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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-09722

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 assessment, including calculations, it undertakes to understand any additional cost burden that is expected to fall on local authorities when new policy requirements that are to be delivered at local authority level are introduced.

Question reference: S6W-09681

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the reported backlog of 42,000 criminal cases to be heard at Scottish courts relate to sexual offences; what action is being taken to speed up access to justice in relation to any such sexual offence cases, and how much additional funding is being made available to support victims and survivors of sexual offences who are affected by any delays in the hearing of their cases.

The latest Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service monthly statistics, published on 19 July, show that there were 37,174 scheduled trials at the end of June. It is not possible to state how many of these trials relate to sexual offence cases, due to the data being held on a live case management system that is designed to meet operational needs, rather than provide statistical breakdowns by offence type.

The Scottish Government continues to support justice agencies to address the backlog to ensure cases can be progressed, including sexual offence cases. In 2021-22 we committed an additional £50m to support our ‘Recover, Renew, Transform’ programme for the Criminal Justice System. This included setting up 16 additional solemn and summary courts from September 2021, increasing the system’s capacity to progress cases, including for the most serious offences. We have committed a further £53.2m in 2022-23 for recovery, renewal and transformation activity across the justice system. Recent statistics published by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service demonstrate that measures introduced to address the backlog, including the additional trial courts, are having a positive impact on court throughput, and the total number of scheduled trials outstanding has reduced each month in 2022.

We recognise that sexual offence cases can be particularly distressing to those involved, and we are committed to improving victims’ experiences of the justice system. We understand the value that criminal justice advocacy services offer to victims navigating the system, and that is why - following a competitive bidding process - we are providing Rape Crisis Scotland’s National Advocacy Project with more than £6 million over the next three years, through the Victim Centred Approach Fund. The National Advocacy Project provides invaluable practical and emotional support to victims of sexual crimes throughout the court process.

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-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-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.