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-00069

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps were taken by Police Scotland and others prior to the Rangers football fans gatherings on 15 May 2021 to avoid such large events.

The Scottish Government worked closely with Rangers Football Club, Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council to prepare and provide appropriate communications and support the policing plan informed by the events of 6 and 7 March when Rangers FC were confirmed as champions and cognisant of the significant occasion for the club.

Operational policing decisions are matters for the Chief Constable, however Police Scotland confirmed that an appropriate policing plan was in place to maintain public safety and minimise any disruption to the community.

Question reference: S6W-00070

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many arrests were made by Police Scotland following the behaviour of some Rangers football fans on 15 May 2021 in Glasgow.

Question reference: S6W-00056

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to resolve the industrial action by ScotRail staff that is impacting on the delivery of train services.

Question reference: S6W-00055

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with ScotRail in regard to the ongoing industrial action.

Responsibility for collective bargaining rests with ScotRail and the Unions concerned. The Scottish Government has advised both railway Unions and ScotRail of the substantial additional funding provided to maintain full employment of railway staff throughout the pandemic period. And therefore, that any pay increase, including any further increase to overtime payments for rest day working, would need to be funded by efficiencies agreed through meaningful discussions.

Throughout the process, the Scottish Government has encouraged all parties to resolve this issue for the benefit of passengers, staff, the environment and the economy.

Question reference: S6W-00060

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether international travel guidance will be updated to differentiate between people who are travelling for the purpose of visiting family members and those who are travelling for a holiday.

Travel restrictions are in place to prevent cases of COVID-19 being imported to Scotland. Travel restrictions will be in place as long as they are required and Scottish Government will continue to liaise with affected groups and stakeholders over any restrictions and exemptions that may apply.

The list of countries is kept under review and subject to change. Countries are classified based on analysis by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, according to a methodology agreed by the four UK Chief Medical Officers. The Scottish Government continues to advise caution when it comes to international travel

Question reference: S6W-00242

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure the full recovery of mental health services following the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 8 October, we published Scotland’s Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan . The plan commits to developing a renewal programme for mental health services, to support Covid-19 recovery. This includes a tailored programme of enhanced improvement support for those NHS Boards with the longest waits to address backlogs and recover Mental Health performance over 2021-22.

The plan is backed by a £120 million Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund, which takes our total spend on mental health in 2021-22 in excess of £1.2 billion. It will prioritise our ongoing work to improve specialist CAMHS services, address long waiting times, and clear waiting list backlogs.

Question reference: S6W-00075

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of its planned spending on walking, cycling and wheeling over the next parliamentary year, until May 2022.

Spend on walking, wheeling and cycling increased to £115.5 million in 2021-22 and is budgeted over the financial year, rather than the parliamentary year. The budget for active travel is presented in the following table on the basis of the published Level 4 budgets:

Active Travel Budget	2021-22 (£m)
From Sustainable and Active Travel Capital	74.4
From Sustainable and Active Travel Resource	6.3
From Future Transport Fund - Cycling Infrastructure	10.9
Local Government Capital Grant - Cycling Walking Safer Routes	23.9
Total	115.5

Question reference: S6W-00091

Asked by: Neil Gray, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many children in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency it estimates will be included in the roll-out of the Scottish Child Payment to 16-year-olds.

Using the latest available forecasts published by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in January 2021, Scottish Government analysis estimates there could be up to 3,500 children potentially eligible for the payment in Airdrie and Shotts in 2023-24 (the first full financial year of the payment for under 16s). The number of children receiving the payment in Airdrie and Shotts is likely to be around 2,600 in that year - this is a separate forecast based on the take-up assumptions for the payment.

Question reference: S6W-00173

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what due diligence it undertook prior to agreeing (a) the initial Lochaber Contingent Liability with the GFG Alliance and (b) the revised business plan.

Question reference: S6W-00175

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter of 11 February 2021 from the Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy to the Finance and Constitution Committee, whether it will provide a breakdown of the commercial fees (a) received and (b) it expects to receive in future, and the dates and value of these fees.