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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-05180

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates will be raised by the higher property rate in 2022-23, broken down by industry sector, and how many properties in each industry sector will be liable for the supplement.

Table 1 presents the estimated number of properties with a Higher Property Rate (HPR) liability in 2022-23, and the gross additional non-domestic rates income estimated to be raised in 2022-23 through the HPR, by property class.

Table 1 shows gross amounts and does not take account of reductions in liability due to reliefs awarded in 2022-23. This is in part due to the application of a £27,500 cap per ratepayer on retail, hospitality and leisure relief in 2022-23 which means that it is not possible to robustly estimate the breakdown of these figures by property class at this time.

Figures in Table 1 are broken down by property class as the Scottish Government does not hold data property-level on industry sectors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and may not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

Table 1: Estimated number of properties subject to the Higher Property Rate, and gross HPR income, by property class in 2022-23

Property class	Number of properties with a HPR liability	Gross HPR income by class (£)
Shops	2,970	23,559,000
Public Houses	200	836,000
Offices	1,820	14,237,000
Hotels	570	5,109,000
Industrial Subjects	2,470	18,803,000
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	520	3,956,000
Garages and Petrol Stations	150	766,000
Cultural	80	955,000
Sporting Subjects	20	239,000
Education and Training	1,340	12,592,000
Public Service Subjects	520	5,880,000
Communications	80	531,000
Quarries, Mines, etc.	40	222,000
Petrochemical	70	2,931,000
Religious	30	92,000
Health and Medical	310	4,685,000
Other	210	2,316,000
Care Facilities	340	1,363,000
Advertising	10	72,000
Statutory Undertaking	340	23,934,000
All	12,090	123,081,000

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2021.
‎ Figures may not sum due to rounding. The number of properties is rounded to the nearest 10, income rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Question reference: S6W-05179

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its proposal that rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will continue at 50% for the first three months of 2022-23, whether this rates reduction will be awarded automatically, or will businesses be required to apply for it.

Question reference: S6W-05147

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) insurance industry regarding (i) the issue of reimbursing COVID-19-related domestic trip cancellations and (ii) whether there is a need for consistency across providers.

At present there are no restrictions on domestic travel therefore no specific discussions have been tabled with the UK Government. The majority of domestic trips are able to go ahead however we are asking that people be cautious when travelling and choosing activities and we are strengthening some mitigating measures in some areas of the visitor and retail economy. The Scottish Government also continues to engage regularly with the UK Government in relation to support for the wider tourism and hospitality industry.

The regulation of insurance providers is a reserved matter and the Competition and Markets Authority may choose to engage if they believe there is a need for consistency across providers.

Question reference: S6O-00503

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in 2021 to adopt greener bus transport across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-03693

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the NHS Tayside oncologists who were found by the General Medical Council to have acted appropriately, in line with professional clinical practice, when administering treatment to breast cancer patients, despite concerns expressed in the 2019 Health Improvement Scotland report.

Scottish Government representatives last met with oncologists in Tayside linked with the HIS report in July 2020, where all independent reviews of the service were discussed, as well the ongoing delivery of the breast cancer services in Tayside. During the work of the Independent Advisory Group (Tayside Breast Cancer) which reported in August 2019, there was also discussion with the same oncologists as part of the group’s evidence gathering.

Question reference: S6W-03600

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding the recruitment of oncologists.

Scottish Government officials have a weekly call with NHS Tayside’s Cancer Team to track all patients on an urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) pathway and update on service delivery, including workforce.

In March 2021, after a request for national support, Scottish Government representatives met with NHS Tayside Chief Executive and senior medical staff and other health boards to provide support to ensure the continuation of its breast oncology services following the departure of one consultant.

We are continuing to work with NHS Tayside to ensure the long term continuation of service for women in the NHS Tayside area. A new consultant has been appointed who took up post in mid-July and there is ongoing recruitment for a further post. Ongoing clinical support will continue to be provided by NHS Grampian.

Question reference: S6W-03601

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding how it supports oncologists.

To support Cancer and Diagnostic services the Scottish Government has invested £10 million to support cancer services during and beyond the pandemic. This will support increased access to cancer diagnostics and staffing. A further £9 million will also be allocated this year to support diagnostic imaging capacity. We have also invested in mobile units located in NHS Highland and NHS Tayside to increase capacity.

Question reference: S6W-03599

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding patients who reportedly received under-doses of the drug, docetaxel.

Question reference: S6O-00357

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to protect the autonomy of Scotland’s universities.

Question reference: S6O-00326

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what actions the constitution secretary is taking to continually improve interactions with the other devolved administrations as well as the UK Government.