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-00174

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on cross-government co-ordination of COVID-19 recovery policies.

Question reference: S6O-00188

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board will publish its recommendations on future agricultural policy.

Question reference: S6O-00181

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support Scotland’s move to a more circular economy.

Question reference: S6O-00171

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how its policies and actions across government will support Mid Scotland and Fife to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6O-00176

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to young people in the run up to COP26 to ensure that their views on climate change are listened to.

Question reference: S6O-00185

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it did not commit to introducing a Crofting Bill in its Programme for Government.

Question reference: S6O-00177

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in meeting its target of planting 30 million trees by the end of 2021, and whether it achieved the 22 million target last year.

Question reference: S6W-02478

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 15 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions on children's access to sport and leisure facilities.

We recognise that the opportunities for physical activity, particularly for organised sport, have been significantly affected by the restrictions. Our approach during the pandemic has been to permit as much sport and physical activity as much as possible in a safe way, in particular prioritising under eighteen sport, recognising the importance to both physical and mental health.

Our Programme for Government commits to doubling investment in sport and active living to £100 million a year by the end of this Parliament. That investment will enable us to rebuild capacity and resilience in the sector following the pandemic, and ensure we address inequalities in access to physical activity and sport.

sportscotland works in partnership with all 32 local authorities to invest in and support the Active Schools Network. Over the coming year, we will also work with sportscotland on the next steps to ensure that Active Schools programmes are free for all children and young people by the end of this Parliament, providing them with more opportunities to take part in sport before, during and after school.

We invested over £20m in our Get into Summer Programme across Local Authorities and 18 National Partners to support the wellbeing and mental health of those children and young people most impacted by Covid. This included funding of £1.4m to sportscotland for Active Schools coordinators, Sports Development officers and Community Sport Hub officers to enhance opportunities for all children and young people to participate in activities and experiences over the summer.

Question reference: S6W-02480

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 15 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it has put in place during the COVID-19 recovery period to increase access to swimming lessons for everyone.

Our approach during the pandemic has been to permit as much sport and physical activity as much as possible in a safe way, in particular prioritising under eighteen sport. The Scottish Government is in discussion with key stakeholders involved in the provision of swimming lessons and water safety education. We recognise the importance of swimming lessons in helping to build water confidence and learning to be safe in and around water, as well as the benefits swimming provides to physical and mental health.

Question reference: S6W-02394

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 15 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in vulnerable groups of type 1 diabetics, in light of the study, Rising Rates and Widening Socioeconomic Disparities in Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Type 1 Diabetes in Scotland: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Observational Study, which concludes that there are rising rates and widening socioeconomic disparities in DKA in type 1 diabetes in Scotland.

The Scottish Government are committed to improving outcomes for people living with diabetes in Scotland. Our Diabetes Improvement Plan contains specific commitments to raise awareness of the dangers of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and also has a significant focus on equity of access to care and services. This can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/diabetes-improvement-plan-diabetes-care-scotland-commitments-2021-2026/documents/ .

DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) happens when there is severe lack of insulin in the body. When this happens, chemicals called ketones are released, and can be extremely serious if left untreated. We are working collaboratively with clinical teams, third sector and people living with diabetes to relaunch the national education campaign: Think, Test, Telephone. This campaign is designed to support people living with Type 1 diabetes to better understand the risks of DKA and how to avoid it. We will continue to capture and track data on SCI-Diabetes to assess the impact of this on DKA rates.

Treatments for diabetes are complex and multifaceted. Many treatments require people to go through a formal education programme in order to self-manage their condition from home. This means there are many barriers facing people living with diabetes and in particular, those living in areas of deprivation or people that have English as a second language.

We are committed to understanding these barriers and are working in partnership with Diabetes Scotland and the Alliance to ensure the needs of people living with diabetes are fully understood. We will take targeted action to ensure equity of access across Scotland and share progress of this using data from SCI-diabetes.