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-20965

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of short-term let licensing on the workload of local authorities.

An assessment was made of any potential impact of short term let licensing on the workload of local authorities and this information can be found in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for Short-term lets: licensing scheme and planning control area legislation published in November 2021 - Link . We are working with stakeholders including local authorities and the industry to monitor implementation and will provide an update on this in 2024.

Question reference: S6O-02549

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to eliminate long waiting times for NHS procedures.

Question reference: S6W-20806

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure the availability of more accessible information regarding housing allocation policies aimed at military service leavers and veterans, to ensure that the key details can be understood and explained easily.

We have published a housing guide which provides information about applying for social housing in Scotland. This sets out how Service leavers and veterans can obtain clear information about the housing allocation policy for the area where they want to live and their level of priority for social housing.

We have also revised the social housing allocations practice guidance Social housing allocations in Scotland: practice guide - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) to include a specific section on Armed Forces and veterans to help landlords consider the needs of this group in their allocation policies and respond appropriately.

Question reference: S6W-20753

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 6 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the proposed timeline and target date are for the establishment of a leavers fund to support victims of domestic abuse to leave abusive relationships.

As indicated in the answer to question S6W-20389 on 15 August 2023 – we remain committed to exploring the options for a fund which aims to provide immediate financial support to women leaving an abusive relationship. The detail of any fund which may result from these considerations, including potential timescales, are subject to robust consideration and planning as part of the development of options, which is currently ongoing.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-20766

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with COSLA regarding the needs of older people in developing future local housing strategies, in order to ensure that housing needs are met for everyone in the local community.

Local authorities have statutory responsibility for housing, including assessing and meeting housing needs of their areas, and setting out how requirements for housing will be met in their local housing strategies (LHSs).

Guidance published in 2019 to support local authorities with preparing LHSs includes a strong focus on consultation and engagement and Association for Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO) were involved in its development.

All LHSs are subject to a robust review process by the Scottish Government and an independent peer reviewer and feedback provided to local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-20383

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to reconfiguring the Scottish Legal Aid provision to enable access by all victim-survivors of domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-20382

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to tackle the reportedly high rates of violence against disabled women and girls, and what plans it has to gather evidence, and support engagement with accessible, gender-competent services.

We recognises that disabled women and girls are at greater risk of violence than non-disabled women and girls, and women with a learning/ intellectual disability are more likely to experience sexual abuse than other disabled people.

Through our Delivering Equally Safe (DES) fund, we are providing £19m per year to support 121 projects that focus on early intervention, prevention. This includes projects that provide advocacy support to disabled women. We have extended the fund till 2025.

We have also, along with our partners, established a Gender Based Violence Steering Group to reduce incidences of violence and empower women with learning/intellectual disabilities and/or autistic women to have safe and loving relationships.

The latest Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) results estimate that 3.4% of females aged 16+ with a disability experienced at least one violent crime in 2019/20, which is above that for all females aged 16+ (2.0%). The survey defines disability as a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last at least 12 months, and which reduces a person’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

We will continue to gather this evidence, including publication of the next SCJS findings in Autumn 2023. These results will cover a full years’ worth of interviews through to December 2022, with the prolonged gap since 2019/20 due to the earlier suspension of the survey in March 2020 to restrict social contact during the pandemic.

We also recently incorporated updated questions on partner abuse and violence against women and girls into the 2023/24 survey, which were identified as a key priority by survey users.

Question reference: S6W-20389

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is exploring the establishment of a dedicated "leavers fund" to support victims of domestic abuse to help them leave abusive relationships.

We know there can be many barriers preventing someone who is experiencing domestic abuse from leaving that relationship and we are firmly committed to looking at what we can do, within our devolved powers, to provide financial support to women so that financial uncertainty does not create a further barrier.

We are currently working with partners, including Scottish Women’s Aid (SWA), the Convention Of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) to explore how a fund providing immediate financial support to women leaving an abusive relationship could be developed and delivered.

Question reference: S6W-20261

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 9 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to mitigate the reported impact of the housing crisis on victims of domestic abuse, particularly those with children, who are seeking social housing, and what discussions it has had with the Scottish Housing Regulator about allocation rules for victims of domestic abuse.

Scotland has led the UK in providing affordable housing. We are making £3.5 billion available in this Parliamentary term, towards the delivery of more affordable and social homes. An estimated 3,480 households with children have been helped into affordable housing in the year to March 2023.

We also know that many victims of domestic abuse will have particular housing and support needs, and that is why we are also firmly committed to implementing the social housing tenancy related provisions at Part 2 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 and aim to bring these provisions into force by early 2024, subject to the necessary rules and forms of court also being in place.

As part of the Homelessness Prevention Duties we propose to make it a legal requirement for social landlords to develop and implement a domestic abuse housing policy which outlines how they will support their tenants who are experiencing domestic abuse.

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the Scottish Housing Regulator about allocation rules for the victims of domestic abuse. The legal framework for social housing allocations in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government. The Social Housing Allocations Practice Guide for social landlords published by the Scottish Government is clear that landlords should consider giving a high level of priority to anyone who is experiencing domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-19812

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the Federation of Small Businesses Big Small Business Survey, which finds that almost two fifths of Scottish SMEs have limited or no understanding of government targets related to net zero and how these will impact their business, and that three fifths of Scottish SMEs do not feel enough support is available to them with regards to the impact that the transition to net zero will have on their business.

The Scottish Government is committed to a just transition to net zero, which means working with people, businesses and communities across Scotland to ensure they can access support and advice, and that the costs and benefits of the transition are spread fairly.

Our Public Engagement Strategy for Climate Change sets out our vision: for all of Scotland to understand the challenges we face and embrace their role in our transition to a net zero and climate ready Scotland. Our people-centred approach to climate change policy, moves from encouraging incremental changes in attitudes and behaviours, to supporting a society-wide transformation.

Of particular relevance to SMEs, this year we will publish our new Heat in Buildings Public Engagement Strategy setting out how we will work with a range of partners and wider trusted messengers to increase awareness and understanding of Scotland’s net zero ambitions and associated heat decarbonisation targets with the public and organisations alike. This will include explaining what these changes will mean for property owners on the ground, and how they can access existing advice and support.

The Scottish Government currently funds a substantial service for SMEs to receive advice on reducing their energy costs, installing energy efficiency and renewable heating measures through Business Energy Scotland. In October, we increased the funding available in the SME Loan scheme where SMEs can now apply for a £20,000 cashback grant for energy efficiency measures up to 75% of the cost of the installation.