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-00368

Asked by: Jenni Minto, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support Argyll and Bute to benefit from the transition to net zero.

Question reference: S6O-00367

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation is being undertaken with communities regarding next year’s summer timetable for ferry routes within the CalMac network.

Question reference: S6O-00361

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider local government reform in relation to the redrawing of local authority areas, in light of the reported issues associated with new boundaries for the Highland Council area.

Question reference: S6O-00365

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for infrastructure investment in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency.

Question reference: S6W-03504

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses the Scottish National Investment Bank has invested in each year, broken down by how much it has invested, and how many businesses it plans to invest in in each of the next five years.

The Scottish National Investment Bank only opened in November 2020 but has so far committed over £120 million to eight businesses and projects in line with its strategic missions. Details of the each of the Bank’s investments are published on the Bank’s ‘Our Portfolio’ page: https://www.thebank.scot/our-portfolio/ .

In 2020-21 it invested in two businesses and projects with a total commitment of £52.5 million and so far in 2021-22 the Bank has committed £68.4 million to a further six businesses. The Bank’s forward plans are set out in the business plan and investment strategy which can be found on the Bank’s ‘Publications’ page: https://www.thebank.scot/publications/ .

The Bank has been established to make investments independently of Government but in line with the strategic missions set for it by Ministers. The pace of investment and investment decisions are therefore matters for the Bank’s board. The Scottish Government is committed to providing the Bank with £1 billion of funding for investment during the course of this parliament.

Question reference: S6W-03730

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to implementing community booster share schemes, including via the Scottish National Investment Bank.

Scotland has well established approaches and sources of funding which enable our communities to do things for themselves, as well as to make their voices heard in the planning and delivery of services.

We are targeting similar outcomes to those of the community booster share schemes in England with our Place-Based Investment Programme which is being backed by £325 million of capital funding over 5 years for a variety of place-based investment initiatives, including support for 20-minute neighbourhoods, town centre action, community wealth building and community-led regeneration. We also have our £50 million Vacant and Derelict Land investment programme. These initiatives are complemented by our Empowering Communities Programme which supports community led projects and strategic partnerships, enabling communities to tackle poverty and disadvantage on their own terms. We also provide funding to Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) totalling over £400,000 between 2021 and 2024 to continue their Community Shares Scotland programme.

The Scottish National Investment Bank has been established to invest in Scottish business, projects and communities with the objective of delivering positive environmental and social impacts, and positive financial returns for the people of Scotland. The Bank operates on a commercial basis, providing repayable debt and equity. This investment is available to Third Sector and community organisations for specific commercial projects.

Question reference: S6W-03590

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been supported through the Young Person’s Guarantee since the scheme was introduced.

Since the launch of the Young Person's Guarantee in November 2020, we have invested an additional £130 million which aims to provide at least 24,000 new and enhanced opportunities to support young people find and sustain employment.

The Guarantee is not a standalone programme and is building on our already significant investment into education, employability and skills. Therefore we are working with partners to produce a rigorous Measurement and Evaluation Framework that will support our understanding of the Guarantee's impact across a range of economic, education and equalities outcomes.

The framework will build upon a range of existing reporting mechanisms, including Skills Development Scotland's (SDS) Participation Measure, which recently reported a record annual participation measure figure , with 92.2% of 16-19 year olds participating in education, training or employment from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021. Other sources of information underpinning the framework include the regular reporting of Apprenticeships statistics from SDS and work completed by the Scottish Funding Council on Further/Higher Education provision.

As part of this work, we published the Guarantee's Key Performance Indicators on 28 July 2021 alongside the Implementation Progress Report . We also expect to shortly restart publications of the Local Authority Youth Labour Market Dashboard and Snapshot Participation Measure.

We will be announcing more details on the framework in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-03573

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) Stagecoach and (b) First Glasgow regarding the reported cancellation of bus services in the last month.

Transport Scotland officials meet bus stakeholders, including both Stagecoach and First, on a fortnightly basis. This has recently included discussion on the impact of driver shortages on service provision. Bus operators receiving emergency COVID-19 funding are contractually obliged to run a range of pre COVID mileage, any deviation from which has to be agreed with Transport Scotland. They are also required to consult and cooperate with local transport authorities as to their service plans. These terms are set out in public service contracts with operators and a model contract is available on the Transport Scotland website at: https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/buses/covid-19-support-grant/

Question reference: S6W-03570

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations in the Climate Emergency Response Group report, Delivering on Scotland's response to the climate emergency - 12 immediate actions for the new Scottish Government in the year of COP26.

I welcome the report from the Climate Emergency Response Group and its emphasis on delivering action to tackle the climate emergency. The Scottish Government continues to work constructively with the Climate Emergency Response Group (CERG) on delivering the change required to end Scotland’s contribution to climate change within a generation. To that end, I have already met with CERG representatives to discuss their most recent report and its recommendations. On such matters, my officials continue to engage with the group on a regular basis.

I thank CERG for their continuous work offering recommendations to the Scottish Government and for their part in ensuring the climate emergency remains at the top of the political agenda.

Question reference: S6W-03581

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to South Ayrshire Council in light of reports of an estimated funding gap of between £59 and £69 million for the period to 2029-30.

Decisions on future local government finance settlements will be the subject of negotiations with COSLA on behalf of all 32 local authorities and announced as part of the outcome of future Scottish Budgets and/or Spending Reviews.

In 2021-22, South Ayrshire Council will receive a total funding package of
‎ £232.7 million to support local services, which includes an extra £6.3 million to support vital day to day services, equivalent to an increase of 2.9 per cent compared to 2020-21. To date, the council have been allocated an additional £30 million to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the local government settlement - over and above their regular grant payments.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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