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-18106

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding distributed by (a) Scottish Enterprise, (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise and (c) South of Scotland Enterprise in each of the last three financial years was issued to cooperatives, and what proportion of overall funding this represented.

Research shows that co-operatives, and other inclusive business models, are fair and inclusive places to work and as a result enjoy financial and social resilience. Co-operative business models can play a critical role in economic recovery, supporting the Scottish Government’s aim to create a fairer, stronger and more democratic economy.

We will continue to work through Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) and the enterprise agencies to support the growth of co-operative and other alternative business models. The funding distributed by Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise to cooperatives is an operational matter for each agency and I have therefore asked the agencies’ Chief Executives to respond to you directly.

Question reference: S6F-02173

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2023

To ask the First Minister what impact the Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund is having on communities on Arran.

Question reference: S6W-17110

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its policy position to encourage businesses not to trade with Russia, how it determines whether or not a business in Scotland is continuing to trade with Russia, and whether it is making use of the lists compiled by organisations such as Razom We Stand, #LeaveRussia and the Yale School of Management.

In March 2022 the then Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy wrote an open letter encouraging all businesses to sever links with Russia. The Scottish Government policy of not supporting trade and investment activity with Russia is in addition to the UK’s legally binding sanctions regime; ultimately we cannot force businesses to act if what they plan is otherwise lawful, including not breaching the UK sanctions regime.

Our economic agencies undertake a number of checks on businesses to identify any ongoing investment, trading, or other links with Russia, and steps they have taken to withdraw from them, while recognising where it may not be feasible, for example due to contractual obligations or if staff safety might be jeopardised.

Question reference: S6O-02156

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether businesses, which make use of unpaid trial shifts, should be disqualified from receiving public sector grants and procurement contracts.

Question reference: S6W-15971

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to revise national planning rules in relation to domestic energy microgeneration, such as photovoltaic arrays on roofs, in conservation areas, following the publication of the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4).

Question reference: S6W-15976

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are for the position of Chair of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) when the current Chair’s term comes to an end on 31 August 2023, and whether it will set out the potential implications for the new qualifications body that is to replace the SQA in 2024.

As we work towards the introduction of the Education (Scotland) Bill prior to the summer recess and the creation of the new Qualifications Body, visionary and resilient leadership is essential for the SQA and its successor organisation. This will guide it through the process of transition and embed the required reforms set out in the findings of the Muir report and on which the Government is determined to deliver. I am therefore announcing an appointment round for the position of Chair of the SQA, with the successful candidate taking up post in September 2023.

It is my intention that the new Chair of the SQA will transfer to the new body and will become the Chair of the new Qualification Body. Provisions to allow this transfer to happen will be included in the upcoming Bill and will be subject to Parliamentary approval.

This approach will support the crucial transition period allowing the new Qualifications Body to take full advantage of the changes in leadership, culture and governance necessitated by the Government’s Reform Programme. This will also be shaped by the National Discussion, the findings of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment, the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape.

Question reference: S6O-01959

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how the Clyde Metro project will improve rail services on the existing Milngavie line.

Question reference: S6W-14283

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the annual operating cost of the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy in each of the final three years in which it ran.

The Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) was an annual sample survey which monitored national performance of school children at P4, P7 and S2 in literacy and numeracy in alternate years. Operating costs are set out in the following table and are broken down by element of spend. As Support Assessors were funded to facilitate group discussions between pupils as part of the Listening and Talking assessment, these costs are only associated with the years that the literacy survey took place.

	£000s	£000s	£000s
	2014 (Literacy survey)	2015 (Numeracy survey)	2016 (Literacy survey)
SQA grant funding	615	774	682
Support Assessors	117	-	117
SG analytical staff costs	175	210	210
Cost of compliance	398	460	394
Total	1,305	1,444	1,403

Question reference: S6W-13575

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Flamingo Land's Lomond Banks planning application, whether Transport Scotland completed a carbon impact assessment, or any other assessment, of the application's potential impact on Scottish Government climate and car kilometre reduction targets before submitting its response to the planning application to the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority.

The question relates to a live planning application, and remains subject to consideration by the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority at this time.

As a statutory consultee in the planning process, with a responsibility for the safe and efficient flow of traffic on the A82 trunk road, Transport Scotland was consulted on the second Flamingo Land's Lomond Banks planning application in May 2022.

In terms of national planning policy requirements when considering the potential transport impacts of the proposed development, Scottish Planning Policy, (2014) remains in force until such time as National Planning Framework 4 is adopted and published. SPP contains no requirement to consider potential carbon impacts on Scottish Government climate and vehicle reductions targets.

Transport Scotland did however undertake a comprehensive review of the applicant’s transportation assessment supporting the planning application. Transport Scotland was satisfied that the proposed development could be adequately served by, and connected to, active travel and public transport networks and would not therefore be wholly reliant on car travel.

The outcome from the review informed Transport Scotland’s formal consultation response to the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority.

Question reference: S6W-13586

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many transactions the Additional Dwelling Supplement has been applied to in (a) the 2022-23 financial year to date and (b) each of the previous four full financial years, also broken down by local authority area.

Revenue Scotland publishes monthly and annual data on transactions subject to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS). This data is available at: Statistics | Revenue Scotland .

The monthly data published by Revenue Scotland includes the number of transactions subject to the Additional Dwelling Supplement per month. Data up to and including November 2022 is currently available at: Monthly LBTT Statistics | Revenue Scotland . In total, 17,970 transactions were recorded for the period of April 2022 to November 2022.

Local authority level data is published on an annual basis, as part of Revenue Scotland’s Annual Summary of Trends in the Devolved Taxes. The report for 2020-21, which provides data for the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2021, is available at: Annual Summary of Trends in the Devolved Taxes 2020-2021 | Revenue Scotland . The report for 2021-2022 is due to be published in early 2023.