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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: S5W-27543

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with its commitment to "consult on Scotland's ambition to make the transformative shift to zero or ultra-low emission city centres by 2030", and by what date this consultation will be (a) launched and (b) completed.

A question seeking views on the shift to zero or ultra-low emission city centres by 2030 was included in the consultation on low emission zones (LEZ), which closed on 24 February. Over 300 responses have been received which are now being analysed. The analysis report will be published by the end of April.

Further engagement and consultation will follow with partners and key stakeholders to assess the broad range of system-wide opportunities and challenges. This will include workshops with city councils this Spring.

Question reference: S5O-04208

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of universal credit on rent arrears in the South Scotland region.

Question reference: S5W-27233

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering extending the definition of a protected animal under section 16 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to include cephalopods and decapod crustaceans.

The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 allows the definition of protected animal to be extended to include invertebrates of any description but only if the Scottish Ministers are satisfied, on the basis of scientific evidence, that creatures of the kind concerned are capable of experiencing pain or suffering.

Should appropriate scientific evidence become available such an extension could therefore be given further consideration. The Scottish Government is considering the need for a review of the currently available scientific evidence.

Question reference: S5W-27461

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25873 by Roseanna Cunningham on 29 October 2019, what progress it is making with its consideration of whether to proceed with the Whitesands Flood Protection Scheme; by what date it will announce its decision, and what the reason has been for any delay.

Question reference: S5W-27459

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 25 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) other public bodies have provided to Lyle and Scott in the last 10 years.

Question reference: S5W-27240

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how the Bus Partnership Fund will be split between local authority bids and national priorities; what role bus service improvement partnerships will have in its delivery, and what assurances and commitments it has received from private bus operators that any increased revenue as a result of this investment will be (a) passed on to passengers and (b) reinvested in services.

The Bus Partnership Fund will be for local transport authorities to deliver bus priority infrastructure on local roads as part of a sustainable transport future. The Fund is aligned to the four priorities contained in the National Transport Strategy.

The Fund will complement the new powers in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, enabling local transport authorities and bus operators to work in partnership to tackle congestion and leverage other improvements to bus services, to make bus services faster, more reliable and more attractive for bus passengers.

Question reference: S5W-27217

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to include interstitial lung disease (ILD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in the Scottish atlas of variance data monitoring.

Information Services Division (ISD) has advised that a proposal for an Atlas of Healthcare Variation map for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) has been considered. However, the proposal cannot proceed at this time as there are limited IPF data available.

The consultation on our draft Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland closes on 3 April 2020. The draft Action Plan commits Scottish Government to work with our stakeholders including ISD, to understand how we can improve these data, and enhance capture of routinely collected data.

Question reference: S5W-27096

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government against which committed obligations it has issued a payment adjustment in response to ScotRail failing (a) in full and (b) partially to meet its obligations, and how much has been paid by ScotRail to Transport Scotland in relation to this.

A payment adjustment has been applied to 39 Committed Obligations (20 full and 19 part) where the contractual timescales or full quantum have not being achieved.

The list of Committed Obligations where full or part adjustments were made is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 61343).

Transport Scotland has reduced the franchise subsidy payments to reflect the appropriate payment adjustment.

Question reference: S5W-27095

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government which of ScotRail’s committed obligations contained in its Franchise Agreement have been met (a) in full and (b) partially, and which have not been met to date.

Question reference: S5F-03930

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that Police Scotland is centralising specialist surveillance officer posts away from Dumfries and Galloway.