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: S6F-00584

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

To ask the First Minister how a Just Transition can be secured for the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6F-00579

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will require large retail stores to close on New Year’s Day 2022 so that retail workers can spend the day with their loved ones.

Question reference: S6F-00576

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00575

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-05090

Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Keith Brown on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will fulfil its Programme for Government commitment to launch a public consultation on the three verdict system and whether the not proven verdict should be abolished.

A public consultation on the not proven verdict and related reforms will open today, 13 December 2021, until 11 March 2022 and will be available at https://consult.gov.scot/justice/not-proven-verdict .

The Scottish Government recognises the strong case that can be made for the abolition of the not proven verdict but we also understand that there are many who have principled and informed objections to such a reform, or highlight the complex impact that moving to two verdicts could have on the wider Scottish criminal justice system.

We will continue to take an open and consultative approach to these matters and as part of this consultation will seek to capture the views of a broad range of stakeholders including legal professionals, the third sector and those with lived experience of the system.

This Government will listen carefully to what consultees tell us before we weigh all the evidence and reach a decision.

I look forward to considering the full range of views received.

Question reference: S6W-04892

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the monthly average sales income has been for fishermen in each of the last three years.

For the years 2018 to 2020, the average monthly sales income has been calculated for fishers employed on Scottish Vessels. This is given in the following table:

Monthly average sales income for fishers on Scottish registered vessels, 2018 - 2020

	2018	2019	2020
Landed value (£) in real terms	£624,485,606	£615,801,328	£487,707,712
Number of fishers employed	4,860	4,886	4,737
Monthly average sales income (£)	£10,708	£10,503	£8,580

The information on fishers employed is collected as at 31 December in each year and reflects those employed during the year. Some of these fishers are irregular, so will not work on the vessel full-time, so will have a lower income. This means that we are unable to provide monthly averages for each month as we do not know how many fishers were employed in each month. It should also be noted that some fishing sectors will have larger incomes than others and different crew share arrangements will be in place, meaning that some fishers on the same vessel will earn more than others.

The landed value in real terms and monthly average sales income are given in pounds and have been adjusted to 2020 prices by adjusting for inflation. As this is based on landed value only, it is not a reflection of earnings as no costs have been accounted for.

Question reference: S6W-04828

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional business space was created as a result of the 2020 round of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.

Question reference: S6W-04737

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are provisions in the forthcoming smoke and heat detector legislation that will allow smoke and heat detectors in sheltered housing for older people to be linked to a warden call provider, but not to each other.

Question reference: S6W-04693

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report published by the University of West of Scotland entitled, Towards a Scotland that cares – a new National Outcome on Care for the National Performance Framework.

Question reference: S6W-04711

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to recycle old fire alarms once legislation on interlinked fire alarms comes into force in February 2022.

All alarms have a limited lifespan of around ten years due to deterioration of the sensors over time. Where alarms are expired, or no longer fit for purpose, it is recommended they are disposed of appropriately either by returning to the retailer or taken to a local authority household waste recycling centre.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) previously published advice on the Management of end-of-life smoke detectors, including advice for businesses and households on safe disposal and promoting the environmentally sound management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) devices.