Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 31742 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-28362

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there should be trade union representation on the board of Qualifications Scotland.

The Education (Scotland) Bill, introduced by the Scottish Parliament on 4 June, sets out the provisions for Board membership of Qualifications Scotland to include one or more member who has relevant knowledge of the interests of employees within Qualifications Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of ensuring that there is an effective staff voice within the formal governance structures of Qualifications Scotland. As the Bill progresses in Parliament, there will be opportunities to consider the detail of this aspect, as part of the organisational design work. Further engagement will take place with SQA staff and the recognised unions on this matter.

Question reference: S6W-28369

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to (a) ensure equal access to community assets for and (b) address the current lack of access faced by organisations serving black and minority ethnic and migrant communities, in light of the important role that a stable venue can play in enabling such groups to effectively provide services.

The Scottish Government introduced asset transfer legislation as part of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. This landmark policy is the first of its kind in the UK and since its enactment on 23 January 2017 there has been more than 225 successful asset transfers agreed using these powers.

We are committed to ensuring that all our communities can access community assets, and are working with our partners to make sure our most vulnerable communities can access the assets they require to deliver important services and develop their own economies, wellbeing, and environments.

Our work with the Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) and the Barmulloch Community Development Company in Glasgow established a central hub which has supported 11 marginalised groups engage with the asset transfer process including the Bangla Centre, Spingburn, who were able to progress their asset transfer ambitions by accessing this targeted support.

As part of the current review of the Community Empowerment Act we have asked our partners and their networks to help us better understand the experiences of those involved in taking on community assets, including seeking the views of underrepresented groups.

We maintain a vision for a Scotland where all people – including black and minority ethnic communities, and migrants – have equal access to wealth, opportunities, and power.

Question reference: S6W-28394

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a Natural Environment Bill with statutory targets for nature recovery.

The Scottish Government remains firmly committed to protecting and effectively managing 30% of Scotland’s land and seas for nature by 2030, halting the loss of biodiversity by 2030 and restoring and regenerating it by 2045, and we continue to pursue a wide range of actions to deliver this commitment.

The Scottish Government’s future legislative programme will be set out as part of the upcoming Programme for Government in due course.

Question reference: S6W-28238

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been distributed to projects from the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Landfill Communities Fund is a tax credit scheme, linked to Scottish Landfill Tax. Contributions are provided directly by landfill operators to Approved Bodies, which are then responsible for awarding funding to projects throughout Scotland. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) regulates the fund on behalf of Revenue Scotland, which has overall responsibility for it.

SEPA reports that £28,011,069 was distributed to community projects from the SLCF over the five-year period from 2019 to 2023. The following table breaks this down by local authority area.

Local Authority Area	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Aberdeen City	£17,622.00	£38,400.00	£0.00	£500.00	£50,000.00
Aberdeenshire	£191,231.00	£186,247.49	£397,258.83	£227,462.59	£478,971.75
Angus	£53,073.00	£56,469.51	£28,566.72	£108,403.00	£53,442.00
Argyll and Bute	£164,430.00	£224,378.00	£211,050.26	£214,542.32	£114,000.00
Clackmannanshire	£49,941.00	£35,137.00	£82,253.00	£90,825.00	£31,392.27
Dumfries and Galloway	£175,558.80	£46,670.48	£80,736.00	£86,936.08	£56,000.00
Dundee	£50,000.00	£61,669.00	£0.00	£30,000.00	£198,480.56
East Ayrshire	£181,297.50	£524,443.00	£134,088.00	£39,955.00	£217,076.71
East Dunbartonshire	£13,466.00	£0.00	£6,336.00	£20,000.00	£0.00
East Lothian	£65,687.00	£31,322.00	£118,756.82	£73,873.00	£49,875.00
East Renfrewshire	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£15,000.00	£25,000.00
Edinburgh (city of)	£94,119.00	£53,148.74	£20,000.00	£114,312.00	£14,332.00
Falkirk	£449,805.75	£134,200.00	£364,091.00	£294,945.60	£572,354.00
Fife	£1,221,451.43	£876,978.52	£1,099,825.39	£864,590.13	£785,606.06
Glasgow	£567,525.24	£276,213.04	£180,980.00	£597,477.20	£1,052,507.86
Highland	£427,945.43	£291,772.15	£456,228.06	£238,308.99	£222,182.05
Inverclyde	£0.00	£23,000.00	£106,000.00	£42,614.00	£60,430.00
Midlothian	£182,673.93	£70,434.00	£226,137.00	£164,013.80	£87,319.90
Moray	£267,300.59	£57,850.00	£153,946.56	£133,695.00	£299,400.00
North Ayrshire	£356,257.00	£734,617.00	£224,929.00	£39,579.40	£231,216.00
North Lanarkshire	£319,927.01	£215,000.00	£422,225.03	£143,108.00	£261,446.84
Orkney Islands	£27,109.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£10,504.93
Perth and Kinross	£180,639.00	£174,557.00	£182,785.00	£117,339.48	£106,403.00
Renfrewshire	£96,500.00	£24,000.00	£26,250.00	£29,868.00	£89,555.89
Scottish Borders	£297,130.00	£270,556.00	£75,715.00	£21,500.00	£79,922.00
Shetland Islands	£54,851.00	£0.00	£19,502.00	£0.00	£0.00
South Ayrshire	£122,695.05	£7,820.00	£81,718.50	£45,000.00	£27,220.00
South Lanarkshire	£229,611.56	£220,192.40	£346,471.49	£329,874.81	£328,245.00
Stirling	£64,013.97	£98,126.00	£264,508.00	£133,785.00	£182,859.28
West Dunbartonshire	£125,000.00	£92,477.29	£131,121.60	£69,700.00	£104,481.00
West Lothian	£170,939.01	£234,352.90	£200,434.80	£180,127.80	£492,908.90
Na h-Eileanan an lar	£75,635.97	£56,147.20	£99,857.14	£31,899.55	£77,314.10

Question reference: S6W-28324

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27996 by Ivan McKee on 17 June 2024, when it expects to publish (a) the responses received and (b) its response to the consultation.

Question reference: S6W-28240

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Royal Mail and (b) other delivery companies regarding the additional cost of parcel delivery in the Highlands and Islands region, and what measures are being implemented to ensure that residents in these areas are not disproportionately affected by (i) such costs and (ii) any proposed changes to the universal service obligation.

The Royal Mail and postal delivery services are reserved matters.

Postal delivery companies are commercial organisations, operating in an unregulated market. The Scottish Government has long called for an end to unfair delivery charges, but only the UK Government has the power to regulate them. Where there are opportunities to do so, the Scottish Government urges these companies to be fair and transparent in their pricing policies.

The Scottish Government supports the maintenance of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) and makes regular representations to the UK Government and Royal Mail on behalf of Scottish consumers.

I will meet with Royal Mail in September and will continue to seek assurances that any reform of the USO does not cause detriment, particularly to consumers in rural and island communities.

Question reference: S6W-28237

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns from projects in Scotland regarding an anticipated future decrease in the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund, and what action it plans to take to mitigate any loss of funding.

The Scottish Landfill Communities Fund has played an important role in funding community and environmental projects across Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises that the forecast decline in landfill tax revenues, which reflect the policy intent to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill, will reduce the contributions that landfill operators make to the Fund. We are therefore carefully considering future arrangements for the Fund, working with Revenue Scotland and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Question reference: S6W-28474

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 July 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 31 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all licences issued by NatureScot for the use of more than two dogs for a hunt, as provided for under section 4 of the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023, broken down by the (a) geographical location of the area covered by each licence, (b) purpose of the maximum number of dogs permitted in each case, (c) minimum number of guns required in each case and (d) period of time for which each licence is valid.

Question reference: S6W-28473

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 July 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 31 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many licences issued by NatureScot for the use of more than two dogs for a hunt, as provided for under section 4 of the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023, have been in relation to a mounted hunt.

Question reference: S6W-28469

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 July 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 31 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reported number of NHS buildings containing asbestos, and how many have had asbestos removed in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.