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-05379

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many people it anticipates will be in the (a) higher and (b) top income tax bands in April 2022.

Question reference: S6W-05526

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many health and social care staff are currently being tested for COVID-19 each day, and what additional capacity has been secured for PCR testing and analysis.

Health and Social Care staff are offered PCR weekly testing and over the winter period have been asked to undertake daily Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests due to the risk posed by Omicron. Public Health Scotland (PHS) produce a weekly COVID-19 Statistical Report, which provides the number of LFD tests reported by Health and Social Care Workers in Scotland and PCR testing data by health board is published on the accompanying dashboard.

Health care PCR testing is primarily conducted through NHS Scotland and the three Regional Hub Laboratories provided a significant boost to our NHS Scotland lab capacity. Care home testing was transferred out of the UK Government testing programme and into the Regional Hubs to ensure swift processing and communication of results.

Question reference: S6W-05852

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the COVID-19 legislation in place.

Regulations amending the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 were made today.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Regulations 2022 amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (“the principal regulations”) and will take effect on 24 January 2022.

The Amendment Regulations remove the capacity limits for live events held indoors and the definition of a live event.

The regulations also remove the requirement to take measures to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that a distance of 1 metre is maintained between people on or waiting to enter hospitality and leisure premises and that only enough people are admitted to the premises to allow the 1 metre distance to be maintained.

The regulations remove the requirement for table service in premises where alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises, and that the customer must remain seated whilst consuming food and drink on the premises.

The regulations also remove the requirement for the closure of nightclubs to members of the public and amend the definition of ‘late night premises’ in the Principal Regulations in relation to the certification requirements.

The Regulations have been published at www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2022/13/contents/made

Question reference: S6W-05652

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04188 by Maree Todd on 16 November 2021, whether sportscotland allocated capital funding to support the development of a tennis centre at Park of Keir for financial year 2021-22.

sport scotland’s budget for 2022-23 is currently in development and is subject to financial arrangements for 2022-23 agreed between Scottish Government and sport scotland.

However, at this stage sport scotland does not expect to have any expenditure against a tennis facility at Park of Keir in 2021-22. Consequently, sport scotland intends to retain the same budget allocation for a tennis facility at Park of Keir in 2022-23 as in 2021-22 (as outlined in response to S6W-05651 on 20 January 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

Question reference: S6W-05647

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Amnesty International report, Amazon, let workers unionize! Respect for workers’ rights is not a choice, regarding the issuing of legal notices to trade union organisers attempting to recruit members at Amazon facilities in the UK.

The Scottish Government expects employees in all workplaces to be treated fairly and is doing everything it can to drive up employment standards and promote Fair Work practices, including effective worker voice, with the powers available to us.

We continue to call for employment law to be devolved in order to protect and improve worker’s rights and to create fairer and more inclusive workplaces.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting strong Trade Unions in Scotland for the benefit of workers and our economy. We have provided funding of £250,000 annually for the last five years to STUC, to help unions embed the Fair Work Framework in Scotland's workplaces. We will continue to call on employers to ensure appropriate channels for effective voice in the workplace, including engaging with relevant trade unions for their sector to improve working conditions and employment practices in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-05651

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04188 by Maree Todd on 16 November 2021, whether sportscotland has allocated funding to support the development of a tennis centre at Park of Keir for financial year 2022-23.

sport scotland has made a provisional allocation of up to £5m in its forward budgeting for the development of a potential tennis facility at Park of Keir, consisting of a mix of Scottish Government and National Lottery funding.

However, at this stage, a full application for a tennis facility at Park of Keir has not been received. Any decision on whether to make a capital award and the appropriate level of any award will only be taken on completion of a full application by the applicant and following a sport scotland assessment process. This assessment process would consider among other issues the strategic need and demand for a facility, the impact it will have on sport and physical activity and whether the project is financially viable in capital and revenue terms.

Question reference: S6W-05493

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported calls from the British Metals Recycling Association to withdraw the Zero Waste Scotland report, How should Scotland Manage its Scrap Steel?, over serious concerns about its accuracy.

ZWS is a company limited by guarantee that is independent from the Scottish Government and it is for Zero Waste Scotland to respond to calls about its reports. Zero Waste Scotland has advised us that the analysis is based on UK-wide data, which is the best and only data set currently available relating to scrap steel management in Scotland, scaled to allow for different scenarios to be modelled and compared within a Scottish context.

Question reference: S6W-05342

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a Climate Change Business Bill within the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6O-00677

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils in East Kilbride will be included in the roll-out of free school breakfasts and the expansion of free school lunches.

Question reference: S6O-00663

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Sentencing Council’s Sentencing Young People guideline, which is due to come into force on 26 January 2022.