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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-09591

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to East Lothian Council to assist with the redevelopment of the former Cockenzie Power Station site.

The site is identified as a national development in the current National Planning Framework 3 (2014). The draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) (November 2021) does not propose a national development designation for Cockenzie, however its spatial strategy notes that there are existing assets and infrastructure at coastal former baseload power generation sites that can be repurposed to form the basis of new proposals. At Cockenzie it identifies ongoing work to develop the Climate Evolution Zone.

The comments received through the Parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation processes are being analysed prior to laying a revised NPF4 in the Scottish Parliament in the autumn.

Question reference: S6W-09723

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of new policies introduced for roll-out by local authorities in the last two years have had additional local authority capacity resource attached to them to ensure delivery.

To ensure local authorities had the capacity and resources required to deliver any new policy commitments in the last two years, all new policy or changes to existing policy that had a financial cost for local government were approved through the formal financial governance process which required agreed recommendations from the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Officers’ Settlement and Distribution Group and political sign-off from Scottish Ministers and COSLA political Leaders.

Question reference: S6W-09510

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 steps it can take to ensure transparency around the loss of life in dispersal accommodation for asylum seekers and in immigration detention in Scotland.

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-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-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-09496

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 discussions it has had with the Welsh Government regarding its buy-out scheme for homeowners in high-rise blocks with combustible cladding who are in severe financial hardship.

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-09235

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that patients across Scotland have access to NHS dental services and regular check-ups.

It is a priority to ensure that patients are able to access NHS dental care. To support patient care and access, we have recently announced revised payment arrangements for dentists from 1 April that will more closely link payments to the number of patients seen and treatments provided. Additionally, from 1st February we also introduced an enhanced examination fee for both adults and children.

We have also committed to abolishing dental charges in the lifetime of this Parliament and that will help to remove at least one of the barriers to accessing high-quality NHS dental services.