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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-09172

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on producing Zero Waste Scotland’s report on quantifying liquid food waste from food and drink manufacture.

Further to Scottish Government’s answer to your query on this report in February 2021 (S5W-34878 on 10 February 2021), Zero Waste Scotland have confirmed that £51,000 was spent on this work.

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

Question reference: S6W-09134

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported findings of the Royal College of Nursing report, Employment Survey Report 2021: Workforce diversity and employment experiences, including that white nurses are twice as likely to get promoted as black and Asian staff.

There is no place for racism and we recognise that structural and institutional barriers continue to exist in the NHS.

The NHS ethnic minority forum is working with the Scottish Government to drive change. Work is underway to develop anti-racist resources and targeted interventions to support minority ethnic staff and help them progress in their careers.

A refreshed Fair Work action plan will be published later this year, including a focus on minority ethnic employment. A new ethnicity pay gap strategy will also set out our approach for employers in addressing racial inequality in workplaces.

Question reference: S6W-09169

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Zero Waste Scotland’s report on reuse and repair sector stock control options was not published on its website, and how much the report cost to produce.

Question reference: S6W-09170

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all reports commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland since 2011 that shows (a) how many were (i) published and (ii) not published and (b) the total cost of each.

Question reference: S6W-09113

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has undertaken to understand what impact closing schools as community venues has had on the ability of community groups to operate.

The impact of school closures during the pandemic was carefully considered at local level by schools and community groups who are best placed to understand the needs of the immediate community.

The Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) evaluation found that schools worked closely with community groups to mitigate the effects of school building closures for pupils. The Scottish Government has no plans to undertake additional research.

The easing of restrictions in recent months means that community groups are now in a position to re-establish their position and make use of school settings where appropriate. Therefore, all local and community facilities are encouraged to permit access to organisations and groups in line with the Strategic Framework and the Safer Workplaces guidance.

Question reference: S6W-09218

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how the advertised position of DRS Applications Service Manager at Zero Waste Scotland will be funded.

Question reference: S6W-09108

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of baby boxes delivered in each year since 2017.

The Programme for Government 2016 included a commitment to provide a Baby Box for every baby born and living in Scotland containing essential items designed to provide practical help for parents.

Registration opened on 15 June 2017, and delivery of boxes nationwide began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland.

Please find breakdown of Baby Boxes delivered annually since the scheme began:

2017 – 22,001 boxes

2018 – 48,524 boxes

2019 – 47,202 boxes

2020 – 42,636 boxes

2021 – 42,452 boxes

2022 – 17,973 boxes (please note that data is up to the 10th of June)

Question reference: S6W-09106

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the information contained in the hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 will have been digitally recorded.

Question reference: S6W-09101

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to ensure that hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 are recorded accurately and that errors in recording can be corrected.

A rigorous approach is taken to ensure accurate census paper questionnaire data.

Paper questionnaires are scanned and the answers are captured digitally using character recognition software. During scanning, the system looks to automatically allocate a numeric code to each answer, which allows the data to be easily analysed. Trained Quality Control operators perform daily checks on a sample of cases to ensure the quality of data captured from scanned questionnaires meets expectations.

It is not always possible to automatically allocate valid codes during scanning as some answers provided are not always on lists the system matches to. To ensure complete information is recorded, National Records of Scotland (NRS) set up a manual coding service where trained coding operatives visually inspect census questionnaires and make a decision on the most accurate code to assign.

Further manual inspections of the paper forms are made by NRS staff to check allocated categories and codes.

Question reference: S6W-09103

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how treatment of hardcopy paper responses to Scotland's Census 2022 differs from the treatment of hardcopy paper responses to the (a) 2011 census and (b) 2021 census in England and Wales.

Scanning of paper questionnaires for Scotland’s Census 2022 is in line with the 2011 census and the 2021 census in England Wales.

Full information on the coding and data processing methods employed on Scotland’s Census 2022 is published on the NRS website. Comparisons to 2011 and the 2021 census in England and Wales are made where appropriate.

Statistical methodology | Scotland's Census (scotlandscensus.gov.uk)