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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-31966

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30029 by Gillian Martin on 30 September 2024, whether any of the listed flood prevention schemes have since been completed.

Question reference: S6W-31929

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will review restrictions on using recorded footage from the Chamber for social media purposes.

Question reference: S6W-31556

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it can ensure that pumped storage hydro schemes (a) maximise power generation and (b) minimise water usage, and whether it would prioritise the most water-efficient schemes.

Large-scale, long-duration electricity storage, such as pumped hydro storage, will play a critical role in lessening our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation, supporting our net zero ambitions.

It will help to maximise our significant renewable energy generating capacity by providing flexibility to the grid, ensuring that there is a continuous resilient and secure supply of electricity to households and businesses.

Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and makes clear our support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies, including energy storage. Potential impacts on communities, nature and other receptors are important considerations in the planning process. All applications are subject to site-specific assessments.

Question reference: S6W-31552

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what level of consideration it gives to hydraulic head height when determining planning consent for pumped storage hydro projects.

The assessment of any impacts of a proposal, relating to the construction and/or operation of a generating station which may require section 36 consent, must be considered on a case-by-case basis in line with legislation, which includes the Electricity Act 1989, and in some cases, the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

Ministers must not prejudice the conclusion of any Environmental Impact Assessment or the outcome of any application.

Question reference: S6W-31856

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-20007 and S6W-20008 by Fiona Hyslop on 14 August 2023, whether ScotRail considers (a) climate and sustainability objectives and (b) the potential for greater modal shift when making operational decisions about service patterns and potential consumer demand, on services such as "Rail and Sail" tickets served by the Cairnryan-Belfast ferry route.

Question reference: S6W-31855

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-20007 and S6W-20008 by Fiona Hyslop on 14 August 2023, how many meetings have taken place between (a) ScotRail, (b) the Scottish Ministers and (c) Scottish Government officials and Stena Line since 1 April 2022, and whether any such meetings involved discussions regarding increased connectivity on the Cairnryan-Belfast ferry route.

Question reference: S6W-31854

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), what action it has taken to (a) progress recommendation 40, which recommended improving access to Stranraer and ports at Cairnryan and (b) encourage greater use of public transport.

Question reference: S6W-31510

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it will provide an update on how much of the £1.8 billion that was committed for decarbonising buildings through its Heat in Buildings strategy has been (i) allocated and (ii) spent and (b) it is committed to spending any remaining amount during the current parliamentary session.

Scotland’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, outlines our ambitious programme that reflects the scale and the size of the challenge to reduce emissions from our buildings. Our commitment to allocate £1.8bn over this parliament is helping kick-start growth in the market and support those least able to pay.

Of the £1.8bn commitment made in our Heat in Buildings Strategy, over £1.3bn has been allocated to date, of which, over £575m has been spent to the end of September 2024.

Any further budget allocations will be set out in the Scottish Government draft budget, which will be published on 4 December.

Question reference: S6O-04080

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to increase access to diabetes tech for patients in NHS Lothian.

Question reference: S6W-31204

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take in light of Carnegie UK research, which shows that people on lower incomes and disabled people have much lower wellbeing than the average person in Scotland.

The goal of the Scottish Government is to help people live happier and healthier lives with higher living standards, building a fair, green, growing economy that promotes the wellbeing of all Scotland’s people. Therefore, we welcome Carnegie UK’s Life in the UK 2024: Scotland report as a valuable contribution to the evidence base in Scotland. The principles are closely aligned to the National Performance Framework (NPF), which monitors numerous wellbeing issues. We are alert to the issues raised by Carnegie’s report and are committed to tackling the challenges that disabled people face, as well as investing £3 billion a year to tackle poverty and help with the cost of living.

Employment in a good job can be an important factor in a person’s wellbeing. Through the Fair Work Action Plan, we have set out actions needed to promote fair and inclusive workplaces for all people across Scotland, including addressing persistent structural barriers such as those faced by disabled people. Our Fair Work First policy applies Fair Work criteria to as many funding streams, business support grants and public contracts as we can. We have included payment of at least the real Living Wage in the criteria for Fair Work First, and this is a key mechanism for driving fair pay in Scottish workplaces, helping to support improved income security and living standards.

To help address barriers in the labour market for disabled people, the Programme for Government contains a commitment to introducing enhanced specialist employability support for disabled people across all local authorities by next Summer. We are working across sectors to achieve our aim of halving the disability employment gap in Scotland by 2038, focussing on support for disabled people to both enter and progress in fair work. We will shortly issue a response to the Scottish Parliament Economy and Fair Work Committee’s recent report on its inquiry into the disability employment gap. We have also developed the Disability Plan, which will ensure disabled people have greater involvement and visibility in policy and decision-making processes.

We note the recommendations included in the report. Whilst we are not introducing a Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill at this time, we are committed to working across the chamber with Ms Boyack on her Members’ Bill as proposals develop. When these become available, they will be given due consideration. The NPF sets out our vision of societal wellbeing. We continue to advance the NPF, including working towards updating this in 2025 to ensure it reflects a unified vision for Scotland. We will also develop, as I confirmed to the Finance and Public Administration Committee on 8 October, an implementation plan to improve how the NPF is taken forward by public bodies, including the Scottish Government.