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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-03304

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what provision it is making to cover losses incurred by Glasgow Prestwick Airport in the last financial year.

Question reference: S6W-03314

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when its new Advisory Council will publish its 10-year National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

The Council act in an advisory capacity to inform our National Strategy for Economic Transformation, which the Scottish Government will publish in late Autumn.

The Advisory Council includes representatives from industry, trade unions and academia, and has been appointed to provide expert advice and insight to the Scottish Government, drawing on their extensive experience and networks. Alongside an extensive programme of engagement with business organisations, the third sector and wider public, this will help shape the National Strategy for Economic Transformation to deliver a stronger, greener, fairer and more inclusive wellbeing economy for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-03044

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 1 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time employees there are in each cabinet secretary's and minister's private office, broken down by pay scale.

The current allocation of full-time employees per Scottish Government Minister is:

Cabinet Secretary/Minister	Number of Private Office staff by Grade and pay scale
Cabinet Secretary/Minister	A4 £24,184-£25,709	B1 £26,995-£29,776	B2 £31,266-£35,813	B3 £39,312-£47,065	C1 £49,420-£61,617	C2 £64,698-£74,675
First Minister	0.5	2	0	3	0	1
Minister for Drugs Policy	1	0	1	0	0	0
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery	2	0	0	3	1	0
Minister for Parliamentary Business	0	1	1	1	0	0
Cabinet Secretary for Education & Skills	2	0	1	0	1	0
Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, Youth Employment & Training	1	0	1	0	0	0
Minister for Children & Young People	1	0	1	0	0	0
Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Economy	3	1	1	0	1	0
Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism & Enterprise	1	1	1	0	0	0
Minister for Just Transition, Employment & Fair Work	1	0	1	0	0	0
Minister for Public Finance, Planning & Community Wealth	1	0	1	0	0	0
Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy & Biodiversity	1	0	0	1	0	0
Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care	3	1	2	1	1	0
Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health & Sport	1	0	1	0	0	0
Minister for Mental Wellbeing & Social Care	1	0	1	0	0	0
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy & Transport	1	0	1	1	1	0
Minister for Transport	1	0	1	0	0	0
Minister for Environment & Land Reform	1	0	1	0	0	0
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing & Local Government	2	0	1	0	1	0
Minister for Equalities & Older People	1	0	1	0	0	0
Minister for Social Security & Local Government	1	0	1	0	0	0
Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel & Tenants’ Rights	1	0	0	1	0	0
Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Veterans	2	0	1	0	1	0
Minister for Community Safety	1	0	1	0	0	0
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs	2	0	1	0	1	0
Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs & Culture	2	1	0	0	1	0
Minister for Culture, Europe & International Development	1	0	1	0	0	0

Question reference: S6W-03045

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 28 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many special advisers are assigned to each cabinet secretary and minister, broken down by (a) pay scale and (b) average (i) expenses claimed and (ii) hours worked each week.

Please refer to S6W-00255, answered on 23 August 2021 which provides information on the area of responsibility of the Special Advisers and pay scales.

Special Advisors are contracted to work a minimum of 37 hours per week. For the period 7 May 2021 to 16 September 2021 an average of £13.20 per week was claimed on expenses in total by Special Advisers.

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-02010

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 28 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken and work has been carried out to ensure that business conducted by its ministers does not involve the use of any (a) personal email accounts and (b) informal means of communication.

Government Business is conducted on the Scottish Government’s internal IT system, "SCOTS," which is available to all Ministers and staff. It runs on a secure network and, using an approved SCOTS laptop or tablet, is accessible from all Scottish Government offices, including London and Brussels, as well as remotely via most home broadband connections (subject to location).

The IT equipment provided in the Scottish Government has been specifically designed to support the secure drafting, sending and storing of digital information classified at OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE level.

Question reference: S6W-02784

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what practical advice it has provided for the public on the installation of interlinked fire alarms, and whether it will provide an update on how people will be helped financially to install them.

To raise awareness of the new Fire and Smoke Alarm regulations coming into force in February 2022, the Scottish Government’s extensive marketing campaign began on 19 August with a TV advert supported by ongoing radio and digital coverage.

Information leaflets are also available in libraries throughout the country. The leaflet provides information about the types of alarms such as battery operated and mains wired which can be used and the necessary kite marks they must carry in order to meet the legislation requirements. A factsheet is also available on the Scottish Government website - https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-alarms-in-scottish-homes/ . Our information leaflets - it explains that mains wired alarms should be installed by a qualified electrician and that battery operated alarms can be installed by the homeowner.

Home owners are responsible for the costs of on-going work needed to protect and preserve their own property, which includes the costs for the fire alarms to meet the new standard. We have provided £0.5 million additional funding for Care and Repair Scotland to provide help installing alarms for older and disabled homeowners on low incomes. We have also provided £1 million to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to provide alarms for owners who are considered most vulnerable to the risk of fire. Local authorities also have broad discretionary powers to provide advice and support to owners.

Following the marketing campaign, and as the fitting of the new alarms in people’s homes progresses ahead of the standard coming into force, the Scottish Government will be able to provide an update on assistance provided to homeowners.

The Scottish Government has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that as many people as possible know about the new fire and smoke alarm regulations ahead of the February 2022 implementation date.

Question reference: S6W-02767

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to people who received their first COVID-19 vaccination in England and who are waiting to have their second dose in Scotland.

Scottish citizens, who have had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine out with Scotland, and 8 or more weeks have past, will be able to receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in any of our available vaccination centres.

We have made the vaccine as accessible as possible such as having drop in clinics are available throughout mainland Scotland and also the option to phone the national COVID-19 Vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013.

Question reference: S6W-02813

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to improve (a) confidence in medicinal cannabinoids among clinicians prescribing treatments for chronic pain and (b) the availability and affordability of medicinal cannabis in Scotland.

The vast majority of medicinal cannabis products remain unlicensed with a limited, or non-existent, peer-reviewed clinical evidence base. Under the current rules, only specialist doctors on the General Medical Council’s specialist register can prescribe cannabis-based products where there is clear published evidence of benefit. We are encouraging companies to participate in clinical trials so that these products can be tested for quality, safety and efficacy and brought forward for approval through the medicine regulatory and health technology assessments processes. This will enable these products to be readily available through the NHS – provided they met the clinical safety requirements for licencing and the clinical and cost effectiveness approval for routine use in the NHS.

Question reference: S6O-00145

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how the finance secretary plans to allocate the Barnett consequentials arising from the UK Government's recent announcement of additional funding for NHS England.

Question reference: S6W-02011

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 24 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements it has made regarding its policy and practice for note-taking during its meetings to ensure that all details are recorded.

The Civil Service Code of Conduct (Scottish Government & Agencies 2010) clarifies that civil servants are responsible for keeping accurate official records relating to decisions and key conversations. These responsibilities are discharged through the relevant business unit, with chairpersons and secretariats having responsibility for capturing key decisions or actions in the minutes of meetings and ensuring these are saved as part of the corporate record.