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: S5O-02928

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors any reductions to specialist welfare benefits services by local authorities that are facing financial challenges.

It is the responsibility of Local Authorities to provide advice based on local need and their statutory duties. We provide funding to support the most vulnerable people as part of the block grant, which we provide to all local authorities as part of the annual local government finance settlement. This provides flexibility to local authorities and it is for each of them to allocate their resources in the way that best meets local needs including welfare benefits services.

Question reference: S5W-21473

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of its investigation into alleged illegal scallop dredging in the Gairloch protected area.

Question reference: S5W-21485

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what statutory provisions apply to people who have to leave social housing on a temporary or permanent basis due to flood damage.

The model tenancy agreement for Scottish secure tenancies includes a clause under which a registered social landlord will carry out necessary repairs due to flood damage within a reasonable time, or offer equivalent permanent rehousing as soon as such a house becomes available, and until that time will try to help the tenant to get temporary accommodation if the house is uninhabitable.

All local authorities in Scotland have statutory responsibilities towards people who are threatened with or who are experiencing homelessness, and are obliged by law to offer a minimum of temporary accommodation and advice and assistance. Anyone found to be homeless through no fault of their own is entitled to be provided with settled accommodation.

Question reference: S5O-02882

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 February 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what role third sector organisations such as Healthy Valleys in Lanark play in supporting preventative health and other community-led health initiatives.

Question reference: S5W-21210

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the total spend on Scottish Natural Heritage's site condition monitoring in the last five years was allocated to monitoring (a) SSSI, (b) Natura 2000 and (c) RAMSAR features.

Question reference: S5W-21208

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of designated features of sites of special scientific interest have had no condition assessments undertaken in the last six years.

From a total of 3,710 designated features on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Scotland, 1,928 have had no Site Condition Monitoring assessments undertaken in the last six years. This represents 52% of all designated features on SSSIs in Scotland. However, some SSSI features were instead subject to a Site Check process, which involves a shorter site visit which can trigger further action by Scottish Natural Heritage, including Site Condition Monitoring or management intervention. Taking into account those features assessed by a Site Check, the extent of all designated features on SSSIs in Scotland not assessed in the last six years is 21%.

Question reference: S5W-21207

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the proposed budget is for the next cycle of Scottish Natural Heritage site condition monitoring from March 2019.

A budget for the next cycle of Site Condition Monitoring has not yet been set by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) as during 2019-20 SNH will be developing a new approach to monitoring designated features in protected areas. Further details will be available in due course. In summary, it is intended to: better align the monitoring of protected areas with wider surveillance requirements to provide a more robust picture of the health of Scotland’s nature; prioritise monitoring effort based on risk to wildlife interests; and to utilise new technologies such as remote earth sensing and DNA analysis to give better coverage and to improve value for money.

Question reference: S5W-21209

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much Scottish Natural Heritage’s programme of site condition monitoring has cost in each of the last five years.

Over the last five years, the annual cost of Scottish Natural Heritage’s Site Condition Monitoring has varied depending on the natural features covered each year and the availability of staff time. These costs were:

2013-14 - £975,256
2014-15 - £831,252
2015-16 - £985,285
2016-17 - £786,919
2017-18 - £641,557

These costs include Scottish Natural Heritage staff and funded contract monitoring costs.

Question reference: S5O-02869

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the impact on communities of banks reportedly closing branches without consultation, such as Santander in the South Scotland region.

Question reference: S5O-02805

Asked by: Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how its policy on dealing with hate crime is informed by the expertise of women's organisations.