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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: S6F-01014

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01013

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-07670

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how to improve the regulation of products in the medical nutrition industry.

The regulations for foods for special medical purposes are one of the categories covered by the foods for specific groups legislation. Retained Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 on Foods for Specific Groups replaced the former Foods for Particular Nutritional Uses approach and begun a new EU phased process to review and update the composition and labelling for each category. As part of this process, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/128 was introduced and has applied to businesses since 2019.

This, now retained Regulation, lays out the compositional, labelling and notification requirements of foods for special medical purposes. These foods are a category of Foods for Specific Groups , specially processed or formulated and intended for the dietary management of patients and to be used under medical supervision.

These foods are intended for the exclusive or partial feeding of patients with a limited, impaired or disturbed capacity to take, digest, absorb, metabolise or excrete ordinary foodstuffs or certain nutrients contained therein or metabolites. They are also intended for use by patients with other medically-determined nutrient requirements, whose dietary management cannot be achieved only by modification of the normal diet, by other foods for particular nutritional uses, or by a combination of the two.

The powers to enforce the requirements in Scotland are contained within The Foods for Specific Groups (Scotland) Regulations 2016 (as amended).

Question reference: S6W-07671

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government (a) whether and (b) how it works with the UK Department of Health and Social Care to tackle medical malnutrition in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-07645

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how its Programme for Government commitment on delivering local nature networks will be delivered and resourced; what timeframes are associated with these, and how they will be coordinated with the National Planning Framework, new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, Regional Land Use Partnerships and other inter-related policy areas.

The Scottish Government is committed to the creation and improvement of Nature Networks across Scotland.

Nature Networks will be developed and delivered through local partnerships, and will support ecological connectivity within and between National Parks, Protected Areas, and other biodiversity-rich areas through the creation of habitat corridors and ‘stepping stones’. To be effective, Nature Networks will require development and management over the long term. We are therefore working with NatureScot and other delivery partners to develop a co-design and delivery process.

Nature Networks will be a crucial mechanism to deliver the vision set out in our new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and will form a key plank of the associated Delivery Plan. Our approach will take into account the wider policy framework at national, regional and local levels. Regional Land Use Partnerships are being piloted across five areas of Scotland to test inclusive approaches that facilitate collaboration at a regional level. They are looking to take a natural capital approach to maximising the contribution that our land makes in addressing the twin nature and climate crises. In developing our approach to nature networks we are considering how RLUPs can form a part of delivery. Nature networks have been embedded within the draft NPF4, to ensure that nature has the space to adapt to Scotland’s changing climate through linking areas which are important for biodiversity in urban, peri-urban and rural settings.

Question reference: S6W-07643

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to motion S6M-00923 in the name of Jackie Baillie (Growing Need for Specialist Huntington’s Disease Services), which called for an expansion of specialist Huntington's disease services, in light of the motion being supported by 99 MSPs across all parties, whether it will consider the introduction of a peripatetic Huntington's disease specialist service to support families affected by the disease in areas with no service, limited services or gaps in service.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living in Scotland with Huntington’s Disease is able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

The Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA) submitted an application to the latest round of funding provided via the Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action , to support the recruitment of a Peripatetic Huntington’s Disease Specialist.

Applications for funding were assessed and scored by a panel however, unfortunately, the SHA’s application was not successful.

Despite the application being unsuccessful, we want to better understand the need for further provisions and service development across neurological conditions, including Huntington’s Disease, and Scottish Government officials plan to meet with SHA to further explore the issue.

Question reference: S6W-07520

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how Scotland's reliance on nuclear power to generate its electricity compared with that of the other UK nations in 2020, and (a) whether and (b) by when it plans to replace nuclear-generated energy in Scotland with energy generated by renewables in Scotland.

The information you have requested is publically available at the Scottish Energy Statistics Hub (shinyapps.io) taken originally from National Grid - : https://carbonintensity.org.uk/ .

In addition to that, the recent announcement of ScotWind has seen aspirations from consortia to develop up to 25GW of offshore wind capacity. This will allow us to make huge progress in further decarbonising our energy supply while securing commitments from ScotWind developers to invest at least £1bn in Scotland’s supply chain for every gigawatt of power.

The Scottish Government is clear that nuclear energy represents a bad deal for consumers and our priority continues to be to support energy efficiency, develop Scotland’s huge renewable resource and to promote storage and flexibility.

Question reference: S6W-07680

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what financial support it will offer to people who are detrimentally affected by the upcoming increase to the energy price cap.

Through our £290 million Cost of Living support package, we will give 1.85 million (73%) of Scottish households £150 of extra support via the Council Tax. We have also allocated a further £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund, which is aimed at those in greatest need.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund is delivered through trusted third sector partner organisations, providing direct support to people at risk of severely self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely, due to the cost of their fuel bills. Assistance can be accessed by households on any tariff type and using any fuel source.

Question reference: S6W-07640

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings it has held with the health trade unions to discuss pay for 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-07865

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage will be included in the work to make an informed policy decision on the contribution of North Sea production to the global climate emergency and to Scotland’s economy, security and wellbeing, as outlined in the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party Shared Policy Programme, in light of the programme stating that “we do not have an entirely shared vision for the role of hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage across the whole economy”.

As part of the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Green Party, the Scottish Government has committed to undertaking a Programme of Work and analysis to better understand our energy requirements as we transition to net zero and how this aligns with our climate change targets and the goal of the Paris agreement to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

The Programme of Work will provide a balanced and informed analysis of the role that technologies such as hydrogen and CCUS can play in our just transition to net zero – with a focus on the potential of the sector, and its infrastructure and assets. The Scottish Government published its draft Hydrogen Action Plan on 10 November 2021 and will publish the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan in Autumn 2022.