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: S6F-01081

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the report published last Friday, Owning the Future: A framework of regulations for decarbonising owner-occupied homes in Scotland, commissioned by the Existing Homes Alliance.

Question reference: S6F-01083

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

Question reference: S6F-01082

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

To ask the First Minister what meetings the Scottish Government has had with the private and voluntary nursery sector regarding the delivery of its early learning and childcare strategy.

Question reference: S6F-01075

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01076

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6T-00688

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it is making to support people in Scotland, in light of the reported comments by the chief executive of Scottish Power warning that 10 million UK homes could potentially be in fuel poverty this winter.

Question reference: S6T-00685

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with INEOS regarding possible restructuring at the Grangemouth Refinery.

Question reference: S6T-00687

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to provide local support to new mothers who require a specialist mental health bed with their baby, following recent reports that many are having to travel hundreds of miles in order to receive the treatment they need.

Question reference: S6W-08251

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Young Persons Allowance component of the Employability Fund will be continuing, and, if so, what criteria applicants must meet for this, and whether there are plans to change the criteria in the near future.

Through No One Left behind, we are delivering an all age approach to employability that is flexible and person centred. It promotes a strengthened partnership approach where the spheres of government work together with partners across the public, private and third sector to make informed, evidence based decisions on required support, flexing these to meet emerging labour market demands.

Phase 2 of No One Left Behind commenced in April 2022 with funding previously allocated to the Employability Fund and Community Jobs Scotland transferring from national to local governance.

Those participants aged 16-17 years old, and those aged 18 who are not in receipt of benefits, who are participating for between 10-30 hours per week will continue to be eligible to be paid a training allowance while undertaking training through No One Left Behind. There are no plans to change the criteria in the near future.

Question reference: S6W-08170

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 9 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to accelerate the wider roll-out of the Scottish Child Payment in light of the reported cost of living crisis.

The Scottish Child Payment is one of seven benefits that the Scottish Government has introduced which are not available elsewhere in the UK. We are committed to extending Scottish Child Payment to children under 16 and increasing to £25 per week, per child by the end of this calendar year.

To make payments it is essential we have data on qualification for reserved benefits that establish eligibility, which we will not have until later this year. We are reliant on the UK Government providing us with this data, because we do not have powers or controls over reserved benefit areas. Work is ongoing with the UK Government to ensure the necessary data is in place as quickly as possible, to deliver the extension of our Scottish Child Payment by the end of this calendar year.

We delivered at pace the Scottish Child Payment for under 6s in recognition that 60% of families with children in poverty have a child under 6. We also introduced our innovative Bridging Payments worth £520 across 2022, to support an estimated 144,000 children and young people of school age. This is an investment of more than £76 million.

We are taking a range of actions, within our devolved powers and with our limited resources, to help people facing the current cost of living crisis. Through our cost of living support measures, spend on Scottish social security payments that are not available elsewhere in the UK, and mitigating the UK Government’s bedroom tax, we are set to invest almost £770 million to help households tackle the cost of living pressures this year. This includes £290 million to give 1.85 million (73%) Scottish households £150 of extra support in April and we continue investment in our Fuel Insecurity Fund.