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-03775

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03794

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s work to keep The Promise, in light of the fifth anniversary of it being made.

Question reference: S6F-03777

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03776

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-33991

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there is reportedly no statutory requirement on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to monitor large battery storage unit sites.

Responsibility for fire safety and monitoring at Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) sites rests with the duty holder/site owner. Many BESS locations are unmanned and monitored remotely, meaning there is typically no immediate life risk. Some BESS sites may have welfare facilities for workers during short, irregular shifts (outside of construction or decommissioning phases), and certain buildings on these sites may fall under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 in terms of general fire safety. However, these sites are normally not subject to fire risk regulations due to the processes taking place on site.

SFRS adheres to the National Fire Chiefs Council’s guidance for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), developed with the safety of both the public and emergency responders in mind.

A dedicated working group within SFRS will continue to monitor the increasing number of BESS applications and their development, alongside the Service’s role in the planning, consultation, and progression of these sites.

SFRS’ protection efforts focus on four key areas:

The impact of life safety in the event of a fire.
A risk-based approach to safety.
Emerging intelligence, including operational insights and partner communications.
Post-fire audits and analysis.

A strong focus on prevention and the adherence to industry safety standards is essential for managing risks. The SFRS specialist fire safety enforcement and community safety teams will continue to collaborate with partner agencies, and their highly skilled firefighters are ready to deploy standard and specialised national resources to any incident as needed.

Question reference: S6W-33958

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the delivery of the COVID-19 and flu vaccination programme for 2024-25 has been later than the programmes in the previous two years.

It is important to make sure that the start date of the annual flu programme reflects the expected peak of flu circulating to ensure maximum vaccine efficacy.

The 2024 Winter Flu and Covid programme (FVCV) launched on 9 September with the child flu programme. This was the earliest the programme in Scotland could start the child programme, due to vaccine supply deliveries.

Vaccination of adult flu groups began on 16 September, with the main flu and COVID-19 co-administration launching on 23 September. As per previous winter programme, Boards used the first two weeks of the main programme to focus on our most vulnerable citizens, notably residents in care homes for older adults and the housebound. Community appointments then began on 7 October.

These launch dates were based on two factors;

1.Advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination & Immunisation (JCVI): The JCVI advice noted that Health Departments should ideally aim to vaccinate their adult flu population in October and November, in order to vaccinate the eligible population prior to the beginning of the flu season, and to minimise the impact of vaccine waning.

2.Availability of COVID-19 vaccine supply: The vast majority of COVID-19 and flu vaccines are co-administered (currently 95.2% as of 26 January), for maximum convenience for people who are eligible for both. As such we had to wait for COVID-19 vaccine supplies to be available in Scotland to start that main phase of the programme, and 23 September was the earliest possible date.

During planning for its winter programmes, the Scottish Vaccination & Immunisation Programme (SVIP) takes multiple, complex factors into account when arriving at programme dates. These include JCVI advice on programme timings and cohort eligibility, the risk of emerging new COVID-19 variants, flu and COVID-19 vaccine supply availability and clinic capacity within the system.

These factors change annually, meaning that programme start dates will shift and therefore a direct comparison is difficult.

Question reference: S6W-33957

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of the Spanish Tax Lease system, which is applied to finance agreements for the purchase of ships, making it possible for shipping companies to purchase ships built by Spanish shipyards at a 20% to 30% discount, and whether it (a) can and (b) will develop a similar system in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is aware of the Spanish Tax Lease system.

The Spanish tax lease system refers to a Corporation Tax depreciation process.

Corporation Tax is entirely reserved to the UK Parliament, and so it would be beyond the devolved competency of the Scottish Government to introduce a similar system in Scotland.

It is the position of the Scottish Government that all tax powers, including those over Corporation Tax, be devolved to the Scottish Parliament so that the tax system can be redesigned to better suit the people and business who live and operate in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-33994

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08334 by Tom Arthur on 17 May 2022, for what reason amendments to permitted development rights for private ways, known as hill tracks, were not included in phase 3 of the permitted development rights review, and what plans it has for ensuring that there is consultation on amending permitted development rights for hill tracks.

The phasing of the permitted development rights (PDR) work programme has been kept under review to ensure that it reflects – and helps to promote – the Scottish Government's strategic priorities. As a priority, Phase 3 of the review focussed on PDR for domestic and non-domestic renewable energy equipment. The amended scope of Phase 3 reflected the cost and climate crises, and the need to ensure the planning system plays its part in helping to support households and businesses to adapt their properties.

We still expect to revisit the PDR related to private ways / hilltracks at a future point. This is a complex issue of interest to a wide range of stakeholders with differing perspectives, and requires very careful and detailed consideration.

Question reference: S6W-33990

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32779 by Jenni Minto on 20 January 2025, when it anticipates that it will receive the recommendations from the expert group.

Question reference: S6W-33742

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to raise public awareness about storm and wildfire preparedness in rural communities, including Aberdeenshire.

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 provides the legislative framework for resilience activity in Scotland.

Category 1 responders, including Local Authorities, are obliged under the Act to maintain arrangements to warn the public, and to provide information and advice to the public, if an emergency is likely to occur or has occurred. This includes emergencies such as severe weather and wildfires.

In addition, the Scottish Government has a longstanding commitment to providing the public with advice on preparing for and responding to a range of emergencies through its Ready Scotland channels.

The Ready Scotland website (ready.scot) provides information on how the public can prepare their home, their family and their businesses for severe weather and other emergencies. It also provides information on how to respond, keep safe, and help others in the community when emergencies do occur.

When areas are at risk from severe weather or severe wildfires, the Scottish Government, responder organisations and other resilience partners all work closely to share public safety advice through a variety of channels.