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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-20911

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many students (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland will receive free university tuition in the 2023-24 academic year.

Data on tuition fee support for academic year 2023-24 is not yet available as students have up until 31 March 2024 to apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for their financial support package.

In the 2022-23 academic year 5,855 full-time Higher Education (HE) students with addresses in Aberdeen City local authority received tuition fee support. In the same academic year 130,900 full-time students received tuition fee support whilst studying a course of Higher Education at college or university in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-20924

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 27 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to allow people who are currently funeral celebrants to officiate at weddings.

The current arrangements for religious and belief celebrants, and civil registrars, to solemnise marriage and register civil partnership allow couples to choose from a wide range of options for their ceremony to satisfy both the requirements of the law, and of any religion or belief.

These arrangements were broadened under the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act). Couples can now have their marriage solemnised by a celebrant from a belief body as an alternative to having a civil or a religious ceremony. Intended civil partners also have the same options as those who wish to marry.

The Policy Memorandum that accompanied the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill in the Parliament set out the Government’s reasons for rejecting the option of opening the solemnisation of marriage to celebrants with no link to a religious or belief body at paragraph 28.

This remains our position and we have no plans to change the law.

Question reference: S6W-20941

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in developing the proposed Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill.

The Scottish Government wants to improve opportunities, outcomes and support for autistic people, people with learning disabilities, and neurodivergent people. We are continuing to work on a proposed Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill. Following scoping work in 2022, and an extended period of further engagement with stakeholders, practitioners, and people with lived experience, we will launch a public consultation on a proposed Bill by the end of 2023.

The Scottish Government is taking a human rights-based approach to the Bill’s development and is working to ensure that it is fully co-designed with people with lived experience.

3 Panels have been supporting the work to develop policy for the Bill – a professional panel, a stakeholders panel and a lived experience panel. The members of the lived experience panel are all neurodivergent people with a wide range of life experiences.

Question reference: S6W-20912

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, according to the latest data, how many people (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland are in receipt of a free bus pass.

By 31 August 2023, there were 84,660 cardholders in Aberdeen City within the National Concessionary Travel Schemes. In Scotland, there are a total of 2,263,403 cardholders. This includes cardholders in the free bus schemes for those aged 60 and over, those aged under 22 and eligible disabled people.

Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO) and is provided by local authority.

NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.

Question reference: S6O-02554

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help businesses take full advantage of Scotland’s hydrogen potential.

Question reference: S6W-21055

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work is being done to accelerate the winter vaccination programme.

In response to the emergence of the new Covid-19 variant BA.2.86, we have taken the precautionary measure of bringing forward the vaccination of those at highest risk – notably residents in care homes for older adults, those aged 75 and over and those aged 12 and over with a weakened immune system.

Although there is currently insufficient data to assess the potential severity, transmissibility or immune escape of BA.2.86, it is felt that this ‘no regrets’ approach is wisest until we understand more about this variant.

Officials and Public Health Scotland are working closely with Health Boards to operationalise this change to the programme, which happened after some Boards had already scheduled their lower risk groups from 18 September, in line with the original plan. We have instructed them to honour these appointments.

This means that although many of those at highest risk will be called forward sooner than the original plan, this will not apply to everyone. We are however endeavouring to bring forward as many of these appointments as we can, while honouring appointments that had already been scheduled before the change.

To this end, some Boards began vaccinating in care homes the week of 4 September, six weeks earlier than originally planned.

A letter to all MSPs on the re-phasing will be issued shortly.

Question reference: S6W-20914

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, according to the latest data, how many people (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland are in receipt of free personal and nursing care.

The latest statistical release for Free Personal and Nursing Care is for the period 2022-23 and was published on 05 September 2023. Two published excel files accompany the publication, for people aged between 18 – 64 and for people aged over 65. These can be found at: Supporting documents - Free Personal and Nursing Care, Scotland, 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The relevant data can be found in table 2 within both excel files.

Question reference: S6W-21054

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it plans to make available to NHS boards to cope with any further rise in COVID-19 infections.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the totality of the Health and Social Care system to deal with emerging pressures including any rise in COVID-19. We have made available record levels of funding in this financial year to support the NHS and Social Care and are committed to working with local systems to ensure that they are well prepared for pressures that can be expected. The Scottish Government and COSLA are developing the Winter Plan for 2023-24, working collaboratively with local systems and partners to ensure that the necessary steps are being taken now to support system resilience. We will publish the plan in October. The Scottish Government and COSLA will also continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to enact the National Response Framework if needed.

Question reference: S6W-20913

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, according to the latest data, how many children (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland are in receipt of Scottish Child Payment.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Scottish Child Payment applications, payments and the number of children actively in receipt of the payment.

As of 30 June 2023, 316,190 children aged 0-15 years were actively benefitting from Scottish Child Payment. Of those children, 10,165 children resided in Aberdeen City. This information along with other local authority areas can be found in the latest Scottish Child Payment Official Statistics publication:

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications .

The next edition of the Scottish Child Payment publication which will cover the period to the end of September 2023, is due to be published in late November 2023.

Question reference: S6W-20831

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of Baby Boxes that have been distributed since the scheme began, broken down by local authority, NHS board or any other local area breakdown for which figures are available.

The Scottish Government’s universal Baby Box programme, the only one in the UK, opened for registration on 15 June 2017. Nationwide delivery of Baby Boxes began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland.

We are unable to give the number of Baby Boxes delivered by local authority or other local area breakdown area as we only record numbers of Baby Boxes distributed by Health Board area.

The following table shows the number of Baby Boxes distributed by NHS Board area since the Scheme began up to 25 th August 2023.

Health Board	Boxes Delivered
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	16,508
NHS Borders	4813
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	6466
NHS Fife	17,584
NHS Forth Valley	14,265
NHS Grampian	29,954
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	67,367
NHS Highland	13,459
NHS Lanarkshire	31,126
NHS Lothian	47,881
NHS Orkney	1042
NHS Shetland	1267
NHS Tayside	19,385
NHS Western Isles	1006
Total	272,123