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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-01305

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s call for the closure of unlicensed greyhound racing tracks in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09021

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any correspondence with the UK Government in relation to providing routes to permanent settlement for Ukrainian nationals who have arrived in Scotland with limited leave to remain, through the Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and the Ukraine Extension Scheme.

The UK Government's response to the Ukraine crisis is predicated upon complex, bureaucratic, short-term visas, not humanitarian need. Inordinate time and effort has been required to patch this broken system. Scotland's super-sponsor scheme seeks to do just this. But there remain serious gaps in the UK's schemes even in the short term – in particular routes for vulnerable unaccompanied children and others left out of the existing schemes.

In my regular correspondence, I have pressed the UK government to put people before process. I have been clear that, while many displaced people will want to return to Ukraine when it is safe to do so, the UK should offer sanctuary for as long as is required, and permanently if necessary.

Question reference: S6W-09019

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the support needs of Ukrainian nationals on seasonal work visas in Scotland following the introduction by the UK Government of the Ukraine Extension Scheme on 3 May 2022.

Agricultural workers from Ukraine are critical in the production of soft fruit and vegetables in Scotland. As a result of the conflict, there are significant concerns about the needs of these workers and JustRight Scotland's new Worker Support Centre, supported by £41,000 from the Scottish Government will provide independent outreach and legal support for seasonal workers in Scotland. The Centre follows models used around the world to offer temporary migrant workers advice and support in times of crisis. In addition, The Scottish Government also funds the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI) which has long-established connections to the wider agricultural community and related support services in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09018

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of Ukrainian nationals on seasonal work visas who are currently resident in Scotland.

Agricultural workers from Ukraine are critical in the production of soft fruit and vegetables in Scotland. The seasonal worker Labour Providers have a contractual and data sharing agreement with the Home Office. Numbers relating to Seasonal Workers are only shared by labour providers with the Home Office as part of this. Following engagement with officials in the Home Office and DEFRA our best assessment of the information available is that there are approximately 500 Ukrainian Nationals on seasonal work visas currently residing in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09020

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has had with the seasonal worker employment sponsor agencies in relation to supporting Ukrainian nationals on seasonal work visas in Scotland to access the Ukraine Extension Scheme.

As immigration is reserved to the UK Government, the Home Office is responsible for the operation of visa schemes and application processing. The Home Office has been supporting approved labour providers for the Seasonal Worker Scheme to complete applications to the Ukraine Extension Scheme on behalf of Ukrainian workers, to process the visas as quickly as possible and monitor the process more effectively. The Scottish Government will continue engaging closely with the Home Office and other partners to ensure that workers displaced by the crisis in Ukraine are able to access the support they need while they are here in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09023

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has had with CrossCrountry Trains in relation to the cancellation of services to and from Fife following the introduction of the operator’s new timetable on 15 May 2022.

CrossCountry is a cross-border rail operator responsible to the DfT. Whilst the Scottish Government has not had recent direct correspondence with them we are aware that six Fife station calls were removed as part of a Covid timetable ‘derogation’ process by the DfT.

Transport Scotland officials are in discussion with the DfT and have been advised that no decisions have been made about permanent changes to the timetable.

Question reference: S6W-09026

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to include project proposals from Local Rail Development Fund grantees as part of its consideration of rail infrastructure investment in Control Period 7.

Question reference: S6W-09015

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when local authorities will receive funding to support the development of Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies.

COSLA leaders and Ministers have now agreed the funding package to support the development of Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) for the 2022-23 financial year. This funding package will be treated as a redetermination of the General Revenue Grant and paid in the last 2 weeks of March 2023. This funding could be used to cover internal resourcing and/or procurement of external technical services. Scottish Government officials have already communicated the agreement of the funding to local authorities and will also provide further guarantees and details via COSLA's official channels in due course .

Question reference: S6O-01270

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to provide access to neurodevelopmental support for all children in schools.

Question reference: S6W-09227

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Patrick Harvie on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the second Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing will be reviewed, and when it will respond to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report, published in August 2021.

The Scottish Government has today published its response to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce (ZEST) report which can be accessed at http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781804355176 .

The Scottish Government is grateful to ZEST for its work and welcomes the recommendations which will help shape Scotland’s just transition to net zero.

As was highlighted in the ZEST report, the second Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2) is not fully aligned with net zero and Housing Associations’ and Local Authorities’ need for long-term certainty to plan investment appropriately.

The Scottish Government today confirms that the review of EESSH2 will be brought forward to commence this year for completion in 2023.

While the review is underway the current EESSH2 2025 and 2032 milestones will be put on hold temporarily to ensure that any investment is targeted toward long-term solutions that deliver net zero and support the eradication of fuel poverty. Whilst the review is underway, social landlords should continue to invest in energy efficiency measures to help reduce running costs, and in zero emissions heating systems where appropriate.

The Scottish Government’s Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund supports projects to deploy zero emissions heat, improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty. The fund will make £200 million available over the course of this parliament - investing in a sector already leading the way in the heat transition.

The Scottish Government is committed to, and looks forward to, working jointly with the social housing sector on both the EESSH2 review and as we take forward next steps from the ZEST report.