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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-09772

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance has been issued to local authorities to highlight current best practice in local roads maintenance to achieve improved outcomes and increased value for money, and how often any such guidance is updated.

The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 places statutory responsibility for local roads, including structures, improvements, maintenance and repair with local roads authorities. As such it is the responsibility of the local authority to determine how best to meet its duties on local roads in their respective areas.

SCOTS (the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland) – www.scotsnet.org , are responsible for developing guidance and good practice on local road maintenance which is published on their website. Local authority asset management processes and procedures are led by the SCOTS Asset Management Group. Transport Scotland does share knowledge and best practice with local authorities through a number of forums. Local authorities also align with the national guidance and tools produced by the Department for Transport through the UK Roads Leadership Group, UK Roads Board and the UK Asset Management Board.

Question reference: S6W-09822

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of the recent pay agreement with train drivers is, which budgets the money will come from and whether any other budgets will have to be cut in order to finance the settlement.

Question reference: S6W-09820

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to introduce free rail travel in Dumfries and Galloway for anyone holding a bus pass.

Question reference: S6W-09804

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what urgent action it is taking to ensure the continuation of a bus service between Dumfries and Edinburgh.

Transport Scotland has corresponded with relevant local transport authorities in respect of the 101/102 bus service between Dumfries and Edinburgh. I am pleased that those authorities have now reached an agreement to continue a service until 31 March 2023 and I welcome the discussions now beginning with local communities to find long term solutions for this route.

Bus service provision in Scotland operates in an open de-regulated market and the provision of local bus services is a matter for bus operators and local transport authorities. The Scottish Government has, however, extended recovery funding for bus services via the Network Support Grant Plus, prioritising essential support for operators to support bus services like this with extra funding while travel patterns and demand adapt following the pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-09967

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken for the legislative process to appoint a Victims’ Commissioner.

Question reference: S6W-09964

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what long-term discussions it is having with ASLEF (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) regarding salary settlements.

Question reference: S6W-09886

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on hospitality in each year since 2020, broken down by directorate.

A table showing spend by Scottish Government directorates within hospitality codes in the Scottish Government ledger in the financial years 2020-2021 and 2021-22 is as follows.

Directorate	2020-2021	2021-2022
£	£
Advanced Learning and Science Directorate	85	0
Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Economy	517	1,771
Directorate for Budget and Public Spending	0	128
Directorate for Chief Economist	2	1,080
Directorate for Chief Medical Officer	3	0
Directorate for Chief Nursing Officer	18	0
Directorate for Children and Families	2,699	2,256
Directorate for Communications and Ministerial Support	43,181	10,435
Directorate for Constitution and Cabinet	96	896
Directorate for Corporate Transformation and Workplace	4,016	0
Directorate for COVID Business Resilience and Support	0	17
Directorate for COVID Public Health	9	0
Directorate for Culture, Tourism and Major Events	245	22
Directorate for Digital	2,631	340
Directorate for Early Learning and Childcare Programme	96	0
Directorate for Economic Development	1,602	805
Directorate for Energy and Climate Change	12	6,786
Directorate for Environment and Forestry	0	713
Directorate for External Affairs	371	8,283
Directorate for Fair Work, Employability and Skills	8	9
Directorate for Financial Management	0	7
Directorate for Health Workforce	10,628	0
Directorate for International Trade and Investment	568	540
Directorate for Legal Services (Solicitor to the Scottish Government)	0	911
Directorate for Local Government and Housing	3,485	848
Directorate for Marine Scotland	3,082	25,854
Directorate for Mental Health and Social Care	9	3,404
Directorate for People	10,645	29,915
Directorate for Performance and Delivery	1,879	0
Directorate for Population Health	11	22
Directorate for Primary Care	215	0
Directorate for Social Security	1,405	0
Directorate for Sustainable Land Use and Rural Policy	0	337
Directorate for Vaccines Policy and Strategy	0	22
Directorate of Equality Inclusion and Human Rights	254	624
EU Directorate	115	238
HM Inspectorate of Prisons	75	418
Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland	0	102
Justice Directorate	793	541
Organisational Readiness Directorate	6,687	943
Safer Communities	39	56
Scottish National Investment Bank	0	52
Scottish Procurement and Property Directorate	143	0
Tackling Child Poverty and Social Justice	21	0
Grand Total	95,645	98,375

Question reference: S6W-09805

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed bus services with Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Transport Scotland officials have regular engagement with local transport authorities regarding bus services. These have included discussions with SWestrans officials in October 2021 and June 2022 regarding bus services and concessionary bus schemes as well as more recent correspondence with relevant local transport authorities (SPT, SWestrans and Scottish Borders Council) regarding the 101/102 bus service from Dumfries to Edinburgh.

Question reference: S6W-09810

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Primary One Literacy Assessment and Action Resource (POLAAR) was validated by international experts in early literacy acquisition.

Question reference: S6W-09682

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce sexual violence against women and girls on trains and at railway stations, in light of reports that British Transport Police data shows that 46 sexual assaults were reported by women on Scotland’s railways in 2021, which is reportedly the highest number in more than a decade.

British Transport Police (BTP) is a reserved matter and as such the Scottish Government has no locus in their operations. I have recently had meetings with BTPs Chief Constable and the Chief Superintendent of D Division (Scotland) and discussed this very matter with them.

In addition officials are undertaking research on women and girls’ personal safety across and around public transport. This includes engagement with national and local organisations representing the interests of a cross-section of women, as well as Trade Union groups who represent female staff working on the public transport network.

This engagement work with women and girls, which is currently underway, is expected to capture views and experiences of accessing and using public transport. The outcomes of this engagement work, alongside our evidence review, will be used to inform our understanding and any future policy development.