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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-00379

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether an economic impact assessment has been conducted in respect to the lockdown restrictions in the Falkirk Council area, and, if so, whether it will publish this assessment.

The virus continues to have severe direct impacts on people’s health, and the potential to put significant pressures on NHS capacity. For this reason, and to tackle the new, faster-spreading Delta variant, we have made the difficult decision to delay a move to Level 1 for some Local Authorities which have displayed high or rapidly increasing levels of incidence.

The decision to allocate areas to a Level, finely balances the need to control the virus and to minimise the wider economic and social harms of the restrictions. Consideration of the economic harms from Covid (Harm 4) is factored into the design of the Levels themselves, and a 4 Harms Assessment was undertaken on these Levels when they were last updated and published.

On 1 June, we published Coronavirus (COVID-19): Protection Levels allocation to local councils which explains the basis on which Levels 2 and 1 were applied to local council areas in Scotland. The Government also has a legal duty to undertake statutory Impact Assessments when Regulations concerning the Levels are changed. These include Equalities, Islands, Child Rights/Wellbeing, and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessments, and they are now published.

Question reference: S6W-00398

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider providing specific support for the mental health of people working in Glasgow, including self-employed people.

The Scottish Government is working with mental health organisations, employer groups and trade unions to improve mental health support in workplaces across Scotland.

In October 2020 we published our ‘Mental Health – Transition and Recovery’ plan which outlines our response to the mental health impacts of COVID-19. We have recently convened a short life working group aimed at addressing 3 key employment actions from the plan: Mentally Healthy Workplaces; Fair Work Practices; and Home Working.

The focus of the group will be on identifying the key challenges that businesses of all sizes, including self-employed people, will face in supporting the mental wellbeing of their workforce. We will review existing practice and identify any key gaps that may prevent a positive mental health and wellbeing culture within the workplace.

Question reference: S6W-00256

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 10 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated costs are for structural repair works to the M8 Woodside Viaducts in Glasgow.

Transport Scotland are preparing robust estimates for the all the works involved with the repairs to the viaduct. However, the current estimate for the propping to enable the M8 restrictions to be removed and facilitate the repair works is £33.36million. This estimate, and the delivery programme, is being refined to ensure value for money as detailed design progresses. Costs for the subsequent concrete repair works to the supports will be provided by Transport Scotland’s Operating Company, Amey, when the extent of the repair works and repair method is agreed.

Question reference: S6W-00205

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 10 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many electric charging points ChargePlace Scotland has installed in each year since 2012-13.

The shift to electric vehicles is an important part of responding to the climate emergency and improving air quality in our cities. To help incentivise this shift, the Scottish Government have invested over £45 million in Scotland’s own electric vehicle charging network, ChargePlace Scotland, which has steadily grown since 2012 with the highest number of installs being recorded in 2020 for both private and publicly owned charge points.

The ChargePlace Scotland network currently hosts 2080 electric vehicle charge points, which includes 335 charge points that are not available for public use but will support the blue light services, fleets and depot charging.

Year	Total	Public	Private
2013	122	122	0
2014	129	129	0
2015	277	277	0
2016	107	107	0
2017	170	170	0
2018	118	118	0
2019	321	267	54
2020	556	371	185
2021	280	184	96
	2080	1745	335

Question reference: S6W-00412

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had or plans with COSLA regarding fulfilling the Scottish National Party manifesto pledge that “we will increase the school uniform grant to at least £120 in primary school and £150 in secondary school”.

Question reference: S6W-00414

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide additional resources to local authorities to help fulfil the Scottish National Party manifesto pledge that “we will increase the school uniform grant to at least £120 in primary school and £150 in secondary school” and, if not, what proportion of the funding required to meet this commitment it will ask local authorities to contribute.

Question reference: S6W-00305

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the number of cases of infection is being used as a criterion to assess the threat of COVID-19, when it is disassociated from the number of hospital admittances and the number of deaths caused by COVID-19.

The coronavirus outbreak remains a real and sustained threat to human life in Scotland as well as to social and economic well-being. The Scottish Government has always relied on a range of indicators and criteria, combined with clinical advice and local intelligence about the state of epidemic, to construct a full, reliable, and robust picture of the threat posed by COVID-19 across the four harms.

On 14 May, we published Coronavirus (COVID-19) protective measures: indicators and data which sets out the indicators to assess the threat of Covid-19, and inform when and how we introduce, adapt, or ease protective measures. This includes core indicators, measuring both community transmission and healthcare capacity at a local level, and secondary indicators which provide critical information on viral concentration, prevalence and incidence of COVID-19 cases, testing (including access), vaccination, mortality, and hospitalisations at any given local level.

The scale and extent of our successful vaccination programme is enabling us to consider how we can respond to the virus moving forward. We are growing increasingly confident that vaccination is helping break the link between case numbers and hospitalisation and death. However, currently the evidence base remains insufficient, especially in light of the Delta variant, which we are currently attempting to better understand. That is why it is still important to keep cases as low as possible, to reduce the chances of transmission and new variants developing.

Question reference: S6O-00034

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the appointment of the new Makar.

Question reference: S6O-00043

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to tackle violence against women, particularly in relation to prostitution and purchasers of sex.

Question reference: S6O-00047

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility to the international minimum.