make changes in relation to the provision of secure accommodation and the regulation of secure accommodation services, including those services that take children from other parts of the UK, will include secure transportation services.

The care provided by Scotland’s independent secure providers is highly-regarded. We need to consider how the secure care system operates overall in the coming years, taking in to consideration the asks from the Independent Care Review’s Promise and the incorporation of UNCRC, before embarking on any redesign work.

In the short term, the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill will give effect to the necessary legislative changes to displace all under 18s from custody. Contractual and other non-statutory interventions to guarantee secure capacity and to minimise providers’ reliance on placements from elsewhere in the UK are already in train.

Over the coming years, preparing to keep the Promise by 2030 will likely entail a transformational change to the current secure provision for children in Scotland. A secure estate configured to meet Scotland’s future demands means we will need to undertake significant redesign activity with providers and purchasers. Resource shifts, system and practice change will also be required.

Alongside that, a national service specification for secure transport is being developed by the joint Scottish Government and COSLA led Secure Care Group. This specification aims to bring consistency to the expectations and requirements, wherever secure transport requires to be commissioned.