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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-27883

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 24 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-36131 by Maree Todd on 23 March 2021, what percentage of the 435 equity and excellence leads are in post; how many of the posts are vacant, and on what date all posts were filled, including to where the post-holder has since moved on.

Snapshot figures of graduate level posts in early learning and childcare (ELC) are published annually in Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland 2023. Data in the tables is gathered from centres (either local authority or partner provider centres) with children registered for the funded entitlement at the time of the Census. In 2023, this was collected from 11 – 15 September. As of September 2023 there were 364 (322 FTE) equity and excellence leads in post, which equates to 71% of those that are funded .

The majority of the Scottish Government’s funding to Local Government is provided through the General Revenue Grant. As of 2024-25, and in line with the Verity House Agreement, this covers all funding for statutory ELC provision, including for equity and excellence leads.

It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on ELC, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Question reference: S6W-28143

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will involve (a) industry and (b) key stakeholders in the design of policies, as set out in its Heat transition: public engagement strategic framework, published on 13 December 2023.

We already work with a range of stakeholders to design heat in buildings policies. The Scottish Government has established a number of expert groups including the Green Heat Finance Taskforce, EPC External Reference Group and the Strategic Advisory Group, who provide independent advice on a range of policies.

Recently, we consulted on proposals for legislation to improve energy efficiency and drive the clean heat agenda in the existing built stock – both homes and non-domestic buildings. A number of stakeholder engagement events were held across Scotland for people to learn and give feedback to the consultation proposals. There were c1650 responses to our consultation from various stakeholders and industries which are now being independently analysed.

We also ran a consultation to invite views on proposals for a new Social Housing Net Zero Standard (SHNZS), which will replace the post-2020 Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing, or EESSH2. Stakeholders from the social rented sector, who are part of the EESSH2 Review Group, will be asked to help consider the final design of the proposed SHNZS policy, based on the consultation analysis.

In addition, the Strategic Public Engagement Delivery Partnership, which will be developed in 2024, will further strengthen those relationships.

Question reference: S6O-03640

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the delivery of 1,140 hours of funded childcare in Orkney, in light of the specific challenges faced by island authorities in meeting this requirement.

Question reference: S6W-27893

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on how many days court business has included time dedicated to hearing fatal accident inquiries in each court in Scotland in each of the last five years.

	Financial year
Court	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Aberdeen	4	22	41	4	0
Airdrie	0	0	0	0	0
Alloa	2	2	8	6	10
Ayr	4	13	14	4	0
Banff	0	9	6	2	0
Campbeltown	0	0	0	0	2
Dumbarton	0	5	2	3	0
Dumfries	2	8	3	7	18
Dundee	21	21	10	0	6
Dunfermline	4	12	12	7	2
Dunoon	0	3	8	2	0
Edinburgh	20	15	10	5	7
Elgin	0	5	0	5	7
Falkirk	13	4	0	12	60
Forfar	0	0	2	17	0
Fort William	0	0	0	0	0
Glasgow	54	20	25	57	56
Greenock	0	18	6	4	8
Hamilton	12	19	49	35	21
Inverness	20	14	3	9	14
Jedburgh	0	2	2	0	2
Kilmarnock	1	10	5	10	4
Kirkcaldy	0	0	0	9	4
Kirkwall	13	11	2	7	0
Lanark	6	4	0	2	6
Lerwick	2	0	0	0	2
Lochmaddy	1	4	3	0	0
Livingston	7	10	12	14	10
Oban	3	11	14	0	13
Paisley	2	0	17	27	0
Perth	30	39	16	17	14
Peterhead	9	10	4	9	1
Portree	0	0	0	0	0
Selkirk	0	0	0	0	0
Stirling	11	4	5	7	17
Stornoway	0	0	5	5	0
Stranraer	0	0	0	0	0
Tain	0	1	0	2	23
Wick	0	0	0	6	0
National	241	296	284	294	307

Question reference: S6W-27894

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding fatal accident inquiries, what the average length of time has been between the conclusion of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service investigation and the issuing of the determination by a sheriff, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6O-03591

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the potential link between agricultural support and rural depopulation.

Question reference: S6W-27965

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the 2018 GP contract, which moved vaccination services from the remit of GPs to NHS boards, means that emergency vaccinations for tetanus and other conditions can no longer be provided in GP surgeries.

The 2018 GP contract does not mean that emergency vaccinations for tetanus and other conditions can no longer be provided in GP surgeries.

In 2017, as part of the commitment to reduce GP workload and refocus their role onto more complex care, the Scottish Government and the BMA’s Scottish GP Committee agreed vaccinations would progressively move away from a model based on GP delivery to one based on NHS Board delivery through dedicated teams. NHS Boards can make arrangements for those teams to deliver vaccines on the premises of GP surgeries (many of which are in buildings owned by NHS Boards) if this meets local needs.

In rare circumstances it may be appropriate for GP practices, such as small rural and island practices, to continue delivering these services routinely.

Question reference: S6W-27892

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016, and what its position is on whether further changes might be needed.

The Lord Advocate is constitutionally responsible for the investigation of sudden, unexpected and suspicious deaths in Scotland. These functions are exercised independently of government. Parliament considered and modernised the law on FAIs in 2016 and there are no current plans to revisit the legislation.

The Scottish Government, in conjunction with the Crown Office, continually assesses the effectiveness of the system for FAIs. As a result of this continual assessment, the Crown Office has significantly reformed the arrangements for the investigation of deaths. These reforms have already resulted in reductions in the duration of death investigations and it is expected that they will continue to do so. The Crown Office has also recently established a Specialist Casework Death Investigations Improvement Programme. Its purpose is to oversee all ongoing pieces of work and new proposals to achieve greater public confidence, to improve the service delivered to bereaved relatives and to deliver increased efficiencies in the investigation of deaths.

The Crown Office has acknowledged that in some cases the time taken to conclude a thorough death investigation has been too long. Unfortunately, there will always be a small number of deaths that will need a prolonged period of investigation due to their complexity. Irrespective of the type of FAI, the investigation must be completed thoroughly before a decision can be made to commence any inquiry proceedings. The decision to hold an inquiry cannot be taken until other proceedings, such as any criminal charges have been completed or ruled out.

FAIs are just one part of the system for investigating deaths. In many cases lessons are often learned, changes made and answers given to families without an FAI.

We have increased the Crown Office budget in recent years to support a range of its improvement work, including modernising processes for investigating deaths. The Crown Office has also significantly reformed its processes to reduce the time taken to investigate deaths and to bring FAIs to court more quickly.

We have every confidence in the system that is in place for FAIs but we acknowledge that there is always more that can be done. We keep matters under review in consultation with the Crown Office and are looking for ways in which the system can be improved.

Question reference: S6W-27541

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27215 by Angela Constance on 13 May 2024, whether it will provide a breakdown of the figures by (a) remand and (b) convicted population, also broken down by those aged (i) under 16, (ii) between 16 and 18 and (iii) between 19 and 21.

On the morning of 6 May 2024 there were 192 people under the age of 21 held in the prison estate, and a further 96 aged 21. This population is broken down by index offence group, age group and legal status as defined in the question in the following table.

The age categories as defined expand the population subgroup previously analysed. We have therefore provided age groups (iii).a) the 19-20 age group and (iii).b) 21-year-olds.

The legal status categories provided differ from our normal presentation as specified in the question. The group "(a) remand" includes only untried prisoners, while group "(b) convicted" includes both those serving a sentence and those convicted awaiting sentencing (which would normally be included in the "remand" category in our statistical outputs).

Where individuals in custody are accused or convicted of multiple offences, these are summarised by index offence. This is the offence for which they have received the longest sentence or, where they are on remand, which would on average receive the longest sentence. Some offences cannot be classified in this way because the charges originate in other jurisdictions or because the data required was not available at the time the snapshot was taken.

Age Group	Index Offence Group	(a) Remand (Untried only)	(b) Convicted (Awaiting Sentence & Sentenced)	Total
(i) under 16	Age Group Total	0	0	0
(ii) between 16 and 18 (inclusive)	Group 1: Non-sexual crimes of violence	10	12	22
	Group 2: Sexual crimes	0	4	4
	Group 3: Crimes of dishonesty	1	0	1
	Group 4: Damage and reckless behaviour	1	0	1
	Group 5: Crimes against society	2	3	5
	Group 6: Antisocial offences	0	2	2
	Age Group Total	14	21	35
(iii).a) 19-20 (inclusive) (to match S6W-27215 total)	Group 1: Non-sexual crimes of violence	25	59	84
	Group 2: Sexual crimes	6	19	25
	Group 3: Crimes of dishonesty	1	13	14
	Group 4: Damage and reckless behaviour	0	2	2
	Group 5: Crimes against society	10	7	17
	Group 6: Antisocial offences	2	3	5
	Group 8: Road traffic offences	1	5	6
	Group 77: Other Jurisdiction Charge	0	2	2
	Could not be classified	1	1	2
	Age Group Total	46	111	157
(iii).b) additional population to 21 (inclusive)	Group 1: Non-sexual crimes of violence	8	29	37
	Group 2: Sexual crimes	8	16	24
	Group 3: Crimes of dishonesty	2	1	3
	Group 5: Crimes against society	9	13	22
	Group 6: Antisocial offences	0	4	4
	Group 7: Miscellaneous offences	0	2	2
	Group 8: Road traffic offences	0	2	2
	Other Jurisdiction Charge	0	1	1
	Could not be classified	0	1	1
	Age Group Total	27	69	96

Question reference: S6O-03508

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on work to extend the application of Road Equivalent Tariff to Northern Isles ferry routes.