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-22677

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the MV Alfred has been chartered to serve the port of Stornoway, in light of reports that the ferry is incompatible with that port.

CalMac have chartered the MV Alfred on a temporary basis to support resilience throughout the CHFS network, and not principally to serve Stornoway.

At present a number of vessels in the CalMac fleet are carrying out berthing trials including MV Alfred, MV Hebridean Isles and the MV Caledonian Isles. This is to ensure CalMac are fully aware of the capabilities of all of their vessels in the event there is a period of severe disruption and to ensure that all communities continue to receive a service even during severe disruption.

These trials concluded that the MV Alfred would not be able to operate a service to Stornoway, however have proven successful in other ports for example, Lochmaddy/Tarbert where she will provide additional support from 10 November.

Question reference: S6F-02532

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2023

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on when the Scottish Government will review its ban on alcohol consumption on ScotRail train services.

Question reference: S6O-02652

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will outline details of its £80 million of financial support for the Scottish Cluster carbon capture project, which it announced in January 2022.

Question reference: S6W-21396

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will review its ban on alcohol consumption on ScotRail services.

Question reference: S6O-02565

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the finance secretary plans to allocate to local authorities any funding from the block grant that has arisen as a result of Barnett consequential funding from the UK Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund.

Question reference: S6O-02519

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will deliver its conclusions on the review into the dualling of the A96, which were due to be delivered in the first half of 2023.

Firstly, I’d reiterate that the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to making improvements to the A96 and the current plan is to fully dual the route.

The significant interest in the transparent, evidence-based review’s initial consultation generated 11,000 options to improve the corridor and it is only right that these were fully appraised.

Transport Scotland is pushing forward a robust appraisal of the sixteen retained options alongside a Climate Compatibility Assessment, with outcomes expected to be ready in the coming months for final public consultation, before a final decision can be reached.

Question reference: S6W-20679

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 31 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19481 by Neil Gray on 18 July 2023, which confirms that an advisory group has not yet been established, what its position is on whether the Scottish Ministers are in breach of section 29 of the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020, in light of the Act being passed in January 2020, the Scottish National Investment Bank having been operational in lending public money, and the Act stating that the "Scottish Ministers must establish and maintain an advisory group to provide them with advice on the Bank’s objects, conduct and performance."

Under Section 29 of the Scottish National Investment Bank Scottish Ministers must establish and maintain an advisory group. Now that the Bank is fully established, and has a growing portfolio of investments work is underway to create the advisory group.

As part of the work currently underway Scottish Government officials are finalising decisions on the membership of the group and how often this group will meet.

Question reference: S6W-19485

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary school children have received a computer device since March 2021, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that every school aged child has access to a device by the end of this Parliamentary term. We recognise that access to technology is a fundamental aspect of a modern education system and the commitment in the recently published Policy Prospectus to “improve digital access for learners” reaffirms this.

In 2020-21, we provided £25 million to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, directly providing devices and internet connections to children and young people to support their learning. We have also supported local authorities to directly invest in devices.

Information from local authorities indicates that a total of up to 280,000 devices have already been distributed to learners across Scotland. We do not hold detailed information on how those devices have been distributed across primary and secondary settings within individual local authorities.

In 2023-24, we are continuing to work with COSLA and other partners on delivering this commitment.

Question reference: S6W-19482

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish National Investment Bank’s advisory group (a) was established and (b) last met.

Question reference: S6W-19477

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what risk assessments were undertaken by the Scottish National Investment Bank prior to investing in Circularity Scotland.