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-00858

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what action it is taking to advance and support the use of the Scots language across the Scottish Parliament campus.

Question reference: S6O-00860

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, in light of the symbols of solidarity seen across the world, whether it will, and has the equipment necessary to, light the Scottish Parliament building in the colours of the Ukraine flag at night.

Question reference: S6O-00819

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the creation of a development and recovery agency for Glasgow.

The Glasgow Regional Economic Partnership recently published a Regional Recovery Strategy for the area which aligns closely with the priorities outlined in our National Strategy for Economic Transformation published earlier this week.

Assisting with the City Centre recovery is the Glasgow City Centre Task Force which Scottish ministers work closely with on economic recovery and Glasgow City Council has been allocated £2.6m from the City Centre Recovery Fund to take forward local priorities.

The Scottish Government works closely with the Regional Economic Partnership and the Glasgow City Centre Task Force and we value their knowledge and expertise and do not believe a further Agency is required given the existing arrangements.

Question reference: S6W-06783

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage youth work as a career, including any specific support for those seeking to leave their current employment in a different sector.

Scottish Government is taking steps to encourage youth work as a career by offering targeted qualifications and professional learning opportunities, building awareness of the sector, and offering support to gain qualifications.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) offers a Youth Work Modern Apprenticeship that teaches practical skills needed for a successful career in youth work. SDS also manage Individual Training Accounts, offering those who are unemployed or with an income of less than £22,000 access of up to £200 per year to support entry to or progression in work; and supports people to develop new skills and progress their careers.

Scottish Government also funds Youth Scotland to deliver the PDA in Youth Work to youth workers across Scotland, including volunteers. Furthermore, the Community Learning & Development Standards Council for Scotland (CLDSC) offers various opportunities to its members for professional learning & development, including buddying and mentoring programmes for early-career CLD practitioners, including youth workers. The CLDSC are also currently working with a range of stakeholders (including Further and Higher Education providers and Scottish employers) to host a CLD open day later in 2022 where youth work as a career or voluntary opportunity will be promoted to those not already involved in Community Learning & Development.

Question reference: S6W-06113

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the onshore infrastructure in north east Scotland to support the growing offshore wind sector, and what funding it has made available to date to facilitate any necessary upgrades.

The Scottish Government is wholly committed to a just transition to net zero and using the energy transition to build a better and more equal society.

Our ten-year £500m Just Transition Fund will accelerate the energy transition of the North East and Moray regions, and will also support the role of Aberdeen and the wider north east as one of Scotland’s centres of excellence for the transition to a net zero economy as we grow Scotland’s offshore wind sector and supply chain – which Scottish Ministers have called on the UK Government multiple times to match.

We have invested £26.3m to support the creation of the Energy Transition Zone (ETZ) in Aberdeen. The ETZ will be a place to attract and develop green energy related R&D, innovation, manufacturing, testing, and demonstration, and will help to position Aberdeen as a global hub for offshore wind and other innovative renewables technologies such as the development of green hydrogen projects.

On Monday 28 th February 2022, the First Minister announced that ETZ Ltd have the National Floating Wind Innovation Centre as their anchor tenant. The £9 million centre will be located within the Altens Industrial Estate of the Energy Transition Zone and is being developed to ensure that the North East of Scotland and wider UK capitalise on the massive opportunity created by the Scottish seabed leasing round, Scotwind, which will drive the development and demand for floating offshore wind. ETZ Ltd is providing £4m for the capital costs of the innovation centre and ORE Catapult are contributing £5m to operationally run it. Through the Energy Transition Fund we are providing the full £4m that ETZ are investing. It is due to go out in Financial Year 2022-23.

In addition, the Scottish Government’s £75m Energy Just Transition Fund (ETF) will not only support our energy sector and the North East but will also benefit the wider Scottish energy sector and offshore wind supply chain, working with local businesses to maximise the economic benefits, create and support sustainable jobs and contribute to inclusive economic growth across the country.

Furthermore the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) has been identified by both industry and the Scottish Government as a key vehicle for taking forward the strategic supply chain opportunities that emerge from ScotWind. A key role for SOWEC is the implementation of the recommendations in the Strategic Investment Assessment (SIA), which was commissioned by SOWEC and led by Professor Sir Jim McDonald of Strathclyde University. The primary recommendation focusses on bringing the manufacturing of floating offshore wind platforms to Scotland through creation of a Scottish Floating Offshore Wind Port Cluster, with ports acting in partnership to provide the required infrastructure area and capability needed to attract manufacturers to use Scottish ports and invest in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-06139

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of changes in work patterns and increased hybrid working impacting on commuting, whether it will consider, as part of ScotRail moving into public ownership, liaising with VisitScotland to discuss increasing tourism on the rail network by combining rail tickets with discounted entrance charges to participating national attractions.

VisitScotland already works closely with ScotRail as a key national partner. The relationship includes liaising on matters relating to the visitor experience and running joint marketing campaigns, including a spring 2022 campaign to promote family days out in Scotland's cities.

ScotRail Trains Limited have been charged with producing a Market Growth Strategy, from April 2022, that develops and implements appropriate products and services to address post–Covid markets including, in particular, tourism. To assist with the development of that strategy and in furtherance of the relationship that exists between ScotRail and VisitScotIand. I have asked my officials to establish with them what more can be done to promote tourism and, in particular, actions to encourage visits to national attractions by rail.

Question reference: S6W-06753

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) reported incidents, (b) prosecutions, (c) convictions and (d) penalties for vandalism and related offences committed against public toilet facilities there have been in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-06752

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it undertakes of vandalism of public toilet facilities and the impact that vandalism has on the availability of toilet facilities in local communities.

Question reference: S6W-06803

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners are being held in (a) individual cells and (b) cells holding more than one person, and how many are being "doubled-up" in individual cells.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

On 21 February 2022 the prison population at unlock was 7,561. A breakdown is provided below regarding the accommodation the individuals were located in:

1. 4,885 people were accommodated alone in a cell intended to accommodate one person and,

230 people were accommodated alone in a cell that is designed to be double occupancy.

2. 918 people were accommodated in a cell, or dormitory, intended for more than one person and,

1,528 people were accommodated with another person in a cell intended for one person.

Question reference: S6W-06305

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its latest review into snaring, which, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, was due to be completed by December 2021.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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