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

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1770 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-17462

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many school places have been utilised by child (a) refugees and (b) asylum seekers since 2022.

The pupil census, which records a snapshot of data at a particular point in time, showed that on the date of collection in September 2022 there were 2,062 pupils reported as asylum seekers and 5,746 reported as refugees.

Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 local authorities have a duty to provide adequate and efficient provision of school education for all children residing in their local area.

This duty does not distinguish between children and young people on the basis of their country of origin, race, belief or religion or refugee status.

Question reference: S6W-17423

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many Private Rented Sector Landlord Loans have been provide by Home Energy Scotland to help registered private landlords improve the energy efficiency of their properties in each month since January 2022.

The Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme supports landlords with the cost of installation for energy efficiency improvements, renewable systems and energy storage systems.

The scheme is delivered through a demand-led model where funding is applied for by the applicant directly, who in turn is responsible for sourcing an approved installer and paying funding to them once works are complete.

Once a funding agreement has been put in place, applicants have 12 months to claim the funding.

The number of funding agreements put in place and number of loans that have been claimed by applicants through the scheme since January 2022 are outlined in the following table:

Month	Number of Funding Agreements	Number of Loans Claimed
2022
January	7	8
February	6	10
March	12	8
April	3	8
May	6	6
June	2	5
July	4	3
August	8	4
September	8	1
October	13	10
November	5	11
December	3	4
2023
January	5	8
February	9	8
March	10	2
April	6	2

Question reference: S6W-17424

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on plans to change Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) standards.

The Scottish Government is committed to reforming Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) to ensure they drive the energy efficiency improvements we need and incentivise zero direct emissions heating. In 2021, we consulted on the introduction of a new domestic EPC metric based on a dwelling’s energy use. Following feedback received through consultation, we have undertaken further work to develop options for EPC metrics, and wider reforms. We intend to publish a consultation on our final proposals for EPC reform later this year.

EPC reform will support our intention to introduce, subject to consultation, regulations requiring Scotland’s homes (including all owner-occupied and private rented properties) to meet a minimum energy efficiency level equivalent to EPC Band C from 2025 onwards. We are proposing a backstop date of 2028 for all private rented properties to comply, and 2033 for all owner-occupied housing properties. This is in addition to a proposed requirement for all homes to have zero direct emissions heating by 2045. We committed in this year’s Programme for Government to consult on proposals for this legislation in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-17477

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scotland-relevant findings in the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization publication, Report of the Third NASCO Performance Review, published in March 2023.

The Third NASCO Performance Review was carried out to evaluate the functioning and effectiveness of NASCO and to identify areas where improvements are needed to strengthen the Organisation, and to enhance the implementation of the NASCO Convention, and it’s Resolutions, Agreements, and Guidelines. The report of the independent review panel will be considered by the Contracting Parties to NASCO at its 40 th Annual Meeting in June 2023.

Question reference: S6W-17376

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many slurry storage applications were received by the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme, prior to applications closing on 24 March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-16821

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many miles of hedgerow have been (a) reinstated and (b) planted through schemes such as the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme, in each year for which data is available.

The Scottish Government supports and funds the creation and restoration of hedgerows in Scotland through the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) and the Agri Environment Climate Scheme (AECS).

A breakdown of the total miles of hedgerows reinstated and planted through NRF is not routinely collected and any information about hedgerows is gathered under a more general ‘habitat’ metric, therefore this data cannot be provided.

The total miles of hedgerow that have been reinstated and planted through AECS, in each year, is set out in the following table. There was no hedgerow creation in 2022 as the restricted round in 2021 did not include the hedgerow options.

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020		2021		2023
Planted - Creation of hedgerows (miles)	41	43	57	64	99	3		79
Reinstated - Restoration of existing hedgerows (miles)	3	5	6	9	7	1		4

Please note, the figures above are what was committed to through AECS contracts. This capital item’s unit of measurement is linear metres, and the conversion rate used was 1 metre = 0.00062137 miles.

Question reference: S6W-16968

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the NatureScot Research Report 1313, Teaching, learning and play in the outdoors: a survey of provision in Scotland in 2022, published on 30 March 2023.

Scottish Ministers note this report, welcoming the very positive evidence of significant progress with outdoor learning in early learning but noting the reduction in access to outdoor learning experiences in primary. We have been working intensively with the outdoor education sector and relevant partners, and will continue to do so, to promote the educational value of outdoor education for both early years and school years education, and to provide schools, nurseries and local authorities with the guidance and agency to effectively take learning outside.

Officials will engage with Nature Scot, Education Scotland and the research team to consider the detailed recommendations from the report, with a particular focus on how it can guide implementation of the government’s strengthened action plan on Learning for Sustainability which will be published in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-16862

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, following the latest ministerial reshuffle, for what reason it was decided that the Minister for Higher and Further Education should also have portfolio responsibilities in relation to veterans, and what its position is on whether there is any overlap between the two portfolios.

Graeme Dey MSP holds two distinct and separate Ministerial roles within the Scottish Government. These are Minister for Higher and Further Education and also Minister for Veterans.

Mr Dey is a previous holder of this post. As Minister for Veterans from 2018 to 2021, he was widely recognised as a highly effective Minister for Veterans. At that time he also held the role of Minister for Parliamentary Business.

Keith Brown MSP, a veteran himself, was also Minister for Veterans from 2021 to 2023 whilst also being the Cabinet Secretary for Justice.

As with all previous posts there is no overlap between the two positions. As with all Ministerial appointments, the final decision on responsibilities rests with the First Minister.

Question reference: S6W-17600

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16058 by Elena Whitham on 19 April 2023, whether it can provide an estimate of the number of people treated by ear, nose and throat specialists for conditions caused by the delivery and absorption of drugs through the nasal cavity route, in any year for which data is available across Scotland as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-17432

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage victims of cyber fraud to report the crime to the police, in light of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) findings that, for most types of cyber fraud, a majority of victims did not report the incident.

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) details a variety of reasons why people do not always report instances of cyber fraud to Police Scotland. This includes dealing with the issue personally or reporting it to another authority, such as a bank.

Both the Scottish Government and Police Scotland encourage anyone in Scotland who may have been the victim of cyber fraud to call 101 or report it to any Police Officer or at any Police Station. Police Scotland will investigate all crimes reported to them whilst being mindful of the need to provide support and advice to the victim. Where an individual or organisation is subject to a cyber dependant crime, Police Scotland actively encourage reporting in order that their specialist investigative teams can offer support and guidance on mitigation.