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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: S6W-11001

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angus Robertson on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm the costs associated with the production and publication of the paper, Independence in the modern world. Wealthier, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland.

The external costs associated with the production and publication of the Building a new Scotland paper, 'Independence in the modern world. Wealthier, happier, fairer: why not Scotland?', are set out in the following table.

Costs
Task	VAT %	VAT	Net Price
Overall Prospectus Design	20.0	883.35	4,416.74
Formatting and Online Publication (including HTML Web Conversation)	20.0	1,130.50	5,652.49
Printed Copies	0.00	0.00	2,124.12
Summary Document	20.0	114.58	572.91
Summary Document – Language Translations	20.0	415.85	2,079.24
Summary Document – BSL Translation	20.0	108.85	544.24
Summary Document – Audio Translation	20.0	14.84	74.22
Summary Document – Easy Read Version	20.0	143.47	717.37
Total (GBP)		£2,811.44	£16,181.33
Total including VAT (GBP)			£18,992.76

Papers in the Building a New Scotland prospectus series are available at the following link: www.gov.scot/newscotland .

Question reference: S6W-10842

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a Primary Authority system for devolved regulation following the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, and, if so, when this will take place.

There are no current plans to implement a Primary Authority system for devolved regulation. However, as part of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation we have set out that we are working with stakeholders to consider how regulation can be used to support economic and societal aims and use this work to continuously improve the approach to regulation in the future. This will include reviewing existing powers and processes to identify where changes could be made to support both businesses and regulators in achieving our strategic aims.

Question reference: S6W-10970

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been (a) budgeted for and (b) distributed from the Fuel Insecurity Fund in each year of its operation.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund was first established in the winter of 2020, as part of the wider Winter Support Fund, to help households struggling with their energy costs who were at risk of severely rationing, or self-disconnecting entirely because they could not afford their energy costs.

Fuel Insecurity Fund
Year	Budgeted	Distributed
2020-21	£7m	£3.595m
2021-22	£10m	£10m
2022-23	£10m	£4.1m*

In financial year 2020-21, £3.595m was spent by our partners.

As set out in our Programme for Government this year we have committed to using the Emergency Budget Review to double our Fuel Insecurity Fund to £20 million, to provide further support for the many households across Scotland who are already struggling to pay their bills and heat their homes.

* Full current 2022-23 budget of £10 million has been allocated across our third sector partner organisations, which they have the flexibility to drawdown in the financial year to best support and target customer needs up to the end March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-11002

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angus Robertson on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm the costs associated with the production and publication of the paper, Renewing Democracy through Independence.

The external costs associated with the production and publication of the Building a new Scotland paper, ‘Renewing democracy through independence', are set out in the following table.

Costs
Task	VAT %	VAT	Net Price
Formatting and Online Publication (including HTML Web Conversation)	20.0	589.97	2,949.85
Printed Copies	0.00	0.00	1,782.59
Summary Document	20.0	57.28	286.38
Summary Document – Language Translations	20.0	482.73	2,413.64
Summary Document – BSL Translation	20.0	137.85	689.24
Summary Document – Audio Translation	20.0	14.16	70.81
Summary Document – Easy Read Version	20.0	93.24	466.22
Total (GBP)		£1,375.23	£8,658.73
Total including VAT (GBP)			£10,033.95

Papers in the Building a New Scotland prospectus series are available at the following link: www.gov.scot/newscotland.

Question reference: S6W-10968

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Transport will next meet representatives from Glasgow Airport to discuss any challenges facing Scotland's aviation industry.

Question reference: S6W-10945

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding for the upgrade of the A75 and A77 has been committed by the UK Government.

To date, we are not aware of the UK Government committing any funding for the upgrade of either the A75 or the A77. The UK Government’s Union Connectivity Review (UCR) published its interim findings in March 2021 and identified both the A75 and A77 as critical road transport corridors connecting Northern Ireland with Scotland and England.

At the same time, the UK Secretary of State for Transport announced that a £20m Union Connectivity Development Fund was available for advance design / development on a select number of transport corridors, including the A75. It is not clear if any of that funding has been spent on preliminary work for the A75.

The Final UCR Report was published in November 2021 and recommended that the UK Government commit funding to support the significant upgrade of the A75. The failure to mention the A77 suggests it will no longer be considered a priority for upgrading.

Question reference: S6W-10955

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister’s statement to the Parliament on the Programme for Government, on 6 September 2022, that a proposed Housing Bill would "implement key policies on short-term lets", whether this refers to enacted or new regulations on the matter.

Question reference: S6W-10864

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how the alcohol ban on ScotRail trains is enforced, and who it is enforced by.

Question reference: S6W-10967

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Transport last visited Glasgow Airport.

Question reference: S6W-10961

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Transport Scotland has reportedly exceeded its projected timescale of six months to carry out the roadworks between Cairnryan and Glenapp on the A77 by over four years, and whether it will provide (a) an urgent update on the status of these roadworks and (b) a timescale for their completion, in order to prevent any further disruption due to any single-lane traffic convoy systems for both HGV traffic, and other drivers, on the A77 arterial route.

I understand the frustration of local communities and users of the A77 and the difficulties and delays they cause, but these works are essential to maintain the safety and resilience of this section of the A77. Work at Carlock Wall commenced in February 2020 and was due to be completed by the end of that year. However, unforeseen adverse ground conditions were identified during construction. This included bed rock to support the new wall being much deeper than anticipated and significant volumes of unstable material on the existing slope face requiring additional stabilisation. Work started immediately to tackle both of these issues. Good progress has been made despite impacts associated with Covid-19. Carriageway re-opening to two way traffic is currently programmed to be completed by late Autumn 2022. Further landscaping and finishing works to areas remote from the carriageway will be complete in Spring 2023.