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-10503

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the section 36 application limit for windfarm proposals remains at 50MW, in light of this reportedly directly limiting windfarm proposals decided by local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-10504

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason windfarm developers can reportedly continue to submit new applications in areas where previous applications have been rejected.

When an applicant submits an application for a wind farm proposal it is considered on a case by case basis. Any wind farm application is assessed on its own merits against the relevant policy.

Under the Electricity Act 1989 an applicant can submit a new application where a previous application has been refused as the design and layout of the proposal may vary and there may be a change in material considerations.

Under the Planning Act 2019 local authorities have discretionary powers to decline to determine planning applications where a “similar application” has been refused (at appeal or following call-in) within the preceding two years by the Scottish Ministers and, in the opinion of the authority, there has not been a “significant change” in the development plan or any other material considerations. The same power also applies where more than one similar application has been refused by the authority within the preceding two years and no appeal has been lodged.

Question reference: S6W-10501

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on excluding low frequency noise from environmental assessments for windfarm developments with larger turbines.

The assessment of low frequency noise for a wind farm proposal is considered on a case by case basis. Onshore wind turbine: planning advice (May 2014) sets out the policy position for assessing the effects of noise for wind turbine developments and requires proposals to be assessed in line with the framework ‘The Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Farms’ (ETSU-R-97) (Sept 1996) by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Question reference: S6W-10444

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

Question reference: S6W-10625

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of Ukrainians who have arrived in Scotland under the various settlement schemes who have been waiting longer than (a) one month, (b) two months and (c) three months in temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government is clear that we do not want to see people spending more time in temporary accommodation than is absolutely necessary.

Our priority is to ensure that people who have already arrived, and will arrive from Ukraine, are able to stay in appropriate temporary accommodation and get the right support, then move into safe, sustainable longer term accommodation.

With regards to the matching in Scotland, the Scottish Government will be releasing some data on matching progress in due course.

Question reference: S6W-10272

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to spend on the A77 in each of the next five years.

Question reference: S6W-10502

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has an exclusive arrangement with ScottishPower Renewables for the development of windfarms on the Scottish forest estate through Forestry Land Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-10288

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of which NHS boards provide free incontinence pads upon referral.

Question reference: S6W-10292

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 25 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many displaced persons from Ukraine who have been successful in a visa application through the Super Sponsor scheme to date (a) have (i) arrived, (ii) been placed in accommodation and (b) are awaiting placement in accommodation, broken down by local authority.

Under the current constitutional arrangements in the United Kingdom the application process for all immigration routes is fully reserved to the UK Government and is dealt with by the Home Office.

The following link contains visa data and arrivals for the four nations of the UK, and includes a breakdown of data relating to visas sponsored by the Scottish Government: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-visa-data-by-country-upper-and-lower-tier-local-authority. The webpage includes the Devolved Administrations and Local Authorities datasets.

Scottish Government will be publishing a further breakdown of those placed in accommodation in due course.

Question reference: S6W-10082

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people in Scotland have donated organs, having registered their wish not to do so on the NHS Organ Donor Register website, following a healthcare staff consultation with their family.