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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: S6W-01294

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have a Saltire+1 national entitlement card; how much the scheme costs to operate each year, and who is responsible for funding it.

As of June 2021, there are 114,738 registered companion (+1) cardholders eligible to access the Scotland-Wide Free Bus Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled People (the Scheme).

The Scheme is administered by Transport Scotland on behalf on the Scottish Government. In 2019-20 the cost of the Scheme was around £215 million. We have used figures for 2019-20 as this is the most recent pre-covid financial year where typical journey numbers have been undertaken.

Question reference: S6W-01295

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that transport operators provide 50% concessionary travel to the companions of holders of Saltire+1 entitlement cards on public transport across all local authority areas.

Under the National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled People, a holder of a +1 National Entitlement Card is entitled to free bus travel for themselves and a companion travelling together with them for the same journey on local registered and long distance scheduled bus journeys throughout Scotland.

Local authorities have discretion to provide local non-bus travel concessions for their residents. Public Transport operators may also provide travel concessions on their services for certain groups of people as part of their own commercial operations. The extent and level of any concessions offered are for individual local authorities and public transport operators to determine.

Question reference: S6W-00751

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many empty commercial properties there have been in each local authority in the South Scotland parliamentary region, in each year since 2011.

The following table shows the number of properties receiving a non-domestic rates relief or exemption from rates for unoccupied properties since 2011, except for 2014 and 2017 as no data is available for those years. The figures are as at the snapshot date and may therefore underestimate final numbers of recipients in a given year, and include entire local authority areas as data by parliamentary region is not held.

Data for 2021 is expected to become available in late 2021.

Local Authority	2011	2012	2013	2015	2016	2018	2019	2020
Dumfries & Galloway	400	590	590	560	520	540	490	460
East Ayrshire	400	450	440	290	330	190	190	160
East Lothian *	290	270	230	230	210	260	260	280
Midlothian *	140	260	260	190	190	140	200	120
Scottish Borders	650	640	580	560	570	530	510	460
South Ayrshire	480	480	430	420	410	350	290	280
South Lanarkshire *	1,100	1,070	900	850	600	300	250	10

Data: Billing System Snapshots provided to the Scottish Government by local authorities.

* Some parts of these local authorities, included in the table above, are not part of the South Scotland parliamentary region.

"Properties" refers to subjects listed as separate entries in the Valuation Roll, and includes shops, offices, warehouses, but also self-catering properties, properties that do not necessarily contain buildings, etc. Figures exclude properties for which the rateable value is zero.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Reliefs and exemptions for empty properties are typically cancelled by local authorities at the beginning of each financial year, with ratepayers required to reapply. Therefore these figures are likely to underestimate the full number of unoccupied properties as at the snapshot dates.

The snapshot dates are: 31 March 2011, 17 May 2012, 1 October 2013, 1 October 2015, 5 October 2016, 1 June 2018, 31 May 2019, and 1 July 2020.

Question reference: S6W-00749

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region have been returned to use with support from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, in each year since 2011.

Question reference: S6W-00750

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many empty (a) private, and (b) public sector residential properties there have been in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region, in each year since 2011.

Question reference: S6W-00433

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much the SQA charged each local authority for providing its services in the 2019-20 session, and how much it will charge each local authority for the 2020-21 session.

I have asked SQA to respond. The charges per local authority are:

	Total Charges	Total Charges	Levy Amount	Non- Levy	Non- Levy
	2019-20	2020-21		2019-20	2020-21
Local Authority	£	£	£	£	£
ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL	705,222.25	699,017.00	698,265.00	6,957.25	752.00
ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCIL	1,177,229.25	1,185,000.00	1,169,834.00	7,395.25	15,166.00
ANGUS COUNCIL	555,398.25	552,189.00	549,886.00	5,512.25	2,303.00
ARGYLL & BUTE COUNCIL	445,413.50	443,867.00	443,348.00	2,065.50	519.00
SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL	545,625.00	546,656.50	1,483,687.00	- 938,062.00	- 937,030.50
CLACKMANNANSHIRE COUNCIL	240,288.25	240,466.00	238,057.00	2,231.25	2,409.00
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL	446,553.75	443,668.00	793,610.00	- 347,056.25	- 349,942.00
DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY COUNCIL	802,989.25	795,046.50	612,578.00	190,411.25	182,468.50
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL	620,854.25	622,603.00	602,382.00	18,472.25	20,221.00
EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	609,791.50	610,740.00	678,524.00	- 68,732.50	- 67,784.00
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL	682,681.00	681,193.00	487,911.00	194,770.00	193,282.00
EAST LOTHIAN COUNCIL	496,080.50	491,256.00	764,774.00	- 268,693.50	- 273,518.00
EAST RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL	768,361.00	765,247.50	699,680.00	68,681.00	65,567.50
CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL	1,505,928.75	1,491,888.25	1,707,654.00	- 201,725.25	- 215,765.75
FALKIRK COUNCIL	707,678.75	703,365.75	2,135,236.00	- 1,427,557.25	- 1,431,870.25
FIFE COUNCIL	1,726,263.75	1,721,912.00	1,145,115.00	581,148.75	576,797.00
GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL	2,153,260.00	2,149,264.00	385,443.00	1,767,817.00	1,763,821.00
HIGHLAND COUNCIL	1,153,573.00	1,155,695.00	425,177.00	728,396.00	730,518.00
INVERCLYDE COUNCIL	387,147.25	387,967.00	709,006.00	- 321,858.75	- 321,039.00
MIDLOTHIAN COUNCIL	428,181.75	426,894.50	1,766,850.00	- 1,338,668.25	- 1,339,955.50
THE MORAY COUNCIL	482,969.75	482,338.00	112,028.00	370,941.75	370,310.00
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	725,249.00	718,423.50	645,358.00	79,891.00	73,065.50
NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL	1,781,996.50	1,774,265.00	886,239.00	895,757.50	888,026.00
ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL	112,504.00	112,028.00	540,772.00	- 428,268.00	- 428,744.00
PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL	649,650.50	646,325.00	126,785.00	522,865.50	519,540.00
RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL	891,900.00	887,668.00	593,086.00	298,814.00	294,582.00
SHETLAND ISLANDS COUNCIL	127,303.75	128,010.50	1,545,723.00	- 1,418,419.25	- 1,417,712.50
SOUTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	596,613.50	594,437.50	473,217.00	123,396.50	121,220.50
SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL	1,555,156.50	1,553,114.50	480,912.00	1,074,244.50	1,072,202.50
STIRLING COUNCIL	478,519.00	477,069.50	443,668.00	34,851.00	33,401.50
WEST LOTHIAN COUNCIL	968,179.25	962,863.00	953,766.00	14,413.25	9,097.00
WESTERN ISLES COUNCIL	146,237.50	145,530.00	145,530.00	707.50	-

TOTAL	24,674,800.25	24,596,008.50	24,444,101.00	230,699.25	151,907.50

Question reference: S6W-00432

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the SQA will charge local authorities a reduced amount for its services this session, given the reduction in the number of exam settings and marking services it has provided.

The budget agreed by Scottish Ministers for SQA for 2021-22 is based on the SQA levy to local authorities and entry fees charged separately remaining at the same level as has been the case since 2012-13.

These fees provide a contribution towards the cost of awarding, rather than covering the full cost for that individual local authority, school or college. The costs of awarding National Qualifications, even this year, are greater than the contribution made by local authorities in the form of a levy.

Question reference: S6O-00026

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what provision it plans to make for the inclusion of greenspaces within new residential housing developments.

Question reference: S6W-00241

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 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on by what date all frontline care staff will have received the £500 bonus announced on November 30, 2020.

We are fully committed to paying the payments to eligible social care workers as quickly as possible. Local authorities have confirmed that the majority of payments were made to local authority employed social care workers by the end of April with the remainder of payments being made in May. All Local Authorities have confirmed that payments to third and independent social care providers have been completed. Our administration partner, Scotland Excel, are working to confirm with social care providers that payments have been made to staff.

We are currently working with key delivery partners to agree a payment process to make payments to Personal Assistants as quickly as possible.

Question reference: S6W-00245

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 4 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 10 actions identified within Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan have been fulfilled.

The Scottish Government launched its Suicide Prevention Action Plan: Every Life Matters in 2018. Our National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) is driving forward implementation and reports annually on progress, both on the Action Plan and on the supplementary recommendations and actions agreed since the Action Plan was published. Its most recent annual report was issued in September 2020. A supplementary two-year review of progress made under the Action Plan was published earlier this year.

Many of the key deliverables of the Action Plan have been achieved to date, including the launch of Scotland’s social movement: ‘United to Prevent Suicide’; production of learning resources to support suicide prevention; pilot services to support those bereaved by suicide; and guidance to encourage, inform, and support local suicide prevention approaches.

The Scottish Government continues to work with the NSPLG and partners to prioritise work on the Action Plan and on the key activities on suicide prevention set out in our October 2020 Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan.

Year	Number of homes brought back into use
2011-12	4
2012-13	76
2013-14	278
2014-15	560
2015-16	697
2016-17	859
2017-18	742
2018-19	1,128
2019-20	1,412
2020-21	851
Total	6607