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-12361

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the review of its goose management policies by NatureScot.

A Steering Group comprising staff from NatureScot and Scottish Government is undertaking the goose management policy review.

A six-week stakeholder consultation concluded on 17 October 2022 in which stakeholders were invited to comment on the effectiveness of current national goose policy and its delivery, to identify issues and make suggestions for future national goose policy.

Invitations were extended to individual members of the National Goose Forum and Local Goose Management Groups, and NatureScot’s web pages provided open access to the questionnaire to other interested parties.

257 stakeholders submitted questionnaire responses.

The results from the questionnaire have been summarised and the key themes include concerns around greylag geese, funding and how goose management might be supported in future.

The next steps are: for the Policy Steering Group to engage with Local Goose Management Groups and other stakeholders to share the summary responses with them, to confirm they accurately reflect their views, to ask them which issues are of greatest concern to them, and how they would like their concerns to be addressed through future goose policy. These discussions are ongoing, and will be completed before Christmas.

Production of the report by NatureScot has been delayed slightly due to pressures of the additional work being generated with regard to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). This delay will allow NatureScot to ensure the impacts of HPAI are taken into consideration as part of the review.

Following the completion of the review, NatureScot will produce a report for Scottish Ministers in Spring 2023.

In the meantime, the Steering Group will share a draft report with stakeholders and engage in further stakeholder discussions in February 2023.

Question reference: S6W-12424

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 1 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Welsh Government regarding their international exchange programme, Taith.

Scottish Government officials meet regularly with their Welsh Government counterparts sharing best practice, including discussing mobility programmes and ways to maximise participation opportunities for those who need it most. In this context, wider discussion around mobility and exchange, including Taith, take place regularly to ensure both sides collaborate, are up to date and improve efficiency in developing and delivering opportunities for learning and exchange.

Question reference: S6W-12061

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to open the First Home Fund in the future.

Question reference: S6W-12060

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what islands impact assessment has been carried out in connection with the First Home Fund.

Question reference: S6W-12059

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to promote future take-up of the First Home Fund, including in rural and island communities.

The First Home Fund closed at the end of the 2021-22 financial year. The Scottish Government does not plan to reopen the fund - key findings from the evaluation show that 72% of buyers would have been able to purchase a property which met their needs without financial assistance. However, we continue to support home ownership through various interventions to help first time buyers. These include our Low Cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) scheme which helps people on low to moderate incomes to buy their first home either through the open market (Open Market Shared Equity) or new build (New Supply Shared Equity). Support is also available through the Self Build Loan Fund.

The Islands Impact Assessment became a legal duty in December 2020, one year after the launch of the First Home Fund. Nonetheless, as the fund was available to all eligible applicants in Scotland to utilise, with no upper price cap, it was not likely to have an effect on an island community which was significantly different from its effect on other communities.

Question reference: S6W-12181

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 29 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how ChargePlace Scotland tracks and responds to EV charging station faults, and what the (a) average and (b) longest time is between a fault at a charging station being identified and the station being made operational again.

Overall reliability across the ChargePlace Scotland network is typically very good with the entire network up and running around 95% of the time each month . Most faults on the network are short-lived and in the majority of cases require no physical intervention or a visit by an engineer. Typically around 90% of faults are resolved within 48 hrs with the ChargePlace Scotland helpdesk often remedying faults remotely.

ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) has a robust fault management process in place underpinned by KPIs as set out in the CPS contract. The CPS website provides information on fault management and relevant KPIs.

The Scottish Government does not have ready access to information regarding average and longest time in between a fault being identified and being made operational again. However, a new Network Performance page has recently been published on the ChargePlace Scotland website , which will routinely be updated with detailed information on fault tickets and the performance of the network.

Question reference: S6W-12182

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 29 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many ChargePlace Scotland EV charging stations are currently fully operational along the A9.

Question reference: S6W-12179

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 29 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce fees for the use of ChargePlace Scotland rapid-charging EV charging stations.

The responsibility for applying fees for use of the public ChargePlace Scotland network lies with the owners of charge points, which includes public, private and third sector organisations. The Scottish Government’s draft Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network makes it clear that a shift towards a public charging network largely financed and operated by the commercial sector is necessary. As noted in the joint report published by Transport Scotland and Scottish Futures Trust in July 2021, the existence of free provision or below market rates does not incentivise commercial investment in the charging network, and it is important that tariffs reflect true operation, maintenance and asset replacement costs. The Scottish Government is taking steps to support the development of the public charging network in line with our draft Vision, including through our EV Infrastructure Fund.

Question reference: S6W-12423

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 29 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the European Commission regarding the Scottish Education Exchange Programme.

Question reference: S6O-01635

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Age Scotland's report, Keeping the Doors Open.