Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-06826

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the legislation that governs the appointment of Lord Provosts and Bailies.

Question reference: S6W-06852

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government where the equalities impact assessment of the ScotRail proposals to reduce station ticket office staffing levels and opening hours is published.

Question reference: S6W-06930

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much COVID-19-related funding from the UK Government it (a) received in 2020-21 and (b) has received in 2021-22, broken down by how much (i) has been allocated to (A) COVID-19-specific spending, (B) non-COVID-19-specific spending and (ii) remains unallocated.

The Scottish Government has received £14.564 billion in Covid-19 related funding from the UK Government. Amounts received for 2020-21 were £9.752 billion and for 2021-22 are £4.812 billion. Details of the timing and split of funding received are included in the following table:

UK Government COVID Allocations to Scottish Government (£m)	Resource	Capital & FTs	Total
2020-21 Funding allocated by UK Government - Barnett Guarantee	8,600		8,600
2020-21 Funding allocated by UK Government - Supplementary Estimates	874	278	1,152
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - UK Spending Review 2020	1,328		1,328
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - Budget	1,206		1,206
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - Main Estimates	1,000		1,000
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - UK Spending Review 2021	516		516
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - Supplementary Estimates	707	55	762
Total	14,231	333	14,564

Following completion of the 2021-22 Spring Budget Revision exercise total Covid-19 funding allocations are £14.855 billion, £291 million more than the total UK funding received.

The timeline and split of Scottish Government Covid-19 funding allocations is detailed in the table below. Note that the £1.152 billion received at Supplementary Estimate 2020-21 was deferred into 2021-22.

Deployment of funds to support Covid response by Scottish Government (£m)	Resource	Capital & FTs	Total
2020-21 Budget Revisions	8,677	11	8,688
2021-22 Scottish Budget Bill as Amended	3,593	278	3,871
2021-22 Autumn Budget Revision	1,050		1,050
2021-22 Spring Budget Revision	1,162	84	1,246
Total	14,482	373	14,855

There are challenges when attempting to directly compare funding received and Scottish Government deployment on Covid 19. For example the £707 million received at 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates includes £143 million of "Budget Cover transfers" in relation to Test and Trace/vaccination. The UK Government does not classify this as a Covid-19 Barnett Consequential but has been included in the total Covid-19 funding received.

Despite the complications with timing, classification and judgement, the Scottish Government has deployed all of the Covid-19 funding it has received over the course of the pandemic to directly support Covid-19 response measures.

Question reference: S6W-06848

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale would be to top up (a) the Child Payment, (b) bridging payments for families with children over five, (c) child/adult disability assistance, (d) Best Start payments and (e) Winter Fuel payments, and how this could be accelerated if required urgently.

Question reference: S6W-06854

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the public transport workforce is black and minority ethnic (BAME), also broken down by (a) ferry, (b) rail and (c) bus operators.

The Scottish Government does not collect demographic data specifically on the public transport workforce nor does it do so for each mode of public transportation. If collected, this data will be held by public transport operating organisations.

Data from the Annual Population Survey over the period Jan-Dec 2020 provides breakdowns on employment by industry sector which includes the category “Transport and Storage”. It shows that 4% of all those aged over 16 in employment were working in Transport and Storage.

Of those employed in transport and storage industries, 2% are of a minority ethnic background. This compares to a figure of 4% for those employed in all industries who are of a minority ethnic background.

Question reference: S6W-06855

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the public transport workforce is female, also broken down by (a) ferry, (b) rail and (c) bus operators, and what the trend has been since 2002.

The Scottish Government does not collect demographic data specifically on the public transport workforce nor does it do so for each mode of public transportation. If collected, this data will be held by public transport operating organisations.

Latest data from the Annual Population Survey over the period Jan-Dec 2020 provides breakdowns on employment by industry sector which includes the category “Transport and Storage”. It shows that 4% of all those aged over 16 in employment were working in Transport and Storage.

Of those employed in transport and storage industries, 21% are women. This compares to a figure of 49% for those employed in all industries who are women.

With regard to the trends in these figures from 2002, Census data from 2011 is directly comparable with the 2020 figures above. It shows that in 2011, of those working in transport and storage industries, 19% were women. This is compared to 21% for 2020.

Data from the 2001 Census is available but is not directly comparable as the industry definition was broader to include ‘transport, storage and communication ’. However, it shows that of those working in these industries in 2001, 27% were women.

Question reference: S6W-06907

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to improve the prospects and resilience of Scotland’s seabird populations, in light of them reportedly being internationally important but in decline.

The Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy aims to optimise the conservation prospects of seabirds in Scotland through effective management of existing and emerging threats. We plan to consult on the Strategy in summer 2022.

In February 2022 two new marine special protection areas (SPAs) were designated in Orkney. The sites in Scapa Flow and North Orkney have been designated to protect rare and vulnerable migratory birds.

Question reference: S6W-06875

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether decisions related to common good assets should include councillors, regardless of political party, given their role as trustees for such assets in their locality.

Question reference: S6W-06556

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether a skills assessment has been made by the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce on whether there is capacity in Scotland to build enough electric buses to fulfil the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to “remove a majority of fossil fuel buses from public transport in Scotland by 2023”.

At the most recent meeting of the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, senior representatives from the manufacturing and supply chain sector confirmed that supply of zero-emission buses in the coming months and years would not be a constraining factor and confirmed an enthusiasm to rise to the challenge of decarbonisation. The Scottish Government is keen to ensure that opportunities for green skills and jobs from this work are realised to their fullest extent. The full minutes of the Taskforce meeting have been published on the CPT website.

https://www.cpt-uk.org/news/bus-decarbonisation-taskforce/ .

Question reference: S6W-06287

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 11 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05441 by Ben Macpherson on 28 February 2022, whether it will clarify the eligibility of individuals for the Adult Disability Payment as they reach retirement age, in light of the reference on its website to this form of assistance being for individuals from the age of 16 to state pension age.

The answer to question S6W-05441 accurately reflects the Scottish Government’s position on the eligibility of individuals for Adult Disability Payment in relation to state pension age. The reference in ‘Adult Disability Payment Q&A’, available at Adult Disability Payment Q&A , relates to new applications for Adult Disability Payment, which can only be made by individuals between 16 years old and state pension age.

Chamber and committees