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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-12122

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has undertaken on the carbon footprint of any increased transportation generated by the Deposit Return Scheme in island communities.

The Island Communities Impact Assessment ( Deposit return scheme for Scotland: islands communities impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ) that we published in March 2020 confirms that the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme will not increase the amount of waste that will arise in island communities. Since most waste is currently transported off the islands it is unlikely that there will be any significant increase in number of journeys made by waste hauliers. No further modelling has been undertaken.

Question reference: S6W-12121

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the net environmental impact of the Deposit Return Scheme in island communities.

Question reference: S6W-12123

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme on existing recycling services provided by island local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-11891

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid in subsidies to (a) Barra, (b) Benbecula, (c) Campbeltown, (d) Dundee, (e) Inverness, (f) Islay, (g) Kirkwall, (h) Sumburgh, (i) Stornoway, (j) Tiree and (k) Wick John O'Groats Airport in each year since 2017-18, broken down by capital and revenue allocations.

The following table provides the information requested in relation to capital allocations. For completeness, HIAL Head Office figures are also included. Figures include both grant and loan funding.

Airport	2017-18 (£)	2018-19 (£)	2019-20 (£)	2020-21 (£)	2021-22 (£)
Barra	183,481.08	108,483.61	457,063.78	353,902.34	867,883.49
Benbecula	779,393.75	627,447.75	135,974.70	600,168.73	1,690,104.96
Campbeltown	193,284.51	131,895.32	615,854.76	286,619.78	4,776,933.08
Dundee	207,058.60	367,727.00	184,316.62	1,394,046.70	965,679.77
Inverness	3,082,271.52	2,759,966.51	4,726,100.48	9,406,498.54	11,645,971.05
Islay	100,276.74	125,036.04	170,835.64	470,970.26	735,028.98
Kirkwall	620,656.50	1,654,164.92	354,782.05	1,556,529.87	4,673,773.88
Stornoway	2,802,889.70	433,188.33	291,442.76	2,187,427.27	4,028,778.43
Sumburgh	1,069,276.36	1,018,554.48	2,787,491.56	3,404,861.35	1,912,617.76
Tiree	170,282.71	667,049.27	269,461.82	582,983.03	630,003.17
Wick John O’Groats	341,024.96	269,639.44	400,068.75	315,326.56	530,130.34
Head Office	339,733.76	224,446.02	3,690,673.05	3,241,700.54	4,445,809.64

The Scottish Government does not provide HIAL with revenue allocations on an airport by airport basis. Revenue funding is provided to HIAL as a Group with HIAL then allocating funding across the company, including on Head Office functions, on an as needed basis in order to achieve a breakeven position in any given period. The following table shows the revenue funding provided to HIAL in each year since 2017-18.

Year	Revenue Allocation (£)
2017-18	20,431,303.22
2018-19	21,617,923.68
2019-20	24,304,094.00
2020-21	38,009,537.28
2021-22	38,086,473.99

Question reference: S6W-11971

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05102 by Graeme Dey on 5 January 2022, how much Highlands and Islands Airports Limited's (HIAL) Air Traffic Management System project has cost to date.

Question reference: S6W-11984

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend the function of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner to include oversight of biometric data collected in (a) schools and (b) prisons.

The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner (SBC) Act 2020 establishes the office of the SBC and provides for its functions in relation to the acquisition, retention, use and destruction of biometric data for criminal justice and police purposes. Therefore, biometric data collected from schools or prisons by Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority or the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner for these purposes, would already fall within the oversight of the SBC.

I would also refer the member to the Scottish Government’s letter to the Criminal Justice Committee dated 19 August 2022 which is published at Annex B to the Committee paper CJ/S6/22/26/1 . This outlined the Scottish Government’s position on extending the SBC’s functions to include oversight of biometric data collected in prisons and other sectors such as education. In relation to schools, I would also refer the member to the Scottish Government’s response to question S6W-06534 on 1 March 2022 raised on such matters.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-11976

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maggie Chapman (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body on 18 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many staff members have been employed in the Scottish Information Commissioner's office (a) in total and (b) for the purpose of handling FOI request appeals, in each of the last five years.

The average number of FTE staff employed by the Scottish Information Commissioner in the last five years broken down into the total number of staff employed and those employed for the purpose of handling FOI request appeals is set out in the table below.

Year	No of staff [FTE]	Staff handling FOI request appeals [FTE](1)
2022-2023	18.4	11.6(2)
2021-2022	25.01	13.4
2020-2021	23.6	14.2
2019-2020	22.8	14.7
2018-2019	21.4	13.5
2017-2018	20	14

(1) The figures include all members of the Commissioner’s Enforcement Team which handle FOI request appeals made to the Commissioner. The Enforcement Team consists of the Head of Enforcement, Deputy Heads of Enforcement, Freedom of Information Officers (Investigators), Validation Officers, and the Enforcement Team Support Assistant.

(2) actual FTE numbers of staff employed as at 15/11/22. The Commissioner is in the process of recruiting 3 Enforcement Team investigators.

Question reference: S6W-11977

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maggie Chapman (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body on 18 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what budget was allocated to the Scottish Information Commissioner's office in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6O-01581

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Orkney Islands Council regarding the Scottish Budget 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-12000

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6F-01419 by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 October 2022, what consideration it has given in its discussions with the UK Government to facilitating new investment in Scotland’s islands.

Discussions with the UK Government on possible Investment Zones remain at an exploratory stage: but we have been clear that any Investment Zones in Scotland would have to be the right fit for Scotland’s economy, reflect our policy and governance landscape, and respect the devolution settlement, in particular in relation to planning and environmental protection. The UK Government is currently reviewing its policy, and we await further information.

Year	Approved Budget
2022/23	£2,120k
2021/22	£2,030k
2020/21	£1,903k
2019/20	£1,673k
2018/19	£1,565k
2017/18	£1,573k