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-04014

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason routine eye tests are conducted more frequently than hearing tests.

Question reference: S6O-04024

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-31194

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Ardrossan-Brodick ferry route is still viable, in light of reports of further delays to the MV Caledonian Isles return to service.

Question reference: S6W-31083

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07245 by Mairi Gougeon on 18 March 2022, which agency is responsible for (a) the authorised pet checkers and (b) enforcement of puppy smuggling offences, at Cairnryan ferry port.

Persons undertaking basic checks on pets travelling with their owners on the Cairnryan ferry route are ferry employees and are, therefore, responsible to the ferry operator. These staff are not however authorised pet checkers as movements from Northern Ireland are within the UK. Where ferry staff on the Cairnryan route suspect a commercial movement or otherwise non-compliant activity, they will inform the harbour police and/or local authority to enable appropriate action to be taken.

Authorised pet checkers on official Pet Travel ferry routes into England from the EU are also ferry operator personnel responsible to their employer, but they have been specifically trained by the APHA to undertake checks on documentation and conduct visual inspections of animals. Authorised pet checkers will alert APHA or the local authority where issues are identified either with travel documentation or with the animals.

In terms of enforcement responsibility at Cairnryan where puppy smuggling offences are suspected, this generally sits with the local authority and/or Police Scotland. However, either may request that the Scottish SPCA intervene to take appropriate action under the Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

Question reference: S6W-31118

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Aberdeen’s role as a global renewable energy hub.

The Scottish Government has committed up to £500 million strategic investment over five years, to leverage private investment in critical offshore wind infrastructure and supply chain.

Additional support for energy transition in Aberdeen and the North East region is also being provided through:

The Just Transition Fund, through which we have allocated up to £75 million across the North East region to support projects, including the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund helping supply chain companies to transition and access new net zero and global business opportunities, and the Offshore Energy Skills Passport aiding the cross sector transferability of the offshore energy workforce.
The Energy Transition Fund, which is supporting four major projects in Aberdeen and the North East region. These include supporting development in Aberdeen of the Energy Transition Zone, providing the necessary facilities and investment opportunities to attract renewable energy manufacturing companies and the creation of the Global Underwater Hub, to provide sub sea supply chain companies with access to multiple sector markets worldwide.

Question reference: S6W-31032

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis of the impact of reducing Scottish income tax on economic growth and, if so, what the outcome was.

The Scottish Government analyses a range of impacts, including on the economy, when considering Income Tax policy options during the annual budget process. We also closely monitor the impacts of our existing policies on revenues, taxpayers, and the economy. Scottish Income Tax performance remains strong – Scotland outperformed the rest of the UK in both tax and earnings growth for both 2022-23 and 2023-24. Scottish Income Tax policy for 2025-26 will be announced during the annual Budget process.

Question reference: S6W-31123

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the Cowal and Rosneath Community Needs Assessment by Transport Scotland on 11 September 2024, and the completion of the associated consultation exercise on 9 October 2024, whether it will confirm the cost of providing the assessed excessive service level between Gourock and Dunoon.

The independent Cowal and Rosneath Community Needs Assessment concluded that there is evidence of over-provision on the Gourock-Dunoon passenger ferry service in terms of sailings per day and in terms of the length of the operating day in winter. The Assessment does not calculate the cost of the over-provision. There are several options considered to address the findings and the preferred approach and associated costs will be determined in due course.

Question reference: S6W-31034

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of public-sector workers that pay more in income tax than they would if they lived elsewhere in the UK.

Question reference: S6W-31109

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that most local authorities are unable to deliver instrumental music tuition to all interested school pupils and are operating waiting lists for instrumental music tuition due to capacity issues, what urgent action it can take to resolve this.

The most recent Instrumental Music Services Survey 2023 Instrumental Music Services: Results from the IMS Survey 2023 (improvementservice.org.uk) (published in December 2023) confirmed that the number of pupils accessing free instrumental music tuition was the highest on record since the survey began in 2012.

It is for individual councils to make decisions about their own provision. For those local authorities which do operate waiting lists, it is clearly important that they work to accommodate as many interested pupils as possible.

Question reference: S6W-31122

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken to meet the commitment for Transport Scotland to explore freight issues in more detail by revisiting the Freight Fares Review, as set out in the Islands Connectivity Plan - Strategic Approach, published in January 2024.

The draft Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) Strategic Approach was published for public consultation from 1 February 2024 to 6 May 2024. The draft proposed that we would revisit the Freight Fares Review in the medium to longer term.

The purpose of the consultation was to gather feedback on our proposals and test our understanding of the priority issues facing island transport connectivity and ferry services in particular.

The outputs from the consultation and engagement will support the finalisation of the ICP which will set out our plans for taking forward ferry fares policy.