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-04441

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03371 by Patrick Harvie on 27 October 2021, whether "renewable heating systems in off-gas buildings" includes biomass burners.

As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, the Scottish Government considers “low and zero emissions heating systems” to be systems that have zero direct greenhouse gas emissions. This includes individual electric heat pumps and connection to heat networks, or electric systems such as storage heaters, and systems that have very low emissions, such as those that use hydrogen.

In line with the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change, we agree that bioenergy - such as biomass, bio-heating oil and bio-propane - should only be used in those applications where its carbon reduction impact is maximised, where alternative options are not available, and where it comes from sustainable sources.

We recognise that, for a small number of homes, bioenergy might offer the only feasible way to reduce emissions from heating to displacing fossil fuels in off-gas-grid areas, especially where electric heating or heat pumps are unsuitable.

We will therefore consider how such homes may be dealt with under any future regulatory system, including through the potential use of limited exemptions, as part of the consultation on our approach to regulating heat in buildings during 2022.

Question reference: S6W-04414

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many supported living accommodation projects it has supported in each year since 1999.

Local Authorities and Integration Joint Boards are responsible for allocating funding from their budgets towards revenue costs for services for supported living accommodation.

The following table sets out the number of supported accommodation capital projects for the period requested.

Financial Year	Supported Accommodation
	Homes Approved	Number of Projects
	Homes Approved	Number of Projects
1999-00	272	40
2000-01	266	48
2001-02	168	36
2002-03	71	19
2003-04	217	29
2004-05	104	18
2005-06	156	23
2006-07	181	28
2007-08	97	15
2008-09	64	6
2009-10	31	6
2010-11	150	11
2011-12	18	3
2012-13	18	1
2013-14	10	2
2014-15	17	2
2015-16	8	1
2016-17	10	3
2017-18	39	5
2018-19	177	10
2019-20	93	9
2020-21	26	4
2021-22*	45	3
Total	2,238	322
* figures as of 18 November 2021

Question reference: S6W-04369

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many veterans are in receipt of Social Security Scotland devolved benefits.

Question reference: S6W-04296

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release on 29 October 2021 regarding a £41 million Winter Support Fund for low-income households, what eligibility criteria it has applied to the £10 million to help people who are struggling to pay fuel bills.

Support from the £10 million Fuel Insecurity Fund will be delivered by third sector partner organisations and will be available to households across Scotland who are at risk of self-disconnecting, or self-rationing their energy use this winter, regardless of tariff type or fuel type.

Through all of the projects supported by the Fuel Insecurity Fund, we will seek to ensure that those receiving help are not just provided with financial support but that they are also connected with wider advice and support on energy efficiency, income maximisation and how to reduce energy bills.

Question reference: S6W-04128

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether COVID-19 booster vaccinations will be registered on the NHS Scotland Covid Status App; what the reasons are for its position on this matter, and, if they will be registered, by what date this will happen.

Yes, work is currently in progress to ensure people can access their COVID-19 booster vaccination information in the app and on the paper and PDF versions through the NHS Portal. It is expected this will be available from December 2021, following the recent agreement of international standards on how to display booster information on 18 November.

Proof of booster vaccinations are not currently a requirement of the domestic certification scheme. However, we are aware that a small number of countries have introduced a vaccine ‘expiry’ point as part of their certification arrangements.

In the meantime, people intending to travel should check the entry requirements of the country they are visiting on the GOV.UK foreign travel advice pages, as PCR testing is also widely accepted.

Question reference: S6W-04488

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have contracted COVID-19 whilst in a vaccination centre.

The information requested is not available. As with any other setting, it is not possible to infer whether a specific setting or an event indicates where the Covid19 transmission took place. This is because cases may have attended multiple settings or events within a short space of time.

Local NHS Boards are responsible for putting the appropriate public health measures in place at vaccination centres to help minimise the transmission of Covid19 including physical distancing and the use of face coverings.

Question reference: S6W-04386

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has put in place to reduce poverty-related health inequalities.

We are committed to addressing the underlying causes of health inequalities; ending poverty, increasing fair access to employment, education and training, and improving our physical and social environments.

Community Link Workers continue to be at the forefront of our efforts to tackle poverty-related health inequalities. We are building on the funding we provide to community-led organisations and supporting the success of Community Link Workers by creating a network of 1,000 additional staff. We are embedding welfare rights and money advice services across 150 primary care settings throughout Scotland.

We provide £9 million to fund smoking-cessation services, which especially benefits people from deprived communities, and we are making Active Schools programmes free for young people. Our Alcohol Framework contains 20 actions to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harms and reduce the inequality gap. We fund the Healthy Living Programme in over 2,300 convenience stores, mainly in more deprived areas, which increases fruit and vegetable sales.

Progress in these areas, alongside our public health priorities, will help tackle the unfair and unjust health inequalities that exist across Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-00538

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 December 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the use of antidepressant medication among children has increased by more than 80% over the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6F-00531

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 December 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the report, Towards a Scotland that cares: a new National Outcome on Care for the National Performance Framework, by the University of the West of Scotland, which is supported by Oxfam Scotland, Carers Scotland, Scottish Care, the Scottish Women’s Budget Group and One Parent Families Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-00526

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 December 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the Union Connectivity Review.