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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: S6O-03273

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government at what specific annual income any individual would start to pay more income tax in Scotland than they would elsewhere in the UK under its new Scottish income tax levels.

Question reference: S6W-26093

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 19 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review Creative Scotland's processes for awarding funds to independent arts projects.

As the national arts development body, Creative Scotland operate at arm’s length from the Scottish Government.

As per the legislation, this means that neither Scottish Government nor Scottish Ministers have a role in funding processes and decisions made by Creative Scotland for individual projects. Creative Scotland are rapidly reviewing their funding allocation to Rein as they have been clear that what has been reported simply does not meet what the funding was applied for.

I look forward to Creative Scotland sharing its conclusions with the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-25933

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government in what circumstances it would support construction within any (a) Special Landscape Area (SLA) and (b) Local Nature Conservation Site (LNCS).

Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) through policy 4 (Natural Places) sets out to protect, restore and enhance natural assets making best use of nature-based solutions. Policy 4 (d) states that development proposals that affect a site designated as a local nature conservation site or landscape area in the Local Development Plan will only be supported in limited circumstances. This includes where such development will not have significant adverse effects on the integrity of the area or the qualities for which it has been identified; or where any significant adverse effects on the integrity of the area are clearly outweighed by social, environmental or economic benefits of at least local importance.

All NPF4 policies must be read and applied as a whole and it will be for the decision maker to determine what weight to attach to policies on a case by case basis.

Question reference: S6W-25932

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to monitor and enforce the conditions set by its Reporter regarding the planned construction of Comsol Energy's solar farm on the Isle of Cumbrae.

Enforcement of planning control is a matter for the planning authority, in this case North Ayrshire Council. There are a wide range of enforcement powers in planning legislation and planning authorities have discretion to determine what power, or combination of powers, to use in any particular situation.

In this case the reporter accepted the proposed planning conditions suggested by the council with minor alterations.

Question reference: S6W-25929

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what considerations it made when deciding to overturn North Ayrshire Council’s decision not to grant permission for the development of the solar farm on the Isle of Cumbrae by Comsol Energy.

The independent reporter was required to make their decision on the planning merits of the case and in overall accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicated otherwise. The reporter concluded that the main issues in this case were the principle of the development and its potential benefits; the landscape and visual impact of the proposal; and its ecological impact. The reporter took full account of all submissions made by parties, including those from North Ayrshire Council and views expressed by members of the local community, consultees and other third parties with an interest in the proposal. A site inspection took place on 13 October 2023.

Question reference: S6W-25934

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the planned Comsol Energy solar farm on the Isle of Cumbrae on the island's endangered bird species, of which there are reported to be at least 20 species, across seven priority habitats.

The reporter took full account of all the submissions made by parties, including the potential impact on the island's birds. This included the appellants Ecological Appraisal and comments from members of the local community.

The reporter concluded that the proposed development complied with development plan policies relating to biodiversity.

The reporter has included a condition to this permission setting out that prior to the commencement of the development a Construction Management Plan shall be submitted to the council for approval. This Plan will set out, unless otherwise agreed by the planning authority, that vegetation removal should be scheduled to occur outside of the nesting bird season.

Question reference: S6W-25930

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the potential environmental impact of the planned Comsol Energy solar farm on the Isle of Cumbrae, including any impact on the area's topography.

Having regard to the development plan the reporter considered that the determining issues in this appeal were the principle of the development and its potential benefits, including renewable electricity generation; landscape and visual impact and ecological impacts.

The reporter took account of all submissions made on this appeal which included extensive environmental information containing an informal environmental report, landscape and visual impact assessment, extended vegetation survey, hydrological assessment, preliminary ecological appraisal, transport and access statement and a heritage impact assessment.

The reporter concluded the proposal would make a modest but worthwhile contribution towards the achievement of renewable energy generation targets and whilst the proposal would have some negative effects, the reporter found these impacts to be localised in nature, are capable of some mitigation and are outweighed by the benefits of the development.

The reporter takes account of all the evidence submitted by parties involved including those views expressed by consultees and members of the local community.

The reporter concluded that the proposed development accorded with the development plan with regard to ecological and landscape and visual impacts.

Question reference: S6O-03249

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps it is considering to ensure the safety of the public, MSPs and staff entering or exiting the Scottish Parliament campus, in light of a number of recent events of concern.

Question reference: S6W-25902

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the recruitment of staff in care homes.

Scottish Government are aware of the pressures faced by the social care providers at present and are taking a number of steps to support recruitment in the sector.

Scottish Government work with partners across the sector to support increased awareness of the careers available through our Adult Social Care marketing campaign which we have funded to run for the past four years. The campaign is supported by a stakeholder toolkit, which enables providers to use the materials to support their own local recruitment efforts. These assets have been refreshed for the 2023-24 campaign and can be found on our campaign website, www.caretocare.scot

Additionally, the Scottish Government have continued funding to enable all social care providers to advertise vacancies on the MyJobScotland recruitment website at no cost. Data figures show that between February 2021 and February 2024, 23,310 adult social care jobs have been posted on MyJobScotland under this contract, saving providers £2,068,480 (incl VAT).

Finally, recognising the value in workers who choose to live and work in Scotland from overseas and to support Scotland’s social care providers’ international recruitment efforts, we have collaborated with NHS Education Scotland (NES) and COSLA, and provided funding to create the NES Centre for Workforce Supply: Social Care. This pilot launched in summer 2023 for a 12 month period and seeks to test and develop an ethical and sustainable model of international recruitment for adult social care providers in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03226

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many individuals have been charged and successfully prosecuted under any of the provisions in the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022.