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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-04331

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 2 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many emergency workers have been assaulted while on duty during Bonfire Night weekend in each year since 2016.

The information requested is not held centrally. The data the Scottish Government receive from Police Scotland for the publication of Official Statistics on recorded crime is a simple count of the numbers of crimes and offences, for each local authority, which the police have recorded. This can be broken down by quarter or, since April 2019, by month. Given this, information is not held on crimes recorded for specific weekends. Additionally, as the Scottish Government do not receive further information on the circumstances of individual crimes, it is not possible to identify if an assault is directly related to bonfire night activities. It should also be noted that as Bonfire Night does not always occur on a weekend, reviewing weekend based-activities across years is unlikely to give a like-for-like comparison.

Question reference: S6W-04531

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government in relation to the dualling of the A1.

The section of the A1 between Edinburgh and the border with England is a trunk road and therefore responsibility for investment decisions on the route rests with Scottish Ministers. There has been no recent meaningful engagement with the UK Government on their plans for the A1 in England. Furthermore, I would like to refer the member to the previously answered question S6W-02271 on 14 September 2021 on the Scottish Government’s plans for dualling and improving the A1. 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-04532

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will commit to expanding agritourism.

Question reference: S6W-04475

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether loans provided under the previous tenant loan fund will be converted to grants.

Question reference: S6W-04510

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund there have been, and of those how many (a) were approved, (b) were not approved and (c) following appeal, were (i) approved and (ii) not approved.

In total 585 applications for the Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund were received. Of this:

- 460 applications were approved.

- Where an application was not approved (125 applications), there was always a reason provided, specific to the application and if sought clarification and discussion on this reasoning was provided.

- There have been no appeals. A number of applications were asked to provide additional information, and where provided the application was reviewed in light of the additional information.

Question reference: S6W-04512

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many successful applications to the Young Farmers Start-Up Grant Scheme there were from women in each year for which the scheme was open for applications.

Question reference: S6W-04560

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make the installation of heating systems, such as heat pumps, more accessible to groups with less technical literacy.

The Scottish Government wants individuals and organisations to see energy efficiency and low and zero emissions heating as a positive choice, to understand the options available, and know where they can get help and trusted advice. The new National Public Energy Agency, as set out in our 2021/22 Programme for Government, will lead on a programme of public engagement to raise awareness and understanding of the changes that people need to make.

In the Heat in Buildings Strategy, the Scottish Government committed to developing and implementing a bespoke public engagement strategy for heat in buildings, with a focus on raising the profile of energy efficiency and zero emissions heating options so that people are aware of the benefits, as well as enabling people to actively participate in shaping the development of policy. This will be underpinned by an inclusive, people centred approach. We have also committed to developing a quality assurance policy statement which will outline our actions for quality assurance and consumer protection in relation to domestic energy efficiency and heat retrofit work in Scotland.

The Scottish Government currently provides significant support to both domestic and non-domestic groups through Home Energy Scotland (HES) and the Energy Efficient Business Support (EEBS) service (Business Energy Scotland from April 2022) respectively. HES is a single point of access for householders, providing free, bespoke, impartial advice and support on energy efficiency, renewable heating and fuel poverty support in Scotland. EEBS currently provides a substantial, free advice and support offering targeted to Scottish SMEs to uptake energy efficiency measures and zero emission heating.

As we accelerate the transformation of Scotland’s homes and workplaces, as well developing plans for the National Public Energy Agency, we are investing in growing our advice services and continuously improving them to meet the needs of householders and businesses.

Question reference: S6O-00519

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to improve the support that is available for people who are affected by strokes.

Question reference: S6O-00517

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on the roll-out of superfast broadband in Orkney.

Question reference: S6O-00514

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its NHS Recovery Plan.

Scheme Year	Applications successful from women
2016	25
2017	10
2018	26
2019	1