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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-09508

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit, in partnership with local authorities, to publishing annual figures on loss of life of asylum seekers in temporary hotel accommodation in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09509

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to full cooperation and participation in the Independent Commission of Inquiry into Asylum Provision in Scotland with particular reference to failings in the provision of care to New Scots during the Covid pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-09507

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government to advocate for a comprehensive monitoring and review system for asylum seeker deaths in temporary hotel accommodation in Scotland.

Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament. The Scottish Government has raised a variety of issues impacting people seeking asylum with the UK Government, including on asylum accommodation and the use of hotels to accommodate people seeking asylum.

Scottish Ministers have repeatedly requested detail of any investigation undertaken by the Home Office following deaths in asylum accommodation in Glasgow during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have also requested an update on the status of recommendations in an internal Home Office report on asylum accommodation during the pandemic, which appeared in the media in April but has not yet been made public.

Question reference: S6W-09497

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to assess the viability of a buy-out scheme for homeowners in high-rise blocks with combustible cladding who are in severe financial hardship.

Question reference: S6W-09287

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary question by Jamie Greene to question S6O-00660, by Ash Regan on 26 January 2022, what progress has been made on addressing the backlog of repairs to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service estate; what urgent action has been taken to address the concerns raised regarding the 14 fire stations where flat roofs were identified as being at risk of collapse, and what detailed plan the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has for all the fire stations that have been identified as being in a poor, or worse, condition.

Decisions on the allocation of its capital budget including fleet, equipment and buildings is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Board. SFRS has a 10 year capital programme based on risk and decisions on fire station investment forms part of a wider review that the SFRS is carrying out on the assets it needs to protect communities from risk.

The safety of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service staff is paramount and SFRS continues to monitor the remedial measures which were immediately put in place to rectify the potentially defective roofs found in 14 fire stations. All 14 stations have had an options appraisal to identify the best option to rebuild or refurbish.

Question reference: S6W-09664

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners on remand there were in 2021-22, broken down by the number of days they were held on remand for, also broken down by those who were awaiting (a) trial and (b) sentencing.

The Scottish Government publish official statistics on the prison population on an annual basis. The most recent annual statistics were published on the 23 June 2022 covering the financial year 2020-21 [1]. The official statistics provide information on the average daily remand population, and the number of individuals held on remand over the course of the financial year. A summary of time held by legal status (untried, convicted awaiting sentence, and sentenced) is also provided.

The annual statistics are a compilation of data collected over the full financial year from the Scottish Prison Service prisoner records system. To produce the statistics, the data needs to be processed into a longitudinal analytical dataset. This process has not yet commenced for 2021-22, so the Scottish Government does not currently hold the data requested.

[1] Justice Analytical Services, Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2020-21

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-prison-population-statistics-2020-21/ .

Question reference: S6W-09543

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 01 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) has (a) received and (b) closed in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S6W-09568

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is, regarding the potential impact on Scotland, to the Ofgem consultation on RIIO-ED2 Draft Determinations, which sets out a five-year vision to "transform local energy grids to support the transition to a cleaner, affordable, home-grown low-carbon energy system, as part of its draft plans for the next electricity distribution price control (known as RIIO-ED2)".

The generation, transportation and supply of electricity is reserved to the UK Government with regulatory functions carried out by the independent energy regulator for GB, Ofgem.

My officials are engaging closely with network companies and Ofgem to gather further information on the detail of the determinations which are draft at this stage.

We are dedicated to ensuring value for money for consumers which is a key objective. Our consultation response will consider the risks and impact the Draft Determinations have on achieving net-zero targets.

The Draft Determinations are subject to an eight-week consultation with networks and wider stakeholders and will close on the 25 th of August, after which Ofgem will consider all provided evidence. Ofgem’s Final Determinations are expected to be finalised in December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-09565

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 18 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has requested that work be undertaken to research an 8,000 headcount reduction in the Scottish civil service.

The Scottish Government has not been requested to research an 8,000 headcount reduction in the Scottish civil service.

The Scottish Government regularly reviews its workforce numbers to ensure affordability, and that the organisation is delivering for the people of Scotland as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The UK Government has not provided details on how their plans to reduce the number of civil servants by 91,000 will affect their staff working in Scotland. There are around 24,800 [1] Civil Servants who are part of the reserved Public Sector in Scotland.

The UK Government plans do not have a direct impact on civil servants who serve the Scottish Government, as the responsibility lies with Scottish Ministers and the Permanent Secretary when it comes to determining our workforce size.

[1] Source: Public Sector Employment In Scotland Statistics For 1st Quarter 2022 .

Question reference: S6W-09555

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the introduction of dedicated baby loss units in hospitals across Scotland.

As outlined in the Programme for Government 2021 – 22 A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) published in September 2021, the Scottish Government is committed to establishing a dignified and compassionate miscarriage service. As part of this, the Scottish Government wants to ensure that NHS Boards are able to provide dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.

As part of delivering on this commitment the Scottish Government will support the development of individualised care plans after a woman’s first miscarriage and take forward specific recommendations made in the Lancet series on miscarriage published on 26 April 2021 https://www.thelancet.com/series/miscarriage .

A scoping exercise into the availability of services within NHS Boards for miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy complications is underway. The results of this exercise will be analysed over the summer and will inform improvements to miscarriage services.