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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-06329

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the rising cost of living, what assessment it has made of the affordability of above inflation water charges for people who are not eligible for the Water Charges Reduction Scheme.

Water charges remain linked to the council tax banding of the house occupied. Higher banded houses are usually expected to be occupied by higher income households and so linking water charges to council tax band will frequently reflect ability to pay. But, importantly, the linkage to Council Tax also means that discounts and exemptions which apply to Council Tax are also available for water and sewerage charges. The present range of discounts is worth over £150m per year and helps to reflect an individual’s circumstances and ensure ability to pay.

Question reference: S6O-00884

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the model to reduce the number of headteachers that is reportedly being proposed by Argyll and Bute Council will improve educational attainment.

Question reference: S6W-06891

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many women were fitted with an Essure contraceptive coil from 2002 to 2017, when it was discontinued because of its side effects.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14655 on 13 March 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

As of March 2022, 7 adverse events relating to the device have been submitted to NHS Scotland's Incident Reporting and Investigation Centre.

Question reference: S6W-06889

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time has been for abdominal aortic aneurysm screenings in each year since 2019, broken down by NHS board.

The data is not available in the format requested.

Men become eligible for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) screening when they reach age 65, and should receive an initial invite before their 66 th birthday. The programme monitors the proportion of the eligible population who are sent an initial offer to screening before age 66 as a key performance indicator.

In March 2020 all adult screening programmes, including the AAA programme, were temporarily paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The AAA screening programme resumed in July 2020, prioritising men in the high risk cohort.

The latest data published on 1 March 2022 shows that the programme has maintained screening the eligible population before they turn 66 and 3 months at a rate above 75% which is similar to pre-COVID-19 rates and in line with the programmes recovery route map. 90.5% of men were invited for screening before their 66th birthday. The full report is available here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/scottish-abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-aaa-screening-programme-statistics/scottish-abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-aaa-screening-programme-statistics-year-ending-31-march-2021/.

Question reference: S6W-06890

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support is being provided to women who were fitted with the Essure contraceptive coil, which was discontinued in 2017 because of its side effects.

Question reference: S6W-06792

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how the obligations in section 13 of the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020 “to consult persons with experience in or knowledge of the formulation, implementation and evaluation of policies intended to tackle gender inequality” have been realised.

Question reference: S6W-06790

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish National Investment Bank’s gender equality strategy has incorporated comments from (a) Close the Gap and (b) Engender.

Question reference: S6W-06796

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish National Investment Bank will lay a report in the Parliament evaluating how the Bank has fulfilled the commitments in its gender equality strategy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06789 on 8 March 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish National Investment Bank’s first report evaluating its gender equality strategy is due within 2 years of publication of the strategy, as required under the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020.

Question reference: S6W-06794

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish National Investment Bank will undertake its first equal pay review, as set out in the requirements in the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020.

Timing of the Equal Pay Review is set out in the Shareholder Relationship Framework Document between the Scottish Government, as sole shareholder, and the Scottish National Investment Bank.

It states that the Bank is required to complete an equal pay review and report on it to Scottish Ministers at least every 5 years. The first review must therefore take place by 23 November 2025 and the Shareholder will agree the exact timing with the Bank.

Question reference: S6W-06797

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what data and information the Scottish National Investment Bank is gathering to evaluate the progress of the Bank’s gender equality strategy.