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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-08176

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider making the provision of supporting evidence from an accredited specialist conservation architect or conservation architect accredited and registered by a suitable body, such as the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), or the Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation (AABC), a formal requirement in planning (a) policy and (b) guidance for applications for listed building consent to a planning authority.

Question reference: S6W-07859

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any findings of Strathesk Resolutions as a result of its mediation processes between employers and trade unions in Scotland’s colleges.

The Scottish Government has not commissioned Strathesk Resolutions to undertake a mediation process between employers and trade unions.

The organisation has undertaken a Lessons Learned exercise to identify factors that have led to dispute in the college sector in recent years, and has provided recommendations on the future operations of national bargaining in Scotland.

The report, alongside the Scottish Government's response, will be published in due course.

Question reference: S6W-07809

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment SEPA has made of non-native species in its priority catchments.

SEPA conducts assessments of Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) that affect the aquatic environment through River Basin Management Planning (RBMP) status assessments and routine impact monitoring, carried out as a subset of the wider condition assessment. The location of INNS (riparian plants) is mapped during morphology surveys and data is also collated from verified external datasets such as the National Biodiversity Network (including records submitted via Scotland’s Environment Website).

As directed by the Scottish Government, SEPA’s INNS assessments are currently of those species on the UK Technical Advisory Group (UKTAG) high impact list. At Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and other designated sites NatureScot undertakes INNS assessments (including non-aquatic species) through their routine condition assessments.

Question reference: S6W-07822

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the UK's exit from the EU, whether it is waiting for the EU to make a decision on amending legislation to decouple the regulation of genome-edited products from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and, if so, (a) for what reason and (b) how this will impact on progress on achieving its net zero targets for agriculture.

In September 2021 Defra announced plans to facilitate gene editing (GE) in plants for research trials, and after that to review the regulatory definitions in England of a genetically modified organism (GMO) to exclude organisms produced by gene editing and other genetic technologies if they could have been developed by traditional breeding. This was despite the majority of respondents to a public consultation on genetic technologies in England rejecting this proposal. In March 2022, the Statutory Instrument to facilitate gene editing for research trials passed and Defra is now preparing primary powers to change the GMO definition.

While we are keeping abreast of both scientific and judicial reasoning on the decoupling of products of novel genomic techniques, such as gene editing, from GMOs, the definition of a GMO has not changed in Scotland. Gene edited organisms are legally considered GMOs.

Should the EU move to change its regulatory framework, as in other matters, we will consider the implications for Scotland as details become available. The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining alignment with EU laws and standards, supported in part by powers in the Continuity Act that ensure Scottish Ministers can make secondary legislation to achieve this. This means that we will continue to align with the EU where appropriate and in Scotland’s interest, including the protection and advancement of the high environmental standards that both Scotland and the EU enjoy.

Scotland’s climate targets are, rightly, highly ambitious and agriculture has a key role to play in meeting Scotland’s net-zero target for carbon emissions by 2045. The Climate Change Plan Update (CCPu) sets out a detailed, clear and credible pathway to meeting emissions targets over the period to 2032.

Question reference: S6W-07812

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26 to "mitigate the Benefit Cap as fully as we can", whether the mitigation will cover the full difference between a household's cap and its entitlement; how it plans to deliver this payment to households; what the timescale is for this to be fully implemented, and how many households will receive the payment.

The benefit cap is a UK Government policy that sets a limit on the total annual payment a household can receive from means-tested benefits. The Scottish Government cannot amend this policy but we can provide support to benefit-capped families through the discretionary housing payment system. Our aim is to mitigate the cap as fully as possible within the parameters set by UK legislation on discretionary housing payments.

We are working with local authorities to identify good practice in benefit cap mitigation and agree how to best support those affected. This additional funding will be rolled out as early as possible this year. Estimates show around 4,000 households are capped and we will work with local authorities to identify those.

Question reference: S6T-00678

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the ruling of the Scottish Information Commissioner that it should release legal advice that it received regarding a second independence referendum.

Question reference: S6T-00680

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on households and businesses in Scotland of the National Grid’s locational pricing system, in light of Scottish Renewables' reported assessment that Transmission Network Use of System charges make projects in Scotland almost 20% more expensive than equivalent projects in the south of England.

Question reference: S6T-00671

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is putting in place to ensure that Ukrainian families understand the conditions of its Super Sponsor Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-07679

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring the effectiveness of its plans to protect and improve the wellbeing of NHS staff.

We use a range of measures to monitor the wellbeing of the workforce taking into account the diverse nature of the workforce operating in a range of roles and geographies, the broad spectrum of wellbeing ‘needs’ at both a professional and personal level and different reporting arrangements across sectors.

Our approach reflects a combination of the following measures; the annual iMatter survey, feedback from local and national staffside and other stakeholder channels, academic research, data collected by regulators and partners and evaluation of nationally-led initiatives.

The Wellbeing Champions Network is now well-established to provide feedback on areas of priority need, and to share best practice across health and social care organisations. It currently has over 100 members drawn from Health Boards, HSCPs, Local Authorities and the independent sector.

We continue to actively listen to colleagues across Health and Social care to understand where the current pressures are, and what actions can be taken to mitigate their impact on staff.

Question reference: S6W-07996

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the (a) growth and (b) retention of medical research spin-out companies in Scotland.

(a) The National Strategy for Economic Transformation puts a clear focus on growing new companies. Scotland aims to be a nation of entrepreneurs and innovators, with resilient supply chains and competitive advantages in the new industries generated by technological change and scientific advances. This is the epitome of medical research companies in Scotland.

(b) Life science company growth is being supported by a breadth of policies across government to support growth investment, skills development, R&D and innovation as well as business planning and support. The Scottish Government recognises that the commercialisation of university research is an important generator of new and innovative businesses, products and services, for societal and economic good. Scottish Enterprise has long been a key contributor to investment in the industry and participated in half of the life science start-up funding here. In addition, Scottish Government set up the Scottish Growth Scheme in 2019 to provide loans and equity investment to start-ups and high growth businesses, including those in life sciences. During 2022-23 we expect the Growth Scheme to invest approximately £28m in total to start-ups and high growth businesses.