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-06796

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish National Investment Bank will lay a report in the Parliament evaluating how the Bank has fulfilled the commitments in its gender equality strategy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06789 on 8 March 2022. 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 .

The Scottish National Investment Bank’s first report evaluating its gender equality strategy is due within 2 years of publication of the strategy, as required under the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020.

Question reference: S6W-06734

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Holding Answer by Jamie Hepburn on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many gamekeeping courses there currently are at colleges in Scotland, and how many there have been in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-06558

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it can do to ensure that any economic benefits resulting from electric buses being built in Scotland remain in the local community.

The Scottish Government is investing £62 million, through the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), to support 276 new battery-electric buses and charging infrastructure. 137 of the buses will be built in Falkirk, bringing the total number of buses being built in Scotland with Government support to 344. ScotZEB Phase 1 included a “community benefit” criteria that all bids were scored against. Guidance encouraged bidders to be creative and innovative in finding ways that their bid would deliver wider benefits, giving the example of creating jobs or enhancing economic development, including in the local area. The review of Phase 1 of ScotZEB will consider how this criterion might be strengthened in the future.

We are fortunate that one of the world’s leading manufacturers of zero-emission buses, Alexander Dennis, is headquartered in Scotland. Alexander Dennis’s order book is typically comprised of about 25% of orders from Scottish operators, with the remainder coming from other parts of the UK or beyond, while the highly skilled, green jobs benefit the local community. Through the Falkirk Growth Deal, including £1 million from Scottish Government, ADL will lead on the creation of a Public Transport Net Zero Tech Cluster to focus on cost effective decarbonisation of public transport. This will include the creation of a campus with an R&D centre of excellence, a high-tech incubator and a dedicated flexible carbon neutral manufacturing space.

Question reference: S6W-06549

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates military aid for NHS Lanarkshire will be extended beyond 4 February 2022.

Question reference: S6W-06344

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will update the Parliament on a monthly basis on how the schools/ELC ventilation fund is being (a) distributed and (b) spent, including a breakdown of the items purchased and changes made.

Question reference: S6W-06395

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of any staff reductions by Network Rail on rail services in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-06926

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how a complaint can be raised when private care homes are believed not to be providing proper services.

Anyone concerned about the standard of care provided by a registered service can raise a complaint with the Care Inspectorate, the independent scrutiny and improvement body for social care and social work across Scotland. The Care Inspectorate have a statutory duty to deal with complaints made about registered care services, including private care homes. Complaints upheld are published on the Care Inspectorate’s website.

Question reference: S6W-06788

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how lending by the Scottish National Investment Bank in the 2021 calendar year aimed to benefit women’s equality in Scotland.

Decisions on lending and investment are a matter for the Scottish National Investment Bank. I have asked the Bank about how their lending in 2021 aimed to benefit women’s equality in Scotland, and their response is as follows:

“Due diligence of all potential investments includes consideration of gender balance across workforce, management and Board.

“The Bank engages with investees on representation and equality issues, and has required reporting on gender balance (and pay gap) where practical. Moving forward the Bank will aim to have gender equality and gender pay gap reporting for all investments. Where appropriate, the Bank will also consider engagement with investees to enhance opportunities that increase gender equality opportunities in Bank investments.”

Question reference: S6W-06743

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of (a) how and (b) when the £3 million funding for city centre recovery will be spent, as announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy on 10 February 2022.

In addition to the £3m announced on 10 February 2022, the First Minister announced a further £3m for the City Centre Recovery Fund on 22 February, bringing the total to £6m. Funding is awarded directly to local authorities to take forward local recovery priorities and allocated based on city size. The Scottish Government is working at pace with the seven cities to deliver this fund to support economic recovery, attract visitors and increase footfall back into our city centres in line with priority aims identified City Centre Recovery Task Force.

Question reference: S6W-06800

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed the Scottish National Investment Bank’s gender equality strategy with the Bank.