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-06751

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) public toilets, (b) accessible public toilets and (c) Changing Places toilets are accessible 24 hours a day, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-06750

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it conducts of how many (a) public toilets, (b) accessible public toilets and (c) Changing Places toilets there are across Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not currently monitor the number of public toilets, accessible public toilets or Changing Places toilets.

Some local authorities advertise their toilet provision on their website. There are a number of companies and charities that provide tools for members of the public such as https://www.toiletmap.org.uk/ . The UK-wide website https://changingplaces.uktoiletmap.org/ details the location of all Scottish Changing Places Toilets.

Question reference: S6W-06752

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it undertakes of vandalism of public toilet facilities and the impact that vandalism has on the availability of toilet facilities in local communities.

Question reference: S6W-06753

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) reported incidents, (b) prosecutions, (c) convictions and (d) penalties for vandalism and related offences committed against public toilet facilities there have been in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6O-00841

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that any proposed legislation in the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture portfolio is brought forward in a fair and transparent manner.

Question reference: S6O-00800

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on the procurement of new ferries.

Question reference: S6O-00716

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its draft Budget will enable local authorities to deliver a consistent level of core services.

Question reference: S6W-05704

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason self-catering, bed and breakfast accommodation and guest houses have reportedly been excluded from COVID-19 business funding delivered through VisitScotland, while hotels and hostels have been eligible for support.

The funding package to deal with the Omicron crisis was focused on those businesses most severely impacted by the cancellations due to public health advice and re-introduction of regulations on some businesses. The hostel sector whose business model is reliant on accommodating large numbers of (often unrelated) households mixing at one time, was particularly impacted during this period. Similarly hotels with bars and restaurants were particularly affected and therefore made eligible for hospitality top-up payments.

We sympathise with businesses such as self-catering, B&Bs and Guesthouses and others which have also been impacted by COVID-19. However, with limited funds available we have had to focus support on those most severely affected by restrictions. We will continue to consider the impacts of COVID and make the case with the UK Government for more comprehensive support.

Question reference: S6W-05705

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available to self-catering businesses that have seen their business disrupted by COVID-19.

The funding package to deal with the Omicron crisis has been targeted at those businesses most severely impacted by the cancellations due to public health advice and re-introduction of restrictions on some businesses. For this tranche of funding this has meant support for the hostel sector, and hotels with bars and restaurants.

We recognise that the self-catering sector, alongside many other businesses across Scotland has also been adversely affected by COVID-19 and we strongly sympathise with them in light of the challenges this has presented. Limited funding available has necessitated our focus on targeting those most impacted by restrictions. We will continue to monitor the impacts of COVID on businesses and to engage in dialogue with the UK Government on the case for support.

Question reference: S6O-00626

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for patients with conditions other than COVID-19.