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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-03313

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the European Commission regarding the creation of the Civil Society Forum required by Article 14 of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The Scottish Government has been using our contact with the UK Government to strongly make the case that Scottish civil society groups should have their voice heard in the Civil Society Forum, including through adequate representation of all four nations in its membership. We are also currently engaging with civil society groups to understand what further support they would find helpful to achieve this aim.

Question reference: S6W-03311

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that stakeholders in Scotland are represented on the Domestic Advisory Group and Civil Society Forum that were created as a result of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs wrote to Lord Frost on 10 September stressing the necessity of representation of Scottish stakeholders on the Domestic Advisory Group and Civil Society Forum, including the representation of remote communities, disadvantaged groups and all sectors of society and business. Prior to the Cabinet Office consultation closing, the Cabinet Secretary met with representatives of the third sector to discuss their participation in the groups and officials have encouraged stakeholders to respond to the consultation. Plans are in place for follow up discussions with stakeholders in the autumn to help ensure that they are adequately represented.

Question reference: S6W-03312

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) other devolved administrations regarding the creation of the Domestic Advisory Group required by Article 13 of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

As mentioned in the previous answer S6W-03311 on 8 October 2021, we are in contact with the Cabinet Office on this matter, and have emphasised to them the need to involve representative Scottish stakeholders. We will consult the other Devolved Administrations on their approach to these institutions once we have further details from the Cabinet Office on the consultation responses and of the process to be followed in determining membership of the Civil Society Forum and Domestic Advisory Group.

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-00256

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional Qualified Teachers of Children and Young People with Vision Impairment will be recruited as part of its commitment to recruit 1,000 new teachers and 500 pupil support assistants in the next academic year.

Question reference: S6W-02127

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the economic impact on communities of the closure of local historic buildings.

Historic Environment Scotland has undertaken surveys of Scotland’s historic environment sector to evaluate the ongoing economic impact of the pandemic on heritage businesses and community groups and is working on further plans to empower and enable a resilient and robust recovery for the sector.

Historic Environment Scotland has also been conducting targeted and direct engagement with communities around its Properties in Care closed either by the pandemic or by recent health & safety precautions.

Question reference: S6O-00162

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will address the backlog in NHS dentistry.

Question reference: S6W-02126

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated to Historic Environment Scotland to enable historic sites to be made safe for reopening to members of the public, and what the timescales are for the reopening of these sites.

Historic Environment Scotland has responded to address the precautionary closures within the funding already available. The Scottish Government provided Historic Environment Scotland with £72.9m in 2020-21 and are providing £55.9m to support Historic Environment Scotland in 2021-22. We are also providing this financial year a further £20m in covid consequentials, taking our total support in 2021-22 to £75.9m, an increase of £3m from 2020-21.

The Scottish Government will continue to discuss the closures with Historic Environment Scotland, whose programme of prioritised inspections will inform a timescale for reopening.

Question reference: S6W-02125

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on carrying out inspections of the historic sites cited as being closed as a precautionary measure by Historic Environment Scotland on 7 June 2021.

Historic Environment Scotland is conducting inspections at present with an initial phase to be completed by the first week in September as per its inspection programme. A number of properties have been assessed to date and the next steps are currently being considered. Decisions will be taken by the appropriate technical specialists and with a primary focus on the health and safety of staff, contractors and visitors.

Question reference: S6O-00093

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to enshrining a rule in the National Planning Framework 4, where, for every new building, 1% of the cost is given to the arts.

Question reference: S6W-01918

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for supporting the hospitality sector following the end of furlough.

The Scottish Government has consistently called for the furlough scheme to remain in place for as long as it is needed to support businesses as we move through recovery. Whilst the figures show those on furlough are reducing, there is still a significant number of jobs which continue to be supported by this scheme. The Scottish Government is doing all it can to protect Scotland’s economy and ensure that as many people as possible on furlough keep their jobs.

We recognise that this is an extremely difficult time for businesses of all kinds across Scotland and we are doing everything we can with the limited powers available to us to support the hospitality sector.

More detailed information on the support that is available for Hospitality can be found here:

Financial Support for Tourism - COVID-19 | VisitScotland.org .