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-02695

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what it expects the cost to be of the transition to non-gas boiler systems per household; by what method this has been calculated; on whom will responsibility fall to meet these costs, and what financial support will be provided to households to help them meet any of the costs.

As set out in our draft Heat in Buildings Strategy - partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment, the estimated average capital cost of converting a home from a fossil fuel boiler to an equivalent zero emission system such as an air source heat pump is just over £12,000. These estimates are sourced from research commissioned by the Climate Change Committee to inform its Sixth Carbon Budget. The cost for an individual dwelling can differ from this average depending on building type, existing levels of energy efficiency and type of heating system being replaced.

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing regulations for zero emissions heat from 2025, subject to confirmation of devolved competence, technological developments, and action by the UK Government in reserved areas. We will consult in further detail in 2022, but it is envisaged that any such regulations will apply to building owners.

The Scottish Government provides a range of financial support to households to help meet the costs of changing from fossil fuel systems to low and zero emissions alternatives. If they meet certain eligibility criteria, households may be able to access fully-funded support through Warmer Homes Scotland, or local authority-led Area-Based Schemes. For other households interest-free Home Energy Scotland Loans with up to 75% cashback grants are available. However, due to the higher unit cost of electricity compared to fossil fuels such as natural gas, urgent decisions are needed by the UK Government to ensure zero emissions running costs are comparable to fossil fuel heating. These include urgent action on energy prices which must be rebalanced.

Question reference: S6W-02740

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the UK Government Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, and what its position is on introducing a similar initiative.

The Scottish Government believes that, where appropriate, family cases should be resolved outwith court.

The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act), which gained Royal Assent on 1 October 2020, contains the following provisions:

Section 23, which places a duty on Scottish Ministers to set up a scheme to make assistance available so that individuals can meet the costs of alternative dispute resolution procedures; and
Section 24, which places a duty on Scottish Ministers to arrange a pilot scheme for mandatory alternative dispute resolution meetings.

The provisions are at Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (legislation.gov.uk) .

Work has progressed in these areas, but the provisions will take time to implement. A report on the Scottish Ministers' progress between 1 October 2020 and 1 April 2021 is available: First_Report_Children_(Scotland)_Act_2020_.pdf (parliament.scot) .

We are aware of the UK Government Family Mediation Voucher Scheme and will consider if any lessons can be learnt from this scheme when implementing the 2020 Act provisions.

The Scottish Government gives funding to Relationships Scotland , who provide a number of services including family mediation.

Question reference: S6W-02340

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to recent reported comments by a Sri Lankan police spokesman that Sri Lankan police would not take cases of intimate partner violence to court nor separate husband and wife in cases that he described as “simple intimidation” and “slight assault”, and what impact this has had on its assessment of the effectiveness of Police Scotland’s training on gender-based violence.

The delivery of training by Police Scotland, in Sri Lanka, is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. The current training programme, provided by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka, is aimed at improving community policing and gender equality, with all training underpinned by equality and human rights. The Scottish Government has not carried out an assessment of the effectiveness of Police Scotland’s training on gender-based violence as it is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to agree the details of any training programme. The Scottish Police Authority has responsibility for oversight of Police Scotland and to scrutinise the decisions of the Chief Constable.

Question reference: S6O-00165

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scotland's Mental Health First Aid is reportedly not running any training courses at present.

Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid programme is delivered as a face-to-face training event. In order to comply with the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 guidance and to protect public health, the delivery of these training courses was paused by Public Health Scotland (PHS), which holds the licence for this training to operate in Scotland. A range of online resources was made available by PHS and NHS Education for Scotland throughout the pandemic. In recognition of the changing context, PHS is working to ensure that the delivery of the Mental Health First Aid programme can resume safely. These courses will restart in November 2021.

Question reference: S6O-00166

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made in supporting the removal of flammable cladding.

We met our commitment to start the programme to assess buildings within our first 100 days of government.

Our Single Building Assessments will identify issues around fire safety including cladding and the scale and scope of remediation needed to make buildings safe. This will support home owners and offer reassurance to those affected.

We are committed to fully funding Single Building Assessments with the £97.1 million consequentials we have received. We continue to urge other parties, such as developers, to continue to play their part where construction is found to be unsafe just as we continue to press the UK Government for the detail on further consequentials.

Question reference: S6O-00163

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of Afghan refugees that local authorities have offered to settle.

Scotland has always played its part in welcoming refugees, and as people from Afghanistan start to settle in Scotland, we are seeing the same.

Between June and 12 September, around 180 people in 53 families arrived in Scotland across nine local authority areas under the relocation scheme for locally employed staff. A further 16 families of approximately 65 people are expected to arrive over the next two weeks and we expect more to follow.

To date, 23 local authorities have confirmed their commitment to receiving people and others are going through internal processes to confirm their position. The Scottish Government commends all those local authorities welcoming people and other bodies which play their part in supporting people to rebuild their lives.

Question reference: S6O-00164

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the consumption of energy drinks among teenagers.

The Scottish Government has worked with Community Leisure UK, local authorities, NHS Scotland and retailers to restrict the sale of energy drinks to under-16s in publically funded leisure centres and across all NHS retail sites. Energy drinks are also not permitted in schools under the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020.

We have consulted on Ending the sale of energy drinks to children and young people and will publish a report of the responses we received in due course.

Question reference: S6O-00196

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position regarding short-term lets licensing.

Question reference: S6O-00193

Asked by: Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee City West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its efforts to prevent and alleviate homelessness.

Question reference: S6O-00192

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when parents will be permitted to attend school sports to watch their children play.