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-04679

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Holding Answer by Humza Yousaf on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the request made by osteopaths to be categorised as Allied Health Professions (AHP), in line with the categorisation afforded to the profession in other parts of the UK.

Question reference: S6W-04680

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its consultation report on the draft licensing order and business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) for short-term lets, how many local authorities responded to the consultation exercise and, of those who responded, how many (a) raised no issues with the proposed licensing and (b) highlighted concerns over (i) fees, (ii) resourcing, and (iii) a lack of start-up costs associated with licensing.

A total of eleven local authorities responded to the 2021 consultation on the draft Licensing Order and draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA). The Scottish Government also received responses from the Society of Local Authority Lawyers & Administrators in Scotland (SOLAR), and the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO).

Four local authorities and SOLAR raised concerns in relation to the fees set out in the draft BRIA. Two local authorities highlighted concerns about resourcing and two called for the Scottish Government to provide financial support to cover establishment costs.

Published consultation responses can be found here: https://consult.gov.scot/housing-and-social-justice/short-term-lets-draft-licensing-order-and-bria/consultation/published_select_respondent

Question reference: S6W-04716

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed governance structure for when the ScotRail franchise is managed by the Operator of Last Resort from March 2022.

Question reference: S6W-04673

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many standard bicycles it (a) has purchased since 2007 and (b) owns.

Question reference: S6W-04698

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the introduction of the named person scheme.

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) lies at the heart of Scottish Government policies and the services that are available to support children, young people and families. For over a decade, GIRFEC has shaped the way children’s services are planned and delivered in Scotland, and it is well-embedded in policy and practice.

One of the core components of Getting it right for every child is a named person or equivalent role, who is a clear point of contact for children, young people and parents to go to for initial support and advice. Children and families should be made aware of the help and support that is available, including named person, however there is no requirement to accept the help offered.

Whilst there is an intention to repeal Parts 4 and 5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, on named person and child’s plans (which were never implemented and are therefore not currently in force), the commitment remains to deliver these core components of GIRFEC within existing law.

Question reference: S6W-04524

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the review of snares will include considering banning their use to trap domestic animals, including cats.

Question reference: S6W-03148

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many GP appointments in each month since March 2020 have taken place (a) face to face, (b) over the telephone and (c) virtually, broken down by NHS board.

(a) & (b) We collect high quality data from across the health system, and are working with stakeholders to improve the quality of data we can collect from GP practices to ensure it is comparable and robust. There is no obligation on practices or health boards to report data on activity to Scottish Government, therefore we don’t have a robust time series of data covering the full time period asked for at health board level.

GP practices have remained open, accessible and at the forefront of our community services to deal with non-COVID-19 medical care throughout the pandemic.

We have continued to meet routinely with GPs and their representatives, and hear regularly from patients, to help build intelligence around appointments and pressures in GP practices throughout the pandemic, and are currently working together with NSS and PHS on a more advanced digital solution for capturing this information moving forward.

(c)In relation to virtual appointments, the table placed in the Scottish Parliament Information centre under bib number 62934, shows the number of face to face appointments being undertaken using the video consulting platform Near Me, but would not fully cover the various digital means of engaging with the Health Board - for example to feed in blood pressure readings and receive feedback through a managed service.

Question reference: S6W-04615

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 10 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) legal aid providers, (b) Civil Legal Assistance Offices and (c) Public Defence Solicitors’ Offices were practising in cases related to (i) claims against public authorities, (ii) community care, (iii) discrimination, (iv) education, (v) housing and debt, (vi) immigration and asylum and (vii) family, since January 2020.

Grants of legal assistance are recorded against a primary case category code and not by individual subject matters of a grant. SLAB have provided the information requested using category codes, which is the most accurate reflection of numbers of case types available.

Between January 2020 and November 2021, the number of entities submitting these types of intimation or application except where otherwise noted.

i) Claims against public authorities

{includes relevant cases of reparation, judicial review, interdict, breach of contract}

87 firms, 135 practitioners

2 CLAO offices, 1 CLAO practitioner

0 PDSO Offices

ii) Community Care

{includes cases at the Additional Support Needs Tribunal and assessment of need, eligibility / charging for services and direct payments}

13 firms, 23 practitioners

1 CLAO office, 1 CLAO practitioner

0 PDSO offices

iii) Discrimination,

24 firms, 37 practitioners.

0 CLAO offices

0 PDSO offices

iv) Education,

26 firms, 28 practitioners.

0 CLAO Offices

0 PDSO Offices

v) Housing and debt,

247 firms, 447 practitioners

3 CLAO offices, 15 CLAO practitioners

0 PDSO offices

vi) Immigration and asylum and

71 firms, 174 practitioners

1 CLAO office, 1 CLAO practitioner

0 PDSO offices

vii) Family

429 firms, 871 practitioners

3 CLAO offices, 10 CLAO practitioners

0 PDSO offices

Question reference: S6W-04689

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much financial resource it has allocated to (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and (b) clean air awareness campaigns, in each year since 2016.

The Scottish Government provides baseline funding to NHS Boards, which Boards use to best meet the healthcare needs of their resident population. In addition, the Scottish Government has ensured that additional Covid related costs reported by Health Boards and Integration Authorities have been met in full, including £862 million allocated to date in 2021-22. Further allocations will be made over the course of the year to ensure that our health and care services continue to receive the support required to address pressures relating to the pandemic.

Detail on how this funding has been used to specifically support protecting people with pre-existing respiratory illnesses, such as COPD, would require to be requested from NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government has provided the following funding to support Clean Air Day each year since it started in 2017. Clean Air Day is a UK wide annual clean air awareness campaign run by the environmental charity Global Action Plan. Since 2018 in Scotland, Clean Air Day is run jointly by Global Action Plan and Environmental Protection Scotland, also an environmental charity.

Year	Global Action Plan	Environmental Protection Scotland	TOTAL
2016	-	-	-
2017	55,800	-	55,800
2018	31,920	30,000	61,920
2019	26,950	50,919	77,869
2020	25,175	50,919	76,094
2021	25,175	56,950	82.125

Question reference: S6W-04686

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 10 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to creating lorry and HGV parks in Dumfries and Galloway.

Future transport investment by the Scottish Government will be set out in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

The South West Scotland Transport Study, which included Dumfries and Galloway, cited improving rest area provision for all road users, including hauliers, as one of its 23 recommendations.

Development of a strategy for improving rest and welfare facilities for hauliers across Scotland is a recommendation from Phase 1 of STPR2, published in February 2021. Transport Scotland will scope out a study to undertake baseline review, identify locations, options for intervention, consultation and develop business cases for investment.

The current priority for STPR2 is finalising the Phase 2 appraisal and reporting which builds upon Phase 1. Work on scoping, planning and procurement of this study has just commenced with work due to progress in earnest following publication of Phase 2.

We intend to publish the STPR2 Phase 2 recommendations this winter, thereafter decisions on priorities will be agreed with Ministers.