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-00419

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many accidental house fires there have been in each of the last five years in the Mid Scotland and Fife parliamentary region; how many were caused by electricity, and what steps it is taking to reduce the number of such fires.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) publishes statistics on accidental dwelling fires, broken down by local authority, however this data is not broken down into specific causes. These statistics are available on SFRS’s website, and can be found at this link http://www.firescotland.gov.uk/about-us/fire-and-rescue-statistics.aspx

The SFRS has a statutory duty to promote fire safety across Scotland. In the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2016, Scottish Ministers require SFRS to contribute fully to improving the safety and well-being of Scotland’s communities and to ensure that there is a clear process for working with partners to identify the risks faced by communities and individuals so that activity can be targeted using a risk-based approach.

The SFRS considers how best to reduce dwelling fires, including those caused by electricity, what the focus of its preventative action will be, and with which partner organisations it will work to achieve this.

In addition to a programme of fire safety awareness campaigns and community safety engagement events, the SFRS carried out 69,227 Home Fire Safety Visits in 2019-20. The SFRS website also carries safety information for householders on a range of issues, including home appliances and electrical safety.

Question reference: S6O-00048

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the number of divisional officers working in each local division as detailed in the latest publication of Police Scotland's officer and staff numbers.

Question reference: S6W-00420

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to increase the availability of social housing for rural communities.

Through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund and the wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme, over 4,800 affordable homes were delivered between 2016-17 and 2019-20 in rural and island communities across Scotland.

Housing to 2040, published in March 2021, includes an ambition to deliver a further 100,000 affordable homes across Scotland up to 2032, that will continue to deliver for rural communities, with at least 70% of these for social rent, once the current 50,000 affordable homes target has been delivered.

We will invest £3.5 billion in housing in this Parliamentary term, £3.44 billion of which will deliver more social and affordable homes in urban and rural areas across Scotland.

In November 2020, we announced that the demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund, which aims to increase the supply of affordable housing across all tenures, would continue beyond March 2021 with up to £30 million being made available as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Question reference: S6W-00422

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what protections are in place for victims of (a) stalking and (b) harassment in cases where offenders are granted bail prior to trial.

It is for the independent court to decide whether to grant bail or remand an accused person in any given case. This decision is made within the overarching legal framework whereby bail can be refused if there are good reasons. Where the courts decide to release an accused person on bail, bail is awarded subject to conditions. These always include the standard conditions set out at section 24(5) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. Amongst others, these conditions include that the person: should not commit an offence while on bail; does not interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice; and does not behave in a manner which causes, or is likely to cause, alarm or distress to witnesses, including the complainer.

Breach of a bail condition is a criminal offence. Police Scotland treat all cases of stalking and harassment as a priority and encourage anyone to report incidents including where breach of bail conditions occurs. At any time after a court has granted bail to a person, if the prosecutor applies to the court, putting before it material which was not available when bail was granted, the court may review its decision to grant bail.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Action Against Stalking, which offers specialist support to victims of stalking throughout the criminal justice process, and provided funding to the Scottish Women's Rights Centre to develop the FollowIt App, which helps a person who is being stalked to record what is happening to them in a simple and safe way.

Question reference: S6O-00015

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its key priorities are for Scotland’s island communities.

Question reference: S6W-00123

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 27 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government (a) whether it has used, and (b) what plans it has to use, the so-called "keeping pace" power in section 1(1) of the UK Withdrawal from the EU (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021.

The discretionary power to align with European Union legislation provided through the UK Withdrawal from the EU (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 entered into force on 29 March 2021. Ministers have not yet used this provision, but will do so where appropriate to maintain and advance the high standards Scotland has enjoyed as part of the EU, including but not limited to the areas of environmental protection, animal health and welfare, plant health, equality, non-discrimination and human rights, and social protection.

Question reference: S6W-00019

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to promote (a) domestic and (b) international routes from Scottish airports to support the aviation industry’s recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35553 on 10 March 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

In addition to our work with the airports, the Scottish Government also has regular engagement with airlines. Most recently this included productive discussions held in April with 19 airlines, all of which are important to Scotland’s international connectivity. Given the commercial nature of these discussions I am unable to share specific details.

We recognise that globally, as well as here in Scotland, the aviation industry faces one of the longest recovery periods given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on route networks, which is why we have extended the 100% non-domestic rates relief for the aviation sector for another year (2021-22).

Question reference: S6W-00015

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much electricity it estimates will be exported from Scotland to England and Wales in 2020-21, and how much was exported in 2006-07.

The fact that Scotland’s own supply is secure, and its abundant generation of electricity via wind means that Scotland has long been a net exporter of electricity with Net Exports to England and Wales being 10,036 GWh in 2006 and 19,050 GWh in 2020. This is thanks to the record renewable generation so far in 2020, as recorded by the Scottish Energy Statistics Hub . The forecasts from National Grid’s Electricity Ten Year Statement and recently published Network Options Assessment indicate that Scotland's export capacity will increase over the next decade.

Question reference: S6W-00018

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 24 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the level of funding which has been invested each year by the Scottish National Investment Bank since it was established, including debt, equity loans or other forms of investment.

The Scottish National Investment Bank opened for business in November 2020 and has since committed £52.5 million in investments.

To date £22.9 million has been drawn and invested in both debt and equity investments that align with the Bank’s missions.

The Bank will also publish annual accounts each year which will include information on how much it has invested during the financial year. Details of the Bank’s existing investments are published on the portfolio page on the Bank’s website: www.thebank.scot/our-portfolio/ as will details of future investments.

Question reference: S6W-00017

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish the outline business case for its proposed publicly-owned energy company.