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-09183

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08830 by Keith Brown on 8 June 2022, how (a) many expert researchers were hired to help inform thinking on Scotland’s future Peace Institute and (b) much the Scottish Government has spent on these contracts to date.

Four authors, who are subject matter experts in peace processes and international law, are undertaking the necessary research to inform the thinking on Scotland’s Peace Institute. The research commission was put out to competitive tender at the start of the year and following assessment of the bids received we awarded the contract to the successful consortium of researchers. The total cost of the contract is £30,000.

Question reference: S6W-09115

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason, following registration not to be a donor on the Organ Donation Scotland website, confirmation correspondence indicates that the individual should let family and next of kin know of their decision not to donate.

Family and friends will always be involved in discussions about organ or tissue donation. If a person is in hospital and dies in circumstances where donation may be possible, a Specialist Nurse would check if the person has registered a decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR). The Specialist Nurse would then discuss any registered decision, or lack of one, with family and friends in order to ascertain the potential donor’s most recent views, which may have changed since the recording of any decision.

These discussions help to ensure that people don’t become donors if that would be against their wishes. This is why, as well as recording any decision on the ODR, individuals are encouraged to let family and friends know about their decision and latest views.

Question reference: S6W-09040

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian refugees have been refused a place through its Super Sponsor scheme due to (a) unspent convictions, (b) spent convictions, (c) unspent cautions and (d) sex offender notifications.

Question reference: S6W-08858

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07560 by Shona Robison on 19 April 2022, whether it will provide further details of the steps that it has taken to meet with former Hong Kong residents who have resettled in Scotland who (a) are asylum seekers and (b) hold British National (Overseas) visas, in order to collect feedback on their experiences.

Scottish Government officials have spoken with people seeking asylum as part of ongoing engagement and our work to deliver the New Scots refugee integration strategy. However, this is not done on the basis of people’s nationality but their experience living in Scotland while seeking asylum, wherever they are from. We also regularly engage with partners who provide direct support to people seeking asylum. Officials have ongoing engagement with people relocating to Scotland from Hong Kong, as part of wider stakeholder engagement.

Question reference: S6W-08857

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it has supported asylum seekers from Hong Kong who have resettled in Scotland.

Asylum and immigration are matters reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes decisions relating to refugee resettlement programmes, UK visa routes and the operation of the UK asylum system. The Scottish Government has no control over these processes.

There is no provision in UK Immigration Rules for someone abroad to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum. There is therefore no resettlement route for people seeking asylum from Hong Kong. The UK Government has established refugee resettlement routes and visa routes, including the Hong Kong BN(O) visa route. Decisions about eligibility criteria for refugee resettlement and visa routes are made by the UK Government.

Scotland’s approach to supporting refugees and people seeking asylum is set out in the New Scots refugee integration strategy. Developed and led in partnership by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, New Scots provides a clear framework for all those working to support integration and assists the work of partners across local authorities, public services, the private sector, third sector and community organisations. The key principle of New Scots is that refugees and asylum seekers should be supported to integrate into communities from day one of arrival.

Question reference: S6W-08864

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the issue of bus cancellations across South and East Ayrshire due to reported driver shortages.

There is currently a shortage of drivers for bus and lorries due to the COVID pandemic, creating a backlog in processing applications and testing which is being compounded by the consequences of BREXIT, as it prevents people from the EU coming here to work freely. We have repeatedly sought a formal role in determining what occupations are in shortage in the devolved nations, but the UK Government has denied this. As such, bus drivers are not included in the Shortage Occupations List (SOL). I understand that the UK Government will be reviewing this later this year and we have asked for full involvement in that process.

The problem is clearly causing issues for local and national bus services across Scotland. To address the workplace issues, my officials are working with bus operators and our partners across the public sector to promote the bus sector as a place to work while recognising that many of the levers are reserved to the UK Government. We have provided up to £210 million in funding to support bus services during the pandemic and an additional £40 million to support recovery this year. My predecessor also wrote to the UK Government about the consequences of the delays affecting the recruitment and training of potential drivers, which continues to be a concern for the bus industry.

I know that the majority of bus services in Scotland are operated on a commercial basis by private bus companies. But I would strongly encourage operators and local authorities to work together to ensure that connectivity is protected and maintained.

Question reference: S6W-09029

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish its response to the recommendations of the National Partnership for Culture.

As referred to in response to PQs S6W-08593 and S6W-08594 on 1 June 2022, we were pleased to receive the report and recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture on 28 February 2022. Scottish Government officials are working together across portfolios to review the recommendations. Our response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations will be published shortly.

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-08859

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 17 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07763 by Jamie Hepburn on 28 April 2022, what action it can take in response to reports of Chinese state influence and interference at (a) the University of Edinburgh and (b) other universities in Scotland.

Our universities are autonomous institutions and the alliances they forge across global academic networks are a matter for them and their governing bodies.

We expect all our universities to understand and manage the reputational, ethical and security risks associated with international partnerships. This includes conducting appropriate due diligence before entering into new international partnerships and monitoring existing partnerships. Guidance to support universities has been published by Universities UK.

Question reference: S6O-01278

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is putting in place to mitigate the impact of industrial action by rail workers, including on the night-time economy.

Question reference: S6W-08828

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents involving (i) HGVs and (ii) other vehicles on the A77 there (A) were in 2021 and (B) have been in 2022, also broken down by section of the road that passes through South Ayrshire.

The following tables provide the provisional number of injury road accidents on the A77 in 2021 broken down by severity. Final figures for 2021 will be published in October 2022. Figures for 2022 are still being collected and verified and are therefore not currently available.

	A77 accidents within South Ayrshire Local Authority area
	HGV accidents	Other accidents	Total
Fatal	0	0	0
Non-fatal	0	11	11
Total	0	11	11

	A77 accidents within other Local Authority areas
	HGV accidents	Other accidents	Total
Fatal	1	1	2
Non-fatal	0	23	23
Total	1	24	25

	A77 Total accidents
	HGV accidents	Other accidents	Total
Fatal	1	1	2
Non-fatal	0	34	34
Total	1	35	36