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-10573

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many towns will be designated as National Towns of Culture.

I refer the member to answer S6W-10572 on 6 September 2022 which sets out what progress is being made towards the realisation of National Towns of Culture. Any decisions taken, including those related to the number of towns designated as National Towns of Culture, will be consulted on with the cultural and creative sectors, and community groups, as we progress.

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: S6O-01335

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it is providing to third sector organisations in the Lothians that are supporting refugees from Ukraine.

Question reference: S6W-09970

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07530 by Humza Yousaf on 11 April 2022, whether it will provide an update on what progress has been made on replacing the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh.

NHS Boards are required to provide regular updates to the Scottish Government on the status and progress of National Treatment Centre projects. NHS Lothian is currently refreshing the Outline Business Case for the Edinburgh Eye Pavilion replacement project and will subsequently submit a Full Business Case to Scottish Government. Recent progress includes work to develop a Briefing Pack and Exemplar Design which will incorporate requirements to meet the NHS Assure process; Net Zero Carbon legislation; site location; learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic and impact on Clinical Pathways and outputs of the ‘NHS Lothian: Strategic Review of Ophthalmology Services’ completed in 2021. NHS Lothian has also appointed a Health Planner to further develop the Clinical Brief and associated Schedule of Accommodation, based on the outline clinical strategy produced in 2021.

Question reference: S6W-09969

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Lothian has submitted a full business case for the new eye pavilion in Edinburgh, and, if so, on what date it was submitted, and by what date the Scottish Government will respond.

Question reference: S6W-09465

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the value engineering exercise will have on the proposed Roseburn to Union Canal Path Link.

As the programme managers and project owners, the details of any such exercises lie with Sustrans and City of Edinburgh Council (CEC). We understand that a value engineering exercise was undertaken by CEC and Sustrans in view of escalating cost pressures and timescales for several Places for Everyone projects. Places for Everyone is an active travel infrastructure programme run and programme managed by Sustrans with grant funding from Transport Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09467

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase spending on active travel in Edinburgh.

Spending on active travel will increase throughout Scotland as we realise the Programme for Government commitment to increase the active travel budget to at least £320 million or 10% of the transport budget from 2024-25 onwards. The detail of how that significant increase in investment will apply in different local authority areas is still to be determined.

The Scottish Government supports all local authorities to deliver active travel through a variety of programmes including several run by third sector partners which local authorities can bid into and two direct funds – a LA resource fund of £2 million and a capital fund of £35 million (Cycling Walking and Safer Streets) both distributed pro rata this year across all 32 local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-09466

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to spend on active travel projects in Edinburgh over the next four years.

Scottish Government funding for active travel in Edinburgh and other local authority areas is channelled through a number of programmes overseen by Transport Scotland. The single biggest programme is the Places for Everyone (PfE) programme, run by Sustrans with grant funding from Transport Scotland. From PfE, City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has an indicative amount of £52,129,410 allocated to active travel projects over the next four years.

In addition, CEC receives £3,378,467 of Cycling Walking and Safer routes funding directly from Transport Scotland from a £35 million annual pot distributed pro rata to all 32 local authorities in Scotland. There are also various other partner delivered programmes which CEC can bid into for active travel projects, including the Smarter Choices Smarter Places fund for behaviour change projects, run by Paths for All.

Question reference: S6W-09691

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 26 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects the referral to the Supreme Court of whether the question for a referendum on Scottish independence contained in the proposed referendum Bill relates to reserved matters to cost.

Question reference: S6W-09692

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 26 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has budgeted for regarding the cost associated with the referral to the Supreme Court of whether the question for a referendum on Scottish independence contained in the proposed referendum Bill relates to reserved matters.

Question reference: S6W-09240

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on establishing a Scottish City of Refuge.