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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: S6O-00096

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in its forthcoming budget for 2022-23.

We have committed to significantly increasing the level of the Scottish Child Payment, following the rollout to under 16s, and doubling it to £20 in the lifetime of this Parliament. In addition, as set out in our cooperation agreement with the Scottish Green Party we have a shared aspiration to actively seek ways to accelerate that commitment, including looking at options for staged increases. Final decisions about timing and increases will factor in to the spending review and be taken in the relevant budget.

Scottish Child Payment is unparalleled across the UK and we have already helped over 108,000 children, however our anti-poverty efforts are being seriously undermined by UK Government welfare cuts. So if Mr Balfour is serious about tackling poverty, can I suggest he take this opportunity to call on his own colleagues in Westminster to reverse its plans to cut the £20 increase to Universal Credit.

Question reference: S6W-02206

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the scientific evidence it used to determine that face coverings should continue to be required in places of worship, and by what date this restriction will be lifted.

The requirement to wear a face covering in certain indoor public places is not specific to places of worship. This requirement is necessary to reduce the number of indoor interactions that occur without a face covering in order to limit the opportunities for transmission. A list of exemptions is included within the Regulations laid in parliament as well as in the Scottish Government's published guidance. Those exemptions cover activities where it would be a disproportionate interference or impractical to require a face covering including eating or drinking, performing, exercising and with some specific exemptions around weddings and civil partnerships.

The Scottish Government regularly publishes evidence and data relating to the response to the COVID pandemic. With regard to face coverings, decisions were based on evidence and advice from both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) both of whom have published extensive evidence and guidance on the use of face coverings.

Mitigations to reduce transmission of the new variant SARS-CoV-2 virus, 22 December 2020 (publishing.service.gov.uk) .

Advice on the use of masks in the community, during home care and in healthcare settings in the context of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak (who.int)

The World Health Organisation recommends the use of face coverings in the community in areas of known transmission and in certain workplaces. The settings of known transmission tend to have identifiable characteristics such as close proximity with people from other households, settings where an individual may stay for prolonged periods of time, confined shared environments and poor ventilation. Any future requirement to wear face coverings will continue to take account of social and economic factors as well as the epidemiological impact on transmission. This is subject to regular review.

Question reference: S6W-00973

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on having a phased launch of the Deposit Return Scheme, with larger suppliers participating in the first phase and smaller and/or independent producers in the second after any initial issues that have been identified have been resolved, and what its response is to calls for the launch to be moved to 2024, to bring it line with the implementation of the other schemes in the rest of the UK.

Question reference: S6W-00976

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00094 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 May 2021, whether (a) MSPs, and (b) other interested parties will be able to view the draft regulations on school uniforms that it is drawing up with its local government partners, and by what date guidance on school uniform policy will be available.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to working with our partners in local authorities to develop national guidance on school uniforms, for publication during the lifetime of this parliament. We will engage with a range of stakeholders in the process of developing this guidance.

The guidance will fully consider the cost of uniforms, in order to ensure that there are no barriers preventing families from being able to afford school uniforms for their children.

Question reference: S6W-00337

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, whether it will provide reassurance that all responses to the most recent public consultation on gender reform recognition have been (a) read and (b) taken into account as part of the contract to analyse this data.

We advised in our consultation on the draft Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill that all responses would be analysed, an analysis report published and the responses considered along with other evidence available to help progress our commitment to reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Work on the draft Bill, including the consultation analysis, was paused in April 2020 as a result of the pandemic. In November 2020, we announced that we were taking forward work so that the consultation responses would be analysed independently of Scottish Government.

Analysts commissioned by the Scottish Government to review consultation responses are required, under the procurement arrangements, to carry out a transparent, robust and systematic analysis of all responses. As a condition of the contract, they are also required to produce a balanced and impartial report for publication, ensuring that the full range and nature of views are presented.

We will publish the analysis report and the responses from organisations and groups, where we have permission to do so, in due course.

Question reference: S6W-00258

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what provision it is making to ensure that small independent brewers will be able to introduce a stepped approach to a deposit return scheme with a timescale aligned with other UK nations of 2024.

We recognise the unique and significant pressures that COVID-19 has placed on businesses over the past year, including the independent brewing sector. That is why we have commissioned an independent Gateway Review to assess the impact of the pandemic on the go-live date for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

We have no current plans to adopt a ‘stepped’ approach in which certain producers would initially be exempt from obligations under DRS. This would be likely to cause significant consumer confusion and jeopardise the behavioural change that DRS requires.

Question reference: S6W-00094

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether, similar to Wales and Northern Ireland, it will produce guidance on school uniform supplies, regarding (a) reducing costs, (b) preventing exclusive suppliers and (c) making uniforms affordable for all, and if so, when the guidance will be delivered.

The Scottish Government recognises the cost of buying a school uniform can be considerable for many families. In 2018, in partnership with local authorities, we introduced the national minimum school clothing grant of £100 for all eligible children and young people.

We are committed to developing guidance to ensure consistency on school uniform policies across all of Scotland, ending expensive insistence on exclusive suppliers and to support the automation of school clothing grants in every local authority area in order to remove barriers to application and to boost uptake. We will work with our partners in local government on the development of guidance and on measures to support the automation of school clothing grants during 2021-22.

Question reference: S5O-05143

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to ensure that pupils are able to catch up on any learning lost as a result of school closures.

Question reference: S5W-35487

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government which "mild to moderate" learning disabilities people must have to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination as part of priority group 6, and what analysis it has undertaken to determine this.

We understand the anxiety around the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) criteria of only severe and profound learning disabilities being eligible for vaccination during group 6. We have now made the decision to include anyone with a learning/intellectual disability in group 6. As learning disabilities encompass a wide range of conditions, it is important to be clear that we are talking about people with a mild, moderate, severe or profound learning or intellectual disability such as fragile X syndrome. This does not include people with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or ADHD.

Our straightforward approach of inviting everyone with a mild, moderate, severe or profound learning or intellectual disability for vaccination during group 6 will bring peace of mind and adds only a small number of people to the current numbers who would have otherwise been offered vaccination later.

Question reference: S5O-05122

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish the draft bill for an independence referendum announced in its Programme for Government for 2020-21.