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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: S6O-03235

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of free digital devices to school pupils.

Question reference: S6W-25413

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 9 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many households have (a) installed interlinked fire alarms since 1 February 2022 and (b) interlinked fire alarms installed in total; how much it has spent on financial support for the installation of interlinked fire alarms since1 February 2022, and when the 2022 Scottish House Condition Survey will be available.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) was published on 29 February 2024. In 2022 the Scottish House Condition Survey asked the following new question on fire alarms: Has the dwelling satisfactory equipment for detecting fire and giving warning in the event of fire or suspected fire? Responses were recorded as a yes or no answer, and in order to be recorded as ‘yes’ a dwelling must have interlinked fire alarms installed meeting a number of criteria.

In 2022 around 1.91 million homes in Scotland (75%) have fully compliant interlinked fire alarms, while 25% (around 638,000) were recorded as not having satisfactory equipment for detecting and warning in the event of fire.

While all dwellings meeting the fire alarm criteria have interlinked fire alarms, there may be some dwellings recorded as having insufficient fire detection equipment that do have interlinked fire alarms but failed the fire alarm criteria due to other factors such as insufficient number of alarms, improperly powered alarms, or improper locations of alarms. However, due to the yes/no mode of question this number cannot be quantified from 2022 SHCS data.

From 2023 the SHCS question on fire alarms will provide details as to why a dwelling’s equipment for detecting a fire is unsatisfactory which will allow analysis in this area from 2025.

The Scottish Government provided a total of £2.1 million between Care & Repair and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to support those in greatest need or at greatest risk of fire, to meet the new standard. No new funds have been allocated to these schemes since 2022.

Question reference: S6O-03202

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce social housing waiting lists for disabled people.

Question reference: S6W-25335

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many battery energy storage system sites are (a) currently operational, (b) under construction and (c) scheduled for construction, broken down by local authority area.

The information can be extracted from the publicly available Renewable Energy Planning Database ( Renewable Energy Planning Database: quarterly extract - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ). The following table draws out the number of battery projects planned across Scotland up to the end of December 2023.

Table 1: Extract from Renewable Energy Planning Database up to the end of December 2023 (published January 2024)

Local Authority	a) Operational	b) Under Construction	c) Awaiting Construction
Aberdeen City			2
Aberdeenshire	1	1	16
Angus		1	4
Argyll and Bute			1
Clackmannanshire			2
Dumfries and Galloway			7
Dundee City	2		2
East Ayrshire			4
East Dunbartonshire			1
East Lothian	1
East Renfrewshire	1
Falkirk			1
Fife		3	9
Glasgow City			2
Highland	1		7
Inverclyde
Midlothian
Moray		1	6
North Ayrshire			6
North Lanarkshire	1
Orkney Islands	1
Perth and Kinross		1	5
Renfrewshire			1
Scottish Borders			2
Shetland Islands	1
South Ayrshire			3
South Lanarkshire		1	5
Stirling			3
West Dunbartonshire
West Lothian	1		2
Scotland Total	10	8	91

Question reference: S6W-25354

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the most recent round of the Learning Estate Investment Programme funding.

On 30 October 2023, the Scottish Government announced the following 10 successful Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) Phase 3 projects:

1. Hazlehead Academy (Aberdeen City)

2. Mull Campus (Argyll and Bute)

3. Lochies ASN School (Clackmannanshire)

4. Lenzie Academy (East Dunbartonshire)

5. Carrongrange ASN School extension (Falkirk)

6. Forres Academy (Moray)

7. Chryston High School extension (North Lanarkshire)

8. Kirkwall ASN Centre (Orkney)

9. Brae Campus (Shetland)

10. Riverside and Letham Primary School (West Lothian)

Every local authority which has submitted a bid through the LEIP has been awarded funding for a project in Phases 1, 2 or 3.

The £2bn LEIP is being delivered in partnership with local authorities and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland.

The proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition in Scotland has increased from 61% in April 2007 to almost 91% in April 2023, and LEIP investment will build on this progress.

Question reference: S6W-25692

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid in constraint payments to wind farm operators in Scotland to switch off in each year from 2014 to 2024 to date.

Question reference: S6O-03161

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what spending it has allocated from its Budget to date for its plans for a National Care Service.

Question reference: S6W-25406

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to NHS boards in relation to recording a patient’s biological sex on medical records.

The existing "Scottish Government Records Management Health and Social Care Code of Practice (Scotland) 2020 has short section on dealing with health records of those who identify as transgender. This links to guidance from the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, the General Medical Council and NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). It was recognised in 2020 that it was an area under development, and subsequently the Scottish Government's Chief Statistician issued guidance for public bodies on the collection of data on sex and gender (2021). The draft Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care, due out in the spring of 2024 aims to incorporate the Chief Statistician's guidance along with feedback from stakeholders and provide further guidance to NHS Boards.

Question reference: S6W-25334

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 23 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the current Scottish Fire and Rescue Service guidance is for fire outbreaks at battery energy storage system sites.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) continue to undertake operational intelligence gathering on such premises and work alongside key partners to ensure that an effective operational response is provided. While clearly this is an operational matter, SFRS will respond to all reports of fire which are received and have the ability to deploy a range of standard and specialist resources as determined by the needs of the incident.

Fire safety measures should be built into such sites during the development that include detection and suppression systems to inhibit the growth and spread of any fire should an incident occur. This is in line with the NFCC Guidance Document .

Question reference: S6W-25333

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 23 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the current fire safety regulations are for the development of battery energy storage system (BESS) sites.

To ask the Scottish Government what the current fire safety regulations are for the development of battery energy storage system (BESS) sites. A range of legislation makes up the regulatory framework for the safety of grid scale battery energy storage systems (BESS). Health and safety is a reserved matter with applicable UK legislation including: the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002; the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989; and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s regulator in this regard, and their remit includes health and safety in the workplace as well as public assurance on safety matters.