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-30453

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of calls to the police using 101 are abandoned.

Question reference: S5W-30452

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the average length of time is that people have to wait to speak to an operator when phoning the police on 101.

Question reference: S5W-30454

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish performance figures for the Police Scotland call centre.

Question reference: S5W-30373

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 21 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how each of the business support schemes that it announced on 30 April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis was managed; what the criteria was for accessing support from each; how many applications were made; which businesses had their applications (a) approved and (b) rejected, and how many complaints were made about the application process for each funding stream.

The Scottish Government continues to support Scotland’s businesses by passing on every penny we receive from the UK Government for this purpose, and more, directly to businesses. Our approach to supporting businesses is tailored to Scotland’s economic needs and we have developed a package of measures that reflects that Scotland’s economy and consequentially we are providing support which is unavailable elsewhere in the UK.

On 30 April, the Scottish Government announced a comprehensive business support package which included the Newly Self-Employed Scheme, the Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Hardship Fund and the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund. The schemes were managed by Local Authorities and the Enterprise Agencies and the criteria for each scheme is published on the www.findbusinesssupport.gov.scot.

The Scottish Government will be publishing information on each of these schemes in the coming weeks which will provide the number of applications and a breakdown of successful applications as well as information on appeals.

Question reference: S5W-30136

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the system of information sharing and notifications of drug-related deaths between Police Scotland and the alcohol and drugs partnerships has been suspended.

Arrangements for the sharing of Police information is a matter for Police Scotland. With the Drug Deaths taskforce, I have asked Public Health Scotland to work with Police Scotland to monitor drug deaths during the pandemic. Together they have agreed a new consistent and improved process for sharing information with all Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships. The move to the new process may have had a temporary impact on the previous arrangements Police Scotland had in place.

Question reference: S5W-30135

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the latest drugs death figures are.

Question reference: S5W-30367

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost is of (a) picking up litter and (b) clearing up fly tipping.

Question reference: S5W-30366

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase fines for (a) littering and (b) fly tipping.

The current Fixed Penalty Notice for littering is £80 and fly tipping is £200. There are no plans to increase these levels at present.

The levels were increased in 2014 taking account of evidence and views expressed via the National Litter Strategy consultation in 2013. The Strategy is at the end of its five year lifespan and we are considering how best to take forward a review of policy in this area. Approaches to penalties and enforcement are expected to be one of the many aspects of the Strategy that will be considered and reviewed as part of this process.

Question reference: S5W-30365

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what plans it has to address reported increased levels of (a) littering and (b) fly tipping.

Littering and fly tipping are unacceptable, whatever the circumstances. Responsibility for dealing with litter and fly tipping rests with local councils as part of their role in delivering waste services. Most local waste services are returning to normal after a period of disruption caused by the pandemic.

We have developed, with Zero Waste Scotland, COSLA and local authorities, a national waste management marketing campaign and web resource that sets out how the public can manage waste responsibility at this difficult time, and this includes messages on littering and flytipping. More recently, in recognition of the perceived increase in littering, we have supported Zero Waste Scotland as they develop a national anti-littering campaign for digital and social media which launched on 15 July.

Question reference: S5W-29515

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with suspected COVID-19 have been moved from care homes to hospital for treatment in each month since January 2020 and, if it does not hold this information, whether it will request it from NHS boards.