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-14786

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of the "waking watch" patrol at Lancefield Quay is, and who will be liable for the costs of the contract.

Question reference: S6W-14633

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13436 by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023, how frequently the working group meets; when it will report; what topics it has considered, and what research it has commissioned.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13065 on 20 December 2022, 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 .

The Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform is next scheduled to meet next on 22 March 2023.

Question reference: S6O-01978

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by how much local authority non-domestic rates bills will increase, following revaluation of public sector properties based on rebuild costs using the 1 April 2022 tone date.

Question reference: S6W-14597

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have (a) left the waiting list for, (b) cancelled and (c) declined elective surgery in NHS Lanarkshire in each month since May 2021, broken down by procedure.

In response to part a)

Public Health Scotland publishes quarterly statistics relating to the number of waiting list removals, by specialty and health board of treatment. These data include all waiting list removals under reasons such as ‘transferred’ and ‘referred back to GP’. The latest statistics are published up to 30 September 2022, and for inpatients and day cases can be found using the link below, under Table 2.4:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/17040/ipdc_nov22.xlsx

Similarly, for new outpatients, this information can be found under Table 1.4 using the link below:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/16973/newop_nov22.xlsx

In response to part b)

Public Health Scotland publishes monthly statistics relating to the number of cancelled planned operations at health board and hospital level, a summary of which is available the following link:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancelled-planned-operations/

The latest statistics published cover the period up to 31 December 2022 and the number of planned operations that were cancelled by patients each month from May 2021 onwards can be found within the tab ‘Publication table’ in the link below:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/17421/2023-02-07-cancellations.xlsx

These statistics are sourced from local theatre systems and only includes cancellations that were cancelled the day before, or on the day the patient was due to be treated. PHS does not collect information on cancellations that occur prior to this.

In response to part c)

Please note that Public Health Scotland does not hold any information on patients who have declined a procedure.

Question reference: S6W-14571

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what business impact assessment it conducted when implementing the PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 standards.

Question reference: S6W-14567

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) colleges and (b) training providers offer PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 training courses in Scotland, and what information it has on how this compares with the UK as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-14568

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how long it takes to obtain (a) PAS 2030 and (b) PAS 2035 certification, and what the estimated cost is of doing so.

Question reference: S6W-14566

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) PAS 2030 and (b) PAS 2035 qualified energy efficiency and retrofit professionals there currently are in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14570

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether its area-based schemes and Warmer Homes Scotland schemes and their contractors have sufficient access to professionals who are trained in the PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 standards.

The PAS 2030 standard is a requirement for Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS). Warmworks, the managing agent for WHS, are responsible for ensuring their staff and sub-contractors are adequately trained. However, the Scottish Government also has a Quality Assurance and Audit (QAA) contract for WHS. This contract is managed by Pennington Choices who carry out audits on Warmworks sub-contractors to make sure that they have the appropriate accreditations.

WHS is due to end in 2023, and procurement is currently underway for a successor. The successor will adopt PAS 2035 standards. As the contract has not yet been awarded, the details of how this will be achieved are not yet available. A new QAA contract will also be procured for the successor.

The capacity and capabilities of the retrofit supply chain in Scotland are generally sufficient to meet the needs of our Area Based Schemes (ABS). Local councils have access to a framework of specialist contractors through Scotland Excel. Often these contractors have been PAS compliant for many years with longstanding training and apprenticeship programmes.

Inevitably some ABS individual projects are delayed due to a wide range of factors. The Scottish Government is working with councils and the supply chain to increase local delivery capacity and expand existing capabilities. This will help to reduce the risk and impact of unexpected project delays.

Question reference: S6W-14569

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what modifications it has made to the PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 standards to take account of Scottish climate, housing stock and energy efficiency requirements.