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-03630

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of female genital mutilation have been (a) reported and (b) investigated in the last 12 months.

Question reference: S6W-03655

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the levels of council tax debt that has built up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government meets with COSLA and local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of issues, including current and future budget pressures. Negotiations on the annual local government finance settlement are conducted between the Scottish Government and COSLA, on behalf of all 32 local authorities.

Statistics on uncollected council tax are published at Statistics on council tax collection rates are available at Statistics on council tax collection rates are available at Council Tax Collection Statistics, 2020-21 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Question reference: S6W-03862

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been convicted of drink spiking in each of the past five years.

Question reference: S6W-03633

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many allotment spaces have been available in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-03599

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding patients who reportedly received under-doses of the drug, docetaxel.

Question reference: S6W-03618

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it decided to develop a separate Covid Status App, and whether the NHS Scotland app has any additional functionality compared with the England and Wales version of the app.

I recognise that there are now a number of apps supporting the Covid response in Scotland, however none of the pre-existing apps (e.g. Protect Scotland) offered the ability to provide secure, authenticated access to an individual’s health record. For this reason, a separate app was required.

Officials also explored whether it was possible to extend the use of the existing NHS App from England – where people in England can access their Covid Status – into Scotland. However, the NHS App was originally designed for a very different purpose, it is linked to GP practices in England and requires use of the separate NHS Login which only exists in England and Wales. In discussion with NHS Digital it became clear it was not a feasible option. This is because the timescales involved in joining the NHS App, coupled with the fact Scotland holds its vaccination data in a different way to England and would mean we would lose control over our own scheme.

People in Wales cannot use the NHS App either, they are currently limited to the shared England/Wales online portal accessible with an NHS Login.

Whilst the certificates that are in use in Scotland have been designed to the same international standards as the rest of the UK, and our paper certificates all follow the same template in the UK to ensure consistency, it is appropriate that we design a scheme that is right for Scotland, works in our context, and offers us the flexibility to adapt to our changing circumstances.

Question reference: S6W-03857

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government's Heat and Buildings Strategy aiming to ensure that heat pumps cost the same as fossil fuel boilers by 2030, whether it plans to set out a similar ambition and route to achievement of equalisation of cost by 2030, and, if so, when it will do so.

There is a range of projections as to how far heat pump costs can be brought down, set out in various recent publications by BEIS and the Climate Change Committee.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with the supply chain to maximise cost reductions, and to leverage economic opportunities for Scottish businesses and communities. We have committed to invest at least £1.8 billion over the course of this parliament to kick-start market growth, and will work with industry to co-produce a new ‘Heat in Buildings Supply Chain Delivery Plan’ by Summer 2022. In addition we have been working with the heat pump industry to explore the potential for Heat Pump Sector Deal for Scotland, and will respond to the forthcoming recommendations of an advisory group at the earliest opportunity.

Question reference: S6W-03699

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable housing supply programme approvals in each year since 2016-17 were given an estimated completion date at tender stage.

When affordable housing supply programme projects are submitted to the Scottish Government for approval an estimated completion date will have been provided. Details on approvals by financial year can be found in our published statistics at the following link, in the table ‘Affordable Housing Supply Programme Summary Tables – new style’ .

https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-for-scotland-new-house-building/

Question reference: S6W-03816

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to FOI request FOI/202100240457, whether it will consider revisiting its decision to withhold information on the locations of tower blocks with combustible cladding.

Question reference: S6W-03815

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will disclose the locations of tower blocks with combustible cladding, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

We are currently undergoing a pilot program of Single Building Assessments across Scotland with 16 buildings in Glasgow, 8 buildings in Edinburgh and 1 building in Aberdeen.

The purpose of the Single Building Assessment is to establish if there are any potential risks with buildings beyond just cladding. It will be a wide ranging review of fire risk for entire buildings and all homeowners will be made aware and covered in one singular assessment.