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: S5W-34116

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the terms of any loan and repayment requirements given to Business Stream by its parent company, Scottish Water, in respect of support through difficult trading arrangements arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Any loan provided to Business Stream will be made by Scottish Water Business Stream Holdings (SWBSH) on arms-length commercial terms, consistent with the Market Economy Investor Principle (“MEIP”) test, based on independent expert advice and benchmarking. The key terms of the loan facility are:

New funding of £59m - £10m of equity, first tranche £24m debt, and second tranche £25m debt.
The first tranche debt will attract an interest cost of SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average) +3%
The second tranche debt will attract an interest cost of SONIA +9%
First tranche debt would be provided before second tranche debt.
All debt is to be repaid within 5 years. The debt is secured by a floating charge over the assets of Business Stream, granted in favour of the lender.

Question reference: S5W-34091

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much Scottish Water, as the owners of Business Stream, has had to make available to it to meet trading challenges during the pandemic; under what terms, and whether any assistance with liquidity is in respect of Business Stream’s trading activities in England.

Question reference: S5W-34090

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of the final determination of charges by the Water Industry Commission, whether the interpretation of the duty to set charge caps at the lowest overall reasonable cost interprets cost as being of investment, or to customers.

Question reference: S5W-34096

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31954 by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 October 2020, whether Scottish business customers are insulated from the costs of any trading losses incurred by Business Stream from its trading activities in England.

The performance of Business Stream in England will have no impact on the wholesale charges levied on Licensed Providers in the Scottish retail market. It is for Licensed Providers to determine the charges that should be levied on their customers but within the constraints of a highly competitive market. WICS also requires Scottish Water under the Governance Code to demonstrate that there is no detriment to Scottish customers from the activities of Business Stream.

Question reference: S5W-34087

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of the final determination of charges by the Water Industry Commission, whether it can confirm that the water charge cap envisaged will need to rise by more than 2% annually above the rate of inflation if any flexibility in charges to reflect the economic circumstances on customers of the COVID-19 pandemic are utilised in 2021-22 and any subsequent years.

Question reference: S5W-34088

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of the final determination of charges by the Water Industry Commission, whether the general function it has of promoting the interests of persons who might become connected to Scottish Water’s services, is a function that has been given subsequent to the final determination of the 2015-21 period, or existed when that and earlier determinations were made.

Question reference: S5W-34092

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of the final determination of charges by the Water Industry Commission, what assumptions have been made about cash balances held by Scottish Water at the end of 2020-21, and how those assumptions compare with the outcome set in the 2015-21 final determination.

Scottish Water set out in their 2020 Delivery Plan update that they expected the outturn cash level to be within a range of £120 million to £200 million on conclusion of the SR15 investment delivery. During 2020 their costs and revenues have been significantly impacted by Covid-19 both in the day to day operations and in their investment programme. Scottish Water will provide an update on the forecast costs of Covid-19 and the impact on cash balances on the conclusion of the SR15 regulatory period in their 2021 Delivery Plan which will be published in March. This compares to the 2015-21 final determination assumption of a closing cash balance of £40m.

Question reference: S5W-34086

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 11 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of the final determination of charges by the Water Industry Commission, whether there is any flexibility in the expectation of the level of income to be raised in 2026-27, and whether any expectation is a formal part of the regulatory settlement for the period.

Question reference: S5W-34072

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 6 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what easy-read format information is being made available to support people who have learning disabilities regarding the COVID-19 guidance and travel rules when local authority restriction levels change.

Scottish Government have been working with partners including People First (Scotland) and Scottish Commission for Learning Disabilities (SCLD) to produce easy-read information on Coronavirus (COVID-19.)

Easy-read guidance on the Local Protection levels is available on the Scottish Government website at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework---translations-and-alternative-formats/

Easy-read guidance for Christmas day is available on the Scottish Government website at: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Christmas and the festive period - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S5W-34073

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 6 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential anxiety that might be caused, what support is available for people who have learning disabilities if they encounter people who are not following the guidance regarding the COVID-19 restriction level for their area.

The Scottish Government recognises that people with learning disabilities will feel anxious about people not following COVID -19 guidance. That is why the Scottish Government has been working with partners including The University of Glasgow and The Scottish Commission for Learning Disabilities (SCLD) to produce easy read Self-Help Booklets and easy-read information on Coronavirus (COVID-19) including a section on tips for good mental health. It is important to talk about your feelings. The booklets are intended to give people with learning/intellectual disabilities an opportunity to talk through their feelings with people providing support to them. Over 12,000 booklets have been distributed in an effort to support people with learning disabilities.

The resources are available at:

COVID-19 Guided Self-Help Bookets (scld.org.uk)

https://www.scld.org.uk/information-on-coronavirus/

http://peoplefirstscotland.org/

In addition, Scottish Government has funded over £300,000 to organisations through the Third Sector Wellbeing Fund to deliver essential support services for autistic people and/or people with a learning/intellectual disability throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This includes support to:

ENABLE Scotland, who launched ACE Connect and Family Connect in response to the pandemic as places where members could stay connected and access emotional support through new dedicated helpline.
Downs Syndrome Scotland who have extended their helpline in order to provide essential advice and support to people and families.
PAMIS, who have supported and advocated for families and carers during the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Winter funding of around £90k has just been made available to learning disability and autism organisations to tackle isolation over the winter months.