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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-07484

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding the potential introduction of a national garden waste tax.

The Scottish Government has not had any discussions to date, relating to the introduction of a national garden waste tax.

Decisions on local service provision and charges are for local authorities to make. However we want to make sure that the best choice for the environment is also the easy choice for households and will be consulting in May on a new set of measures to achieve our waste and recycling targets to 2025 and beyond.

Question reference: S6W-07389

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the reported £290 million that it will receive in Barnett consequentials, as a result of UK Government spending in relation to energy bills and council tax, will be spent on.

Despite the promised £290 million from the UK Government not turning out to be net additional funding, given the offsetting reductions they applied to their prior funding estimates, the Scottish Government during the Budget Bill Stage 3 debate on 10 February, detailed additional support worth around £290 million for our cost of living response. £150 is being provided to everyone in receipt of Council Tax Reduction, and to everyone in council tax bands A to D, as well as certain households exempt from council tax. This is worth around £280 million, plus £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund.

Question reference: S6W-07285

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its ministers will personally pay the Workplace Parking Levy for their ministerial cars.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides local authorities with a discretionary power to set up workplace parking licensing (WPL) schemes. It will be for local authorities to decide whether to implement a WPL scheme in their local area, and to make decisions on how their local scheme will operate.

If implemented by local authorities, the WPL charge will be levied on employers and it will be a matter for employers, including the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament to decide whether they pass the cost of schemes onto employees. However, no specific workplace parking licensing schemes have yet been proposed.

Question reference: S6W-07261

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many playparks have been replaced or refurbished by local authorities in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-07268

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people have been diagnosed with adoption trauma in Scotland in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-07259

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much each local authority has spent on repairing potholes in each year since 1999.

The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 places the statutory responsibility for local roads improvement, maintenance and repair with local road authorities.

The vast majority of funding to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provided via a block grant and we do not stipulate how local authorities should utilise their individual allocations. It is therefore the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

However, the Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics (SLGFS) provides an overview of actual spend based on Local Authority’s audited accounts which may be useful.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-finance-statistics-slgfs-2019-20/ .

Previous annual reports can be located at the following link; Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6W-07276

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many children have attended outdoor education centres in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-07384

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 23 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to incorporate the Armed Forces Covenant into law in relation to (a) local government, (b) the NHS and (c) other devolved public bodies in Scotland.

While we do not currently have such plans under consideration, we always keep such matters under review. However, we do continue to engage with MOD as it seeks to further embed the Armed Forces Covenant into legislation through the Armed Forces Act, which received Royal Assent on 15 December. We worked closely with MOD in advance of its introduction to ensure it is fit for purpose in Scotland and continue to work with MOD as they develop the statutory guidance. However, we are satisfied that the Covenant provisions in the Armed Forces Act do not fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-07271

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 23 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment or estimate it has made of the amount of asbestos in publicly-owned buildings in each local authority area, and what information it has on any equivalent estimates for non-publicly-owned buildings.

The management of asbestos in buildings is a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has UK wide responsibility for enforcement of the legislation and regulations.

My officials asked the HSE for information on current activities to collect data on the number of premises containing asbestos either publicly or privately-owned. There is no requirement on any authority to collect data, and in recent evidence to the UK Parliament Work and Pensions Committee, HSE confirmed that the exact number of business premises in Great Britain containing asbestos is not known. There is however a duty on owners of any premises to know whether their building contains asbestos and to manage it in accordance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

HSE is currently carrying out a statutory, five yearly, review of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Part of the cost benefit analysis for the report which is due to be published in the summer will include estimates about the number of premises containing asbestos. HSE has also given a commitment that future research will address the number of business premises containing asbestos.

Question reference: S6W-07290

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people registered as homeless have undergone cancer screening in each year since 1999.