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: S6O-01080

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on infrastructure investment in the south of Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-01081

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Glasgow.

Question reference: S6O-01083

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £500 million Energy Transition Fund for the north east has now been allocated.

Question reference: S6W-07861

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the completion rate has been to date of Scotland's Census 2022, and whether it is taking any further action to increase uptake.

As of 4 May, 2,108,468 households in Scotland have successfully submitted their response to Scotland's Census 2022.

It is essential we maximise participation and ensure that everyone is heard and their needs captured. That is why the census online completion site remains open and support through both the free helpline (0800 030 8308) and field teams will remain in place.

National Records of Scotland will also continue to accept paper returns for this short extension period - until end May.

Question reference: S6W-08176

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider making the provision of supporting evidence from an accredited specialist conservation architect or conservation architect accredited and registered by a suitable body, such as the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), or the Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation (AABC), a formal requirement in planning (a) policy and (b) guidance for applications for listed building consent to a planning authority.

Question reference: S6W-07859

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any findings of Strathesk Resolutions as a result of its mediation processes between employers and trade unions in Scotland’s colleges.

The Scottish Government has not commissioned Strathesk Resolutions to undertake a mediation process between employers and trade unions.

The organisation has undertaken a Lessons Learned exercise to identify factors that have led to dispute in the college sector in recent years, and has provided recommendations on the future operations of national bargaining in Scotland.

The report, alongside the Scottish Government's response, will be published in due course.

Question reference: S6W-07809

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment SEPA has made of non-native species in its priority catchments.

SEPA conducts assessments of Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) that affect the aquatic environment through River Basin Management Planning (RBMP) status assessments and routine impact monitoring, carried out as a subset of the wider condition assessment. The location of INNS (riparian plants) is mapped during morphology surveys and data is also collated from verified external datasets such as the National Biodiversity Network (including records submitted via Scotland’s Environment Website).

As directed by the Scottish Government, SEPA’s INNS assessments are currently of those species on the UK Technical Advisory Group (UKTAG) high impact list. At Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and other designated sites NatureScot undertakes INNS assessments (including non-aquatic species) through their routine condition assessments.

Question reference: S6W-07822

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the UK's exit from the EU, whether it is waiting for the EU to make a decision on amending legislation to decouple the regulation of genome-edited products from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and, if so, (a) for what reason and (b) how this will impact on progress on achieving its net zero targets for agriculture.

In September 2021 Defra announced plans to facilitate gene editing (GE) in plants for research trials, and after that to review the regulatory definitions in England of a genetically modified organism (GMO) to exclude organisms produced by gene editing and other genetic technologies if they could have been developed by traditional breeding. This was despite the majority of respondents to a public consultation on genetic technologies in England rejecting this proposal. In March 2022, the Statutory Instrument to facilitate gene editing for research trials passed and Defra is now preparing primary powers to change the GMO definition.

While we are keeping abreast of both scientific and judicial reasoning on the decoupling of products of novel genomic techniques, such as gene editing, from GMOs, the definition of a GMO has not changed in Scotland. Gene edited organisms are legally considered GMOs.

Should the EU move to change its regulatory framework, as in other matters, we will consider the implications for Scotland as details become available. The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining alignment with EU laws and standards, supported in part by powers in the Continuity Act that ensure Scottish Ministers can make secondary legislation to achieve this. This means that we will continue to align with the EU where appropriate and in Scotland’s interest, including the protection and advancement of the high environmental standards that both Scotland and the EU enjoy.

Scotland’s climate targets are, rightly, highly ambitious and agriculture has a key role to play in meeting Scotland’s net-zero target for carbon emissions by 2045. The Climate Change Plan Update (CCPu) sets out a detailed, clear and credible pathway to meeting emissions targets over the period to 2032.

Question reference: S6W-07812

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26 to "mitigate the Benefit Cap as fully as we can", whether the mitigation will cover the full difference between a household's cap and its entitlement; how it plans to deliver this payment to households; what the timescale is for this to be fully implemented, and how many households will receive the payment.

The benefit cap is a UK Government policy that sets a limit on the total annual payment a household can receive from means-tested benefits. The Scottish Government cannot amend this policy but we can provide support to benefit-capped families through the discretionary housing payment system. Our aim is to mitigate the cap as fully as possible within the parameters set by UK legislation on discretionary housing payments.

We are working with local authorities to identify good practice in benefit cap mitigation and agree how to best support those affected. This additional funding will be rolled out as early as possible this year. Estimates show around 4,000 households are capped and we will work with local authorities to identify those.

Question reference: S6W-07873

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement that its revised Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will not be published until Autumn 2022, whether the strategy will still be "refreshed", or fully updated, in light of this extended timescale.

The Energy Strategy and Just Transition plan will refresh the 2017 Energy Strategy, and deliver Scotland’s first Just Transition Plan. It will take a whole-system view of how the sector must evolve to drive our transition to net zero, with a specific focus on actions needed to meet our 2030 interim target. The revised timeline will allow robust evidence and analysis to be produced and take account of ongoing projects, which are progressing at pace in response to the rapidly evolving global energy environment. It will also allow time for us to engage meaningfully with stakeholders in line with our wider approach to just transition.