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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: S6O-01165

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many Green Jobs have been supported since the introduction of the Green Jobs Fund.

Question reference: S6W-08523

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-08510

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the workers who were made redundant at the Dawnfresh Seafoods plant in Uddingston have secured alternative employment.

Administrators FRP have advised it is their understanding that the vast majority of employees previously employed by Dawnfresh Seafoods have secured alternative employment. PACE support is continuing to be provided as required to the remaining employees.

We continue to monitor the influence of PACE support through a PACE Client Experience Survey which we undertake every two years. The latest report published in December 2020, indicated that 81% of individuals surveyed who had received PACE support, secured alternative employment within six months. The 2022 survey will be published later this year.

Question reference: S6W-08506

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to increasing the discount under the Air Discount Scheme in light of the cost of living crisis.

We are pleased to have funded the significant 50% discount through the scheme since 2016, helping residents of our remote and island communities that rely on these connections. We anticipate over £10 million of discounts being provided in 2022-23 and believe that this substantial expenditure is an important investment in islands connectivity. We currently have no plans to increase the discount rate for the Air Discount Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-08502

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-36131 by Maree Todd on 23 March 2021, what percentage of the 435 equity and excellence leads are in post; how many of the posts are vacant, and on what date all posts were filled, including where the post-holder has since moved on.

The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities to recruit Equity and Excellence lead posts across all 32 local authorities, but does not monitor the movement of specific staff.

Scottish Government publishes snapshot figures of graduate level posts in ELC annually in ‘Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland’. The latest figures were collected in the week commencing 13 September 2021 and published on 14 December 2021, in the ‘Additional early learning and childcare tables’: Supporting documents - Summary Statistics For Schools In Scotland 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This showed that 356 Equity and Excellence Leads were in post at that point in time, 327 Full Time Equivalent (FTE). This was an increase from 2020 when there were 350 (316 FTE).

Question reference: S6W-08508

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07448 by Shona Robison on 19 April 2022, whether it will also consult on the review of adaptations.

Question reference: S6W-08504

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to assess the viability, and design policy and legislation to deliver compulsory sale and rent orders.

Local authorities already have broad compulsory purchase powers which are used for a range of purposes, including restoration of property which may be vacant, derelict or unsafe. Scottish Government officials continue to support and advise local authorities in this important work. As outlined in the Programme for Government, we are committed to modernising the compulsory purchase order process to make it clearer, fairer and faster for all parties, and to support the delivery of projects that are in the public interest. We will continue to engage with local authorities and other stakeholders to identify the most effective levers as the work progresses.

We are also considering the matter of compulsory sales orders as part of this. Any new powers would need to be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights with careful consideration given to the compatibility with existing powers – this includes any proposals for Compulsory Rental Orders.

Question reference: S6W-08478

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that (a) CalMac Ferries, (b) passengers and (b) the recognised trade unions will be consulted on the design of (i) accommodation berths, (ii) catering facilities, (iii) engine and (iv) other operational aspects of the Ro-Pax vessels that Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd has commissioned through the contract issued on 3 May 2022.

The engagement processes for the project are already well established, ensuring all interested parties and stakeholders are able to contribute throughout the project’s development. They will follow the recent example of the successful engagement carried out as part of the New Islay Vessel Project which this project follows.

CMAL, liaising with Mallaig Harbour Authority and Transport Scotland, organised a webinar (16 March 2022) to engage with stakeholders on the project and its progression which included a question and answer session.

CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL) is one of the partners in the tripartite working group responsible for this project and actively contribute to the decision making process on a range of matters. They are also responsible for ensuring there is input from the trade unions.

More information on this procurement is available at: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY447363

More information on the project is available at: https://www.cmassets.co.uk/project/mallaig-lochboisdale/

Question reference: S6W-08518

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy in Scotland, and, in particular, recommendation 4, which states that no further planning permission should be granted to incineration infrastructure unless balanced by an equal or greater closure of capacity.

Question reference: S6W-08496

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent reports based on General Teaching Council for Scotland data, which state that, over the last four years, 24 teachers have been removed from the register for sexual offences and 72 have been reported for sexual misconduct.

The wellbeing and safety of children and young people in Scotland are key priorities for the Scottish Government. All children have the right to be cared for and protected from harm. GTC Scotland is the independent registration and regulation body for the teaching profession in Scotland. Their role is to help maintain trust in the teaching profession. They do this by keeping the Register of Teachers and setting and regulating the standards for entry to, and continued inclusion on, the Register. In the year April 2020 - March 2021, GTC Scotland received fitness to teach referrals in respect of 0.2% of the total number of registrants. For referrals for sexual misconduct specifically, this drops to 0.02%. These figures are consistent with previous years.