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-30195

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which national public awareness health campaigns it has funded since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

National public health marketing campaigns which have run since the end* of the COVID-19 pandemic are as follows:

Financial Year 2023-24

Paid-for media public health campaigns

Detect Cancer Early
Dentistry Reform
Mental Health
Organ Donation
Right Care Right Place
Vaping
Winter Vaccines
Low cost/no cost public health campaigns
Women and Girls in Sport Week
Lyme Disease
Smoking Cessation

Campaigns funded by Scottish Government, working in partnership with executive agencies or other public sector organisations

Childhood flu - Public Health Scotland
Sperm and Egg - NHS Grampian

Public health campaigns which have run so far in financial year 2024-25 are as follows:

Paid-for-media public health campaigns

Dementia Stigma
Detect Cancer Early
Organ Donation Week

* The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency of public concern on 5 May 2023. For the purposes of answering this question, we have used this definition as a guide to defining the 'end' of the pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-30166

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 4 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available to people seeking to install (a) solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and (b) wind generators.

Financial support is available for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems through the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, which provides support for the retrofit of Registered Social Landlords' existing housing stock, and targeted support is also available through our Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based schemes.

The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme currently provides an interest-free loan to contribute towards the cost of domestic wind turbine installation.

The Scottish Government has also made capital grant funding available over the course of this parliamentary term to public sector bodies through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund and the Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme. These schemes support retrofit decarbonisation of public sector estates, including support to install solar PV and other electricity generation measures when integrated with an existing or new clean heating system.

Question reference: S6W-30165

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it issues to local authorities in relation to granting or refusing consent for the installation of domestic (a) solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and (b) wind generators.

It is for local planning authorities to implement relevant planning legislation, policies and guidance as they deem appropriate and to ensure that the provisions of the planning system are applied properly within their areas. General guidance on the processing and determination of planning applications is available in Planning Circular 3: Development Management Procedures.

In line with long-established planning legislation, planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan unless material planning considerations justify a departure from the plan. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) forms part of the development plan, alongside the local development plan for each area.

NPF4 signals the key priorities for ‘where’ and ‘what’ development should take place and is combined with national planning policy on ‘how’ development planning should manage change. It places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system. NPF4 Policy 11 provides support in principle for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies including small-scale renewable energy generation proposals. However, it also confirms that potential impacts on communities and individual dwellings, the environment and other receptors are important considerations in the decision-making process.

In some instances, solar panels and wind turbines can be installed on domestic properties under permitted development rights without the need for a planning application. Guidance on this is contained in Section 6 of Planning Circular 1/2024: Householder Permitted Development Rights.

Question reference: S6W-30100

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provided to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-30125

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what regular communication it has with the UK Health Security Agency.

The Scottish Government maintains regular and ongoing communication with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on shared priorities. The Scottish Government and UKHSA do this through formal meetings, working groups, and collaborative efforts on public health issues such as disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, emerging health threats and emergency response. UKHSA also provides expert advice and support to Public Health Scotland and other relevant bodies to ensure a coordinated approach to health security across the UK.

This collaboration plays a vital role in ensuring robust public health surveillance, managing health risks effectively and protecting Scotland’s population.

Question reference: S6W-30124

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last had correspondence with the UK Health Security Agency.

Question reference: S6W-29315

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 24 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when Scotland's Mental Health First Aid: Young People (SMHFA: YP) courses will be available, following the reported pausing of the programme in 2020.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) holds the national licence for Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid: Young People- (SMHFA:YP). Following COVID, PHS took the decision to pause the delivery of the SMHFA: YP, due to the content of the course being considered out of date, given changes to the social and cultural context in which young people live in Scotland (for example, content in relation to alcohol and drugs and bullying). There are no current plans to update the content or reverse the current pause on this programme; as many alternative and up-to-date sources of advice are available to adults who support children and young people.

A new professional learning resource for school staff, supported by the Mental Health in Schools Working Group, was published in 2021. The resource provides essential learning required to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The resource is free and can be found at: CYPMH – Professional Learning Resource. A number of education resources linked to Curriculum for Excellence are also available to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in schools and other settings. Just this week, a new resource will be launched – One Good Adult:Job Description. This was designed by children and young people to help those around them provide the support they need.

In addition, Public Health Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland have developed further digital resources aimed at those supporting the mental health, self-harm and suicide prevention needs of young people. These can be found at: Informed level of practice | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)

Interactive training is also available on specific topics. For example, Self-Harm Network Scotland provides free training sessions, in-person or online. Anyone can sign up for these sessions, and there are a range of options offered, with more in-depth sessions for professionals. Since these started in early 2023, the service has already trained over 2,500 people.

These sources of advice complement expanded provision of supports and services for children and young people – with access to counselling available through every secondary school; over 300 community-based mental health and wellbeing supports for children and young people now in place across Scotland; and advice for young people themselves available through the investment we have made in the likes of Young Scot’s Aye Feel website.

Question reference: S6W-29667

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28979 by Fiona Hyslop on 4 September 2024, how much of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB 2) for the installation of wheelchair space in vehicles has been taken up by operators.

Question reference: S6W-29804

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether any farm subsidies that it plans to introduce will include Scottish Outdoor Access Code compliance obligations.

Under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (LRSA) there is a right of responsible non-motorised access to land throughout Scotland with few exceptions. The rights and responsibilities of land managers and those exercising access rights are set out in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, also approved by the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Government is clear that the countryside is a living and working environment and that there is a need to balance the right of the land manager to conduct their activities with the upholding of access rights. I will continue to co-develop future support with our industry and partners to ensure that together we deliver on the outcomes of the Vision for Agriculture.

Question reference: S6O-03767

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last engaged with the four nations steering group on the review of noise guidance for onshore wind turbines as it applies to Scotland.