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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: S6O-00801

Asked by: Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee City West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its action to decarbonise buses.

Question reference: S6O-00794

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local authorities to ensure that disabled and partially sighted people are able to participate in the 2022 local government elections.

Question reference: S6O-00810

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that farms are at the cutting edge of innovation and technology.

Question reference: S6W-06420

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 23 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reserves of an independent Scottish central bank would be funded entirely from an independent Scottish budget.

Question reference: S6W-06255

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what specifically the recently announced funding of up to £5 million allocated to local authorities to help with classroom ventilation has been spent on.

All local authorities have been informed of their potential allocations from the up-to-£5 million fund. Our funding letter makes clear that remedial action should be undertaken in line with guidance on ventilation, with problematic spaces prioritised for action.

We have also agreed updated reporting arrangements with local authorities to ensure an appropriate understanding of how and to what extent funding is being used to support remedial action.

We will provide an update to the Education, Children and Young People Committee in due course, subject to receipt of local authority returns.

Question reference: S6W-06379

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05319 by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022, in the case of the site of the Dalzell steelworks, whether potential contaminated land would be (a) dealt with through the development planning system and (b) subject to voluntary remediation, and whether the costs for carrying out site investigation and any required remediation would be the responsibility of (i) the site owner or (ii) a future developer.

While the site continues to operate on the basis of the current operational functions there is no cause to look towards any environmental remediation. As outlined in the previous answer, any environmental remediation follows in a situation where operational licences are being handed back and are dealt with on a regulatory basis. The polluter pays principles are used to ensure that the land can be remediated to another purpose if this is required. When dealing with potentially contaminated land through either the development planning system, or if voluntary remediation is undertaken, it is for the developer or landowner to investigate and assess the extent of contamination and undertake any remediation that would be required. These remain hypothetical scenarios as the current site is operating and continuing to produce steel.

Question reference: S6W-06315

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 23 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to communities in LOT 1 of its R100 broadband programme, in light of reports that, due to high interest in Openreach's Fibre Community Partnership programme, the company has had to temporarily pause new registrations while focussing on existing requests.

Openreach’s Fibre Community Partnership is a commercial offering and, therefore, the Scottish Government has no remit to intervene in their operation of that scheme, given the reserved nature of telecoms in the UK.

Properties, including those in the R100 North lot (Lot 1), may be eligible for a voucher through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme – either an interim voucher (worth up to £400) or a main voucher (worth up to £5,000), depending on connection status. People can check their eligibility using our online checker at www.scotlandsuperfast.com .

Question reference: S6W-06085

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to facilitate access for businesses to information on COVID-19 outbreaks by area, in light of reports of insurance companies requiring evidence of this, prior to processing claims.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published guidance on what is reasonable for a policyholder to rely on to satisfy the burden of proof for claims against Business Interruption Insurance. This includes, but is not limited to, a range of publicly available data including the Public Health Scotland Daily Dashboard which provides information about the location of positive cases in Scotland.

We have been as open and transparent as possible, with professional analysts publishing available data seven days a week to inform the public on how the pandemic is progressing. The data made available will continue to evolve over time to ensure the most relevant information is included, and it is fit for purpose. This supports public scrutiny and transparency, providing timely and equal access to data for the public, media and other commentators.

Work is underway with Public Health Scotland and other partners to review the content and frequency of all Scottish Government current data reporting to identify what is required to support resilience and recovery in the future. This will involve prioritising the modelling, data and analysis that is essential to support the future monitoring and surveillance of Covid. We also need to establish the data and evidence required to monitor the wider harms of Covid in the future. A data and reporting strategy will be published in Spring to support implementation of the Strategic Framework following consultation on any planned changes.

There is no evidence at this time to suggest that insurance companies are not following the FCA’s guidance or that there are any specific issues regarding access to data to support insurance claims being made by businesses in Scotland. The Scottish Government stands ready to work constructively with the United Kingdom Government, the FCA and the insurance industry and will engage with them specifically on this matter as part of regular ministerial and official engagement activity.

Question reference: S6W-06323

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 23 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the provision of full fibre broadband across the KA24 postcode area in North Ayrshire.

There are a total of 3,374 properties in the KA24 postcode area. As of 11 February 2022:

3,061 properties are already able to access superfast broadband speeds of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps) or above and, therefore, are not included within build plans for the Reaching 100% (R100) Central contract.
205 properties are within R100 Central contract build plans, with that build expected to be completed by the first half of 2023. They may be eligible for an interim voucher – worth up to £400 – through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and people can check their eligibility using our online checker at www.scotlandsuperfast.com . The interim voucher portion of the R100 SBVS was recently extended to 31 March 2022, giving people more time to secure a connection.
101 properties are not included within R100 Central contract build plans and, therefore, are eligible for a main voucher – worth up to £5,000 – through the R100 SBVS.

The remaining 7 properties are expected to receive superfast connections as a result of commercial coverage – they may also be eligible for an interim voucher through the R100 SBVS.

Question reference: S6W-06548

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 23 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it apportions and spends the revenue raised in Scotland from Vehicle Excise Duty.