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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: S5W-26683

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 18 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how Skills Development Scotland determined the (a) membership and (b) terms of reference of its Gender Commission; whether details of the work of the Commission, including the minutes and agendas of its meetings, will be published online, and what the timescale is for the Commission to report.

The Gender Commission was set up in response to findings by the SAAB Group Board, which identified a need to provide visible industry leadership by setting up a commission to address gender imbalance within the work-based learning offer. Consequently the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board’s (SAAB) Gender Commission has an employer-led membership.

The Commission’s terms of reference are available on the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) website https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/ ). SDS provides governance support to the Gender Commission, its work however remains within the guidance and remit of the SAAB.

The membership is drawn from across the SAAB and its associated sub-groups and from other employers from relevant sectors, as well as from equalities experts and representatives from parent groups and education and trades unions. Where appropriate, meetings will be complemented by expert advice from key policy areas.

The Gender Commission is not a decision-making or approval group and will operate in line with SDS Governance guidelines. The Commission meetings take place in the form of a discussion forum, with action logs created and circulated among the members following the meetings.

Topics and timelines for future thematic meetings will be published on the SDS website in due course. Preliminary conclusions from the commission’s work are expected to be drawn in late 2020, with final recommendations and reporting to lead and shape business response to follow in Spring 2021.

Question reference: S5W-26613

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to update the 1996 guidance to NHS boards regarding patient transport and travel expenses.

The Scottish Government provides guidance for patients as part of its publication: “Are you entitled to help with health costs?”. The latest version of this publication was issued in November 2018.

The Scottish Government are currently reviewing the necessary revisions required to the guidance for NHS Boards, and will take account of any potential changes to benefits entitlements following the outcome of UK General Election.

Question reference: S5W-26535

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 9 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the total expenditure has been on the (a) Ayrshire strategic resilience, (b) Oban water treatment works, (c) Bradan water treatment works and (d) Amlaird and Corsehouse strategic main project since 1 April 2015.

Total expenditure for the requested projects is as follows:

Oban Water Treatment Works

Total investment is £32.3m. The project is now complete.

Bradan Water Treatment Works

Investment is £14.8m. The project is now complete.

Amlaird and Corsehouse strategic mains projects

The Amlaird and Corsehouse strategic mains projects are part of the Ayrshire Strategic resilience scheme. Investment to September 2019 is £54.2m.

Ayrshire Resilience Scheme

Delivery of the wider resilience scheme includes three phases with phases one (upgrading of Gorbals Pumping Station, Tank at Drumboy Hill and main to connect these) and two (main to connect from Drumboy Hill to Highlees) now complete. Investment to September 2019 is £77.5m.

Question reference: S5F-03736

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2019

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking in response to reports that one in 20 households that use food banks has an unstable income due to self-employment or being on a zero-hour contract.

Question reference: S5W-26152

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25827 by Humza Yousaf on 15 October 2019, what assistance will be available to make homes secure once a protective barring order has been put in place.

The Scottish Government consulted on proposals to introduce protective orders for people at risk of domestic abuse earlier this year. That consultation sought views on whether breach of a protective order should be a criminal offence. In developing legislation on protective orders, we will give careful consideration to responses submitted to that consultation in determining how best to ensure that any such orders provide effective protection to people at risk of domestic abuse.

Question reference: S5O-03778

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to protect heritage sites in the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S5W-26120

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25799 by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 October 2019, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding whether the expenditure for capital projects reported in the Scottish Water annual report and accounts in each of the last three years that has been published in accordance with section 45(2) of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 represents unplanned expenditure each year above that anticipated for each listed project.

Scottish Water operates within a regulatory framework agreed with Scottish Ministers which is subject to regulatory monitoring, scrutiny and audit. Their capital programme has both planned and unplanned cost allowances for reactive interventions. Consequently, a portfolio approach is required due to the size and complexity of the investment programme. Unplanned expenditure is managed within the overall cost allowance for the investment programme and is subject to robust programme governance.

The following capital investment table reconciles investment as stated in Scottish Water’s statutory accounts (the financial statements therein are prepared in a form directed by Scottish ministers in accordance Section 45(2) of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002) with investment on a regulatory accounting basis for the three years to 31 March 2019.

	2018-19 £m	2017-18 £m	2016-17 £m
Capital investment on a regulatory accounting basis Add PFI capital additions	659.8 0.1	644.9 1.7	625.6 1.0
Total capital investment on a regulatory accounting basis	659.9	646.6	626.6
Less base infrastructure maintenance included in operating costs under IAS 16	(130.0)	(134.7)	(117.6)
Less investment financed by infrastructure charges & contributions	(26.5)	(18.1)	(24.5)
Company capital additions per note 9 to the financial statements	503.4	493.8	484.5

In addition Scottish Water is also required to disclose, under the Scottish Water Governance Direction 2009, capital expenditure on major works including improvements to existing assets each year that are greater than £10m (for an example please see page 98 of Scottish Water’s Annual Report & Accounts for 2018-19).

Question reference: S5W-25798

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 7 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding the Comprehensive Spending Review.

The Scottish Government has not received the clarity it needs regarding the UK Government’s Spending Review, despite our engagement with HM Treasury.

Despite previously promising a multi-year Spending Review in 2019, the UK Government has now delayed this into 2020. Instead this year the UK Government published a one-year Spending Round which does not include the economic forecasts and tax decisions needed for us to plan our spend for 2020-21 with any certainty. The UK general election in December also means that we will not know for some time when a UK Budget outlining this information will take place.

This delay and uncertainty unreasonably constrains our ability to plan future spending and the time for Scottish Parliament scrutiny.

Question reference: S5W-25800

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of households there have been in each of the last five years, and what annual rate of growth in household numbers this represents.

The latest available information is given in the following table. The mid-2019 household estimates are planned for publication in June 2020.

Mid-year household estimates, Scotland, 2014–2018

Year	Estimated number of households	Percentage change on previous year
2014	2,416,014	0.65%
2015	2,429,943	0.58%
2016	2,446,171	0.67%
2017	2,462,736	0.68%
2018	2,477,275	0.59%

Notes:

Data on household estimates relates to the 30 th June each year.

A household refers to the people living together in a dwelling. The number of dwellings will not necessarily equal the number of households in an area, because some dwellings are vacant or second homes, and some dwellings contain more than one household. Communal establishments, such as care homes and student halls of residence, are not included in the definition of a household.

Source: Table 1 of Estimates of Households and Dwellings in Scotland, 2018 , published by National Records of Scotland.

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/household-estimates/2018/house-est-18-all-tabs.xlsx .

Question reference: S5W-25801

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 29 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in each of the last five years have been subject to council tax, broken down by the proportion in each band.

The number and proportion of properties the Scottish Government has recorded as being subject to Council Tax by each band in the last five years is as follows:

Number of Chargeable Dwellings in Scotland

Year

Band A

Band B

Band C

Band D

Band E

Band F

Band G

Band H

TOTAL

2019

500,127

(20%)

573,544

(23%)

405,430

(16%)

341,710

(14%)

341,644

(14%)

199,994

(8%)

128,893

(5%)

13,591

(1%)

2,504,933

2018

503,209

(20%)

572,175

(23%)

401,847

(16%)

336,392

(14%)

337,232

(14%)

196,377

(8%)

126,529

(5%)

13,340

(1%)

2,487,101

2017

505,129

(20%)

572,271

(23%)

399,508

(16%)

332,640

(13%)

333,611

(13%)

192,916

(8%)

124,270

(5%)

13,150

(1%)

2,473,497

2016

504,715

(21%)

571,217

(23%)

397,023

(16%)

328,309

(13%)

329,682

(13%)

189,367

(8%)

122,158

(5%)

12,936

(1%)

2,455,406

2015

506,424

(21%)

569,737

(23%)

394,252

(16%)

324,461

(13%)

326,438

(13%)

186,282

(8%)

120,179

(5%)

12,745

(1%)

2,440,518

Note: ‘Chargeable Dwellings’ are those dwellings on the valuation roll in September of each year minus those dwellings that are exempt from Council Tax.