Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-04536

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response has been to reports that many community facilities run by charitable trusts are on the verge of collapse due to reduced income caused by the lockdown conditions.

Question reference: S5O-04514

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £97 million in UK Government consequentials announced on 5 July has been allocated as packages of support for the arts, culture and heritage sectors and when a decision will be made on allocation of the remaining funding.

Question reference: S5W-31003

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with the (a) UK Government and (b) other devolved administrations ahead of the decision to delay the census until 2022.

Throughout consideration of the options for Scotland’s Census, National Records of Scotland (NRS) engaged with colleagues in the Office of National Statistics (ONS) who are responsible for conducting the England and Wales Census, and with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) who are responsible for conducting the census in Northern Ireland. Each of the census authorities have had to consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their plans for their respective censuses.

The UK Government and devolved administrations were informed of the decision to move Scotland’s Census to 2022 by myself on 17 July 2020.

Question reference: S5W-31005

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when the decision was taken to delay the census until 2022.

Question reference: S5W-31004

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost to delay the census until 2022.

The decision to delay Census delivery in light of the COVID-19 impact has been taken to ensure maximum value for money. That means securing the maximum benefits from the Census for the overall investment.

The concern surrounding the impact on National Record of Scotland’s ability to engage with communities locally to enhance response rates due to COVID-19 meant that the benefits and value for money would be significantly impacted without moving the census to 2022.

Moving the Census to 2022 allows NRS to benefit from the work that has already been progressed. While running the census programme for another year will increase costs marginally, NRS will continue to work closely with Scottish Government and others to more fully model costs and ensure value for money.

Question reference: S5W-30998

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision to delay the census until 2022, when it expects the subsequent census to take place.

Question reference: S5W-30997

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will mitigate any impact on service planning because of the decision to delay the census until 2022.

The priority and responsibility of National Records of Scotland (NRS) is to put in place a census that enables everyone across Scotland to participate, so that information collected can be used to produce the high quality outputs and deliver the benefits required by the people of Scotland.

Ensuring that all of Scotland can take part in the census is vital. Moving the date of the census to March 2022 provides the best opportunity to do that and ensure a high response rate. A high response rate will mean that the data gathered is of the quality necessary to enable it to be confidently used to inform funding decisions, policy and planning at all levels.

There are existing measures to meet the needs of data users between censuses. NRS will work closely with the Office of National Statistics and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency to minimise the impact on UK data coherence to ensure that high quality data is available to inform policy, investment decisions and the planning of services that affect Scotland and the rest of the UK. NRS will also continue to work with stakeholders and partners to support the needs of data users for the period until the results from Scotland’s Census are available.

Question reference: S5W-31000

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to implementing a shorter delay to the census that was originally scheduled for 2021.

Question reference: S5W-31002

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with other census organisations to inform its decision to delay the census until 2022.

Throughout consideration of the options for Scotland’s Census, National Records of Scotland (NRS) engaged with colleagues in the Office of National Statistics (ONS) who are responsible for conducting the England and Wales Census, and with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) who are responsible for conducting the census in Northern Ireland. Each of the census authorities have had to consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their plans for their respective censuses.

Scottish Government have made the decision to move Scotland’s Census to 2022 as this is the only option in which there is confidence of producing high quality outputs and deliver the benefits required by the people of Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-30999

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when testing of systems and processes for the 2022 census will begin.

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