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-12331

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26208 by Roseanna Cunningham on 22 November 2019, how many hen harrier nests there have been on (a) RSPB and (b) non-RSPB reserves in each of the last five years, and what information it has on how many failed to have any chicks fledge, broken down by the reason for such failure.

Question reference: S6O-01645

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to Historic Environment Scotland to ensure heritage sites are fully reopened as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-12208

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 30 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that in Dumfries and Galloway some dentists have advised constituents that if parents/guardians register as private patients then their children will be registered as NHS patients in the same practice.

Question reference: S6O-01636

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on any discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding infrastructure.

Question reference: S6W-12209

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the 433 properties that have been added to the R100 programme in Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S6W-11846

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 15 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support upgrades of older (a) oil and (b) gas heating systems in rural areas.

The Scottish Government offers funding to support upgrades of older oil and gas heating systems to low carbon alternatives, including in rural areas. This includes via the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme, the Home Energy Scotland cashback and loan scheme, local authority Area-Based Scheme, the SME Loan and Cashback scheme, the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund and the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme.

Many of these support schemes include a rural and islands uplift to reflect higher delivery costs in more remote areas.

Warmer Homes Scotland offers fully funded grant support for replacement heating systems for those at risk of fuel poverty impacts, offering gas boilers only where a zero emissions heating system is not feasible.

Question reference: S6W-11848

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to providing paid special leave for parents who are employed by the (a) Scottish Government (b) NHS and (c) other public employers where their child passes away prior to their entitlement to (i) maternity and (ii) paternity leave.

The loss of a baby, at any stage of pregnancy, is a significant and traumatic event that affects many parents and their families throughout Scotland. In our 2021 Manifesto we committed to emulate New Zealand where families who sadly experience miscarriage or stillbirth are entitled to three days of paid leave. We will implement this commitment by delivering it within the public sector.

We are also calling on the UK Government, who have the reserved powers to make the necessary changes to employment law, to make this provision available for everyone.

As an employer, the Scottish Government bereavement leave policy already provides two weeks leave, at full pay, to those staff who experience the loss of a baby through miscarriage in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. The NHS and other public bodies are separate employers and determine their own terms and conditions of employment.

Question reference: S6W-11843

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out the details of the reported remodelled plans for the delivery of the R100 programme in Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S6W-11310

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has held with the UK Government in relation to potential funding for improving the A75 and A77.

The A75 and A77 routes were considered as part of the UK Government’s Union Connectivity Review (UCR), with potential funding following on from the recommendations.

In March 2022, Transport Scotland (TS) officials had an initial discussions with their UK counterparts in from the Department for Transport (DfT). The subject of possible UCR related funding opportunities, which was first identified in March 2021, was raised by DfT officials and TS officials followed-up with a number of specific clarification questions. Answers to these were received in May, and a follow-on meeting occurred on 16 June.

A subsequent discussion is scheduled for 31 October which will cover UCR recommendations and associated proposed funding for the A75. Potential development work for the A77 was not identified for funding by the UCR process, so will not be on the agenda for discussion, as, along with all other transport recommendations identified by STPR2, it remains a devolved matter.

Question reference: S6W-11312

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it took up any offer from the UK Government to discuss the findings of the Union Connectivity Review.

The final Union Connectivity Review (UCR) Report was published in November 2021.

In March 2022, Transport Scotland officials had discussions with their UK Government counterparts at the Department for Transport (DfT) at which the findings of the UCR were discussed. Transport Scotland also provided an update on the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) which had been published in January 2022, in particular Recommendation 40, which relates to the A75 and A77.

Discussions have continued on the subject of possible related funding opportunities for development work on the A75 and the next scheduled meeting between officials is on 31 October.