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-08588

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) industry and (b) local authorities regarding making data from waste, particularly for incineration, more transparent and accessible to stakeholders.

We are carefully considering all recommendations made in the report on the Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy, and will set out our initial response in June. This includes the recommendation that industry, local authorities and the Scottish Government should do more to make data around waste in general, and around incineration in particular, more transparent and accessible for all stakeholders.

Question reference: S6W-08642

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Scotland to date, broken down by local authority area.

The UK Government regularly publishes data relating to visas and arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-data/ukraine-family-scheme-and-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-homes-for-ukraine-visa-data--2 .

Publications include information broken down by devolved administration and local authority area: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-visa-data-by-country-upper-and-lower-tier-local-authority .

Question reference: S6W-09124

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angus Robertson on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it is responding to the Information Commissioner’s recent decision notice to disclose information regarding legal advice for a second independence referendum.

On 26 April the Scottish Information Commissioner issued a decision notice (048/2022) requiring the disclosure of certain information about legal advice on the topic of a second independence referendum. The information had been withheld by the Scottish Government in response to a Freedom of Information request as it considered that the Government should have been able to receive the advice in confidence under “legal professional privilege”. The Commissioner, in responding to an appeal from the requester, took a different view - that considerations favouring release in this case outweighed those for maintaining legal professional privilege.

The Scottish Government has considered the Commissioner’s decision carefully.

There is a longstanding convention, observed by Scottish, UK and other governments, that government does not disclose legal advice except in exceptional circumstances. This convention, which is reflected in the Scottish Ministerial Code, is intended to ensure that full and frank legal advice can be taken by governments, just as other organisations and individuals can take legal advice in confidence and subject to legal professional privilege.

The convention is also reflected in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, section 36 of which makes such information exempt from release to the extent that the public interest in disclosing the information is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption. It is on the applicability of this section of the FOI legislation that the Commissioner has come to a different view from the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government considers that the convention on legal advice is important for ensuring good government. It disagrees strongly with the Commissioner’s reasoning in his decision and considers that there are good grounds for a successful appeal to the Court of Session to challenge the Commissioner’s ruling.

However, we have also taken account of the fact that the material covered by this Decision dates from 2020 and relates to proposed government actions that have since been taken forward and on which the legal position can therefore already be assumed. The Government has therefore concluded, on the particular circumstances of this case only, that the time and expense required for an appeal would not be merited, and that it will release and publish the information concerned.

It should be stressed, however, that the Scottish Government’s publication of the material in this case does not set any precedent for its position on releasing any other information that is subject to legal professional privilege, including in response to any other Freedom of Information request. Nor does the Information Commissioner Decision represent a binding legal precedent. The Government will therefore continue to apply the relevant exemptions, in line with the public interest test, as set out in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and to follow the Scottish Ministerial Code in relation to legal advice, including in relation to material related to a referendum. The Government also reserves the right to appeal future Information Commissioner decisions to the Court of Session if it considers that appropriate in the circumstances.

Question reference: S6W-08832

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06933 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 March 2022, whether it will provide an update on how many (a) laptops and (b) tablets (i) have been and (ii) are yet to be distributed to pupils in (A) South Ayrshire and (B) East Ayrshire.

Local authorities across Scotland have a range of approaches to the provision of technology in schools, including some councils who have undertaken to provide cohorts of their school population with devices using their own budgets.

The latest information we have from councils indicates that almost 280,000 devices have been, or are in the process of being, rolled out to learners across Scotland. This includes the 72,000 provided as a result of Scottish Government funding. We do not have additional information regarding device rollout in either South Ayrshire or East Ayrshire beyond that included in the answer to S6W-06933.

Question reference: S6W-08314

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the ScotWind Offshore Wind Leasing: Advisory Note, produced for it by the University of Strathclyde Centre for Energy Policy, in April 2020, other than the three pre-defined option fee levels, what, if any, other levels of option fees were considered at that time, and whether it will provide a copy of any information that it (a) holds and (b) published at that time in relation to the recommendation in the Advisory Note “that all levels be fully justified and explained, with consideration and clarity given on why there are no higher increments”.

The Scottish Government did not set the ScotWind seabed lease Option Agreement fees. The advisory note prepared for the Scottish Government recommends that any new, higher, levels be appropriately justified. Crown Estate Scotland (“CES”) proceeded to satisfy those requirements through, in this case, appropriate consideration of externally procured advice. CES explained to SG the rationale for the pricing structure adopted. No further information is held relating to that recommendation.

Question reference: S6W-08313

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the reasons for Crown Estate Scotland’s position, as stated in the ScotWind Pre-Launch Summary, published in July 2019, that it was “currently minded” that applicants should not pay more than £10,000 per km2 of seabed.

Crown Estate Scotland is responsible for the ScotWind seabed leasing process, including setting Option Agreement fees and rent prices. Crown Estate Scotland informed Scottish Government of its pricing structure based on its own evidence gathering and information available at the time. Once projects are under seabed leases and wind farms are generating energy, rental payments are annual – these are separate from the Option Agreement payments.

Question reference: S6W-08585

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to report greenhouse gas emissions from incineration separately from other energy-related emissions.

Official Statistics on Scottish greenhouse gas emissions are published annually ( Scottish Greenhouse Gas statistics: 1990-2019 ) and are based on a disaggregation of the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory, overseen by the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

At the time of writing, the UK Inventory does not allow for the isolation of data for emissions from incineration as opposed to other energy-related emissions. Such decisions are a matter for BEIS and are informed by the UK National Inventory Steering Committee of which the Scottish Government is a member. If in future, data from energy-related emissions in the UK Inventory is disaggregated to show emissions from incineration separately, we would expect this to also then be reflected in the Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics publication.

Question reference: S6F-01208

Asked by: Stephanie Callaghan, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the First Minister, in light of reported findings from the children’s charity, Aberlour, that over £1 million is owed in school meal debt, whether it will provide an update on its plans to expand universal free school meal provision in order to support families struggling with the cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6F-01203

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the Scottish Government's Super Sponsor scheme for displaced Ukrainians.

Question reference: S6F-01196

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government will take to ensure that victims of rape and domestic abuse are not retraumatised as a result of plans to allow them to formally meet those who harmed them.