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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-14710

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards completion of the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) guidance documents, and by what date these will be published.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was adopted on 13 February 2023. Our NPF4 Delivery Programme, published November 2022, provides an overview of actions to be taken to support delivery, including the preparation of a number guidance documents throughout 2023 and beyond. NatureScot’s Developing With Nature guidance, to support policy 3c, has already been published (13 February 2023). Guidance on Local Development Planning and a draft consultation on Local Living and 20 Minute Neighbourhoods will be published in the spring. We will provide an update on the production of other guidance documents when we publish our second iteration of the Delivery Plan in the summer.

Question reference: S6W-14633

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13436 by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023, how frequently the working group meets; when it will report; what topics it has considered, and what research it has commissioned.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13065 on 20 December 2022, 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 .

The Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform is next scheduled to meet next on 22 March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-14713

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the establishment of a Planning, Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group, and by what date it will publish the final list of group members.

Our National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Delivery Programme, published November 2022, stated that we would commence establishment and agree membership of the Planning, Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group following adoption of NPF4. NPF4 was adopted on 13 February 2023. We are on target to meet our commitment to hold the first meeting of the group, agree Terms of Reference and discuss an outline work programme within 3 months of adoption of NPF4. We will update stakeholders on the work of the group on our website www.transformingplanning.scot .

Question reference: S6W-15106

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how and (b) when it became aware that the personal data of people in Scotland involved in the Homes for Ukraine scheme had been used to send fraudulent letters.

The Scottish Government was alerted by the UK Government on 6 February about a fraudulent letter claiming to be from Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to sponsors of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, asking for data for the Ukraine Embassy.

The alert from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) did not refer to the accessing of personal data. In a public statement released by DLUHC on twitter shortly afterwards DLUHC stated that, “we are aware of fraudulent letters to homes for Ukraine hosts circulating on social media ”. The statement made no reference to the accessing of personal data of hosts taking part in the Scheme and DLUHC has not reported any subsequent issues regarding any breaches of data security.

Scottish Government issued the following message on social media platforms on 7 February: “We are aware of fraudulent letters being sent to Homes for Ukraine hosts. These are not from @dluhc or Scottish Government.”

The Scottish Government has implemented high security standards for personal data for volunteer hosts and has had no reported issues with data security.

Question reference: S6W-15038

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis has been undertaken of recruitment and retention in the social care sector over the past five years.

Question reference: S6W-15342

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it (a) allocated in 2022-23 and (b) will allocate in 2023-24 to NHS 24, to support the delivery of the Breathing Space service.

The Scottish Government has invested over £2.354 million to support the delivery of the Breathing Space service for this financial year.

Breathing Space funding is part of wider funding, totalling just under £10 million, which is allocated to NHS 24 to support wider actions to improve mental health and wellbeing. NHS 24 provides a whole systems approach involving a range of services, to ensure people experiencing mental health crisis and distress, can access support close to home, getting the right care at the right time.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital service Breathing Space provides. Funding for 2023-24 has not yet been allocated and will be subject to ongoing discussion with NHS 24.

Question reference: S6W-14446

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to (a) reverse or (b) review the 6% additional dwelling supplement, in light of the reported pressures faced by the private rented sector following the introduction of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

Increasing the ADS to 6% provides much-needed revenue to support our national priorities, while also protecting opportunities for first-time buyers and home movers by allowing them to more fully compete with buy-to-let investors or those buying second homes.

The Scottish Government recognises the role that the private rented sector plays in meeting Scotland’s housing need. However, tax is just one of a wide range of financial, regulatory and other considerations that landlords will need to consider when making their investment decisions.

There are currently no plans to reverse or review the current rate of the ADS, however, the Scottish Government continuously monitors and considers all available data regarding the impact of LBTT and the ADS on the housing market.

Question reference: S6W-14724

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much has been paid by each local authority on pension contributions in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government holds limited information on pension contributions and these are contained within the Local Financial Returns (LFRs). Data on LFRs is published as part of the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics.

Teachers

There are currently two occupational pension schemes for teachers in Scotland. These schemes are administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The SPPA is the definitive source of information on teachers pensions.

Non-Teachers

The Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland is a funded, defined benefit, statutory occupational pension scheme. It's one of the main public service pension schemes in Scotland, serving more than 236,000 active members, over 140,000 deferred members and more than 169,000 pensioners and dependents.

The scheme is administered by 11 local government administering authorities. These are:

Dumfries and Galloway Pension Fund
Falkirk Council Pension Fund
Fife Council Pension Fund
Highland Council Pension Fund
Lothian Pension Fund
North East Scotland Pension Fund
Orkney Islands Pension Fund
Scottish Borders Pension Fund
Shetland Islands Pension Fund
Strathclyde Pension Fund
Tayside Superannuation Fund

These eleven funds provide information on employee and employer pension contributions, as shown in the table below. The contributions cover all employers in the schemes, and this is broader than just Scotland’s 32 councils. It is not possible to separate out the individual local authority contributions in the data held centrally by Scottish Government.

Year	Employee Contributions £ millions	Employer Contributions £ millions	Total Contributions £ millions
1998-99	133	198	331
1999-00	145	254	399
2000-01	150	290	441
2001-02	161	339	500
2002-03	174	398	572
2003-04	188	461	649
2004-05	202	516	718
2005-06	240	558	798
2006-07	253	600	852
2007-08	237	696	933
2008-09	247	759	1,006
2009-10	273	867	1,140
2010-11	276	958	1,234
2011-12	263	944	1,207
2012-13	258	878	1,136
2013-14	267	891	1,158
2014-15	271	908	1,180
2015-16	277	958	1,235
2016-17	284	974	1,258
2017-18	291	996	1,286
2018-19	302	1,049	1,351
2019-20	326	1,116	1,442
2020-21	335	1,144	1,480
2021-22	355	1,212	1,567

Figures may not sum to row total due to rounding.

Source: Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics

https://www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/#scottishlocalgovernmentfinancialstatistics

Question reference: S6O-01991

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the final report of the National Autism Implementation Team’s adult neurodevelopmental pathway trials, which were conducted within four NHS board areas, will be available.

Question reference: S6O-01995

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing legislation in Scotland similar to the UK Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill.