Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

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 ��˿�� 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: S6O-03994

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-30882

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 11 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measurable objectives it has for building cohesive communities.

Community cohesion stretches across a number of policy themes and outcomes. For example, our Vision for Justice three year delivery plan remains to deliver a just, safe resilient Scotland. This will see us living in safer, more tolerant and inclusive communities, free from inequality and hate. We are progressing with delivering on our three year plan, and key milestones. We also continue to promote the use of the Place Standard Tool as an effective tool for community engagement, including within community planning and spatial planning. It includes themes and prompts relating to exploring community cohesion, and its use can in itself promote trust and increased participation in decision making, as well as drive improvements in neighbourhood quality. We don’t have formal measurable objectives regarding use of the tool.

The report Social Capital and Community Wellbeing in Scotland (published on 1 October 2024) provides a measure of social capital that includes ‘community cohesion’ as one of the four domains, and it provides a range of measures to track community cohesion over time and broken down by geography and population subgroups.

Question reference: S6W-30883

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 8 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made with developing the toolkit for local authorities to build cohesive communities, and when this will be published.

Question reference: S6O-03964

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to improving the living costs support available to part-time disabled students.

Question reference: S6W-30733

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the research that it commissioned on the experience of Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland during the so-called Tinker Experiment, which was originally due to be completed in September 2024.

Question reference: S6W-30466

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the timeline is for the introduction of the proposed The Promise Bill.

The Scottish Government is committed to keep The Promise by 2030 and has recently set out further detail on activity underway in our

This includes a continued commitment to introduce a Promise Bill by the end of this parliamentary session, dependent on wider pressures on the Parliamentary legislative calendar. The Scottish Government continue to work with partners, including The Promise Scotland and COSLA, to identify areas where a legislative direction may support delivery of The Promise. There are a number of public consultations underway which, where appropriate, will inform any legislative change required. This is supported by a programme of engagement and participation with the care experienced community which is being led by Who Cares? Scotland and Barnardo’s.

Question reference: S6W-29999

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what date (a) it currently anticipates that CMAL will deliver the Glen Sannox to CalMac, (b) the operator currently anticipates that it will begin delivery to operational sea trials of the vessel and (c) it currently anticipates that the Glen Sannox will enter service on the Troon-Brodick route.

In his most recent letter to the NZET committee on 12 September, the interim Chief Executive of Ferguson Marine indicated that the handover date for MV Glen Sannox of 30 September 2024 was delayed by around two weeks. Following successful Builder’s LNG sea trials the vessel is on track for delivery by mid-October 2024.

Following delivery there will be a period of familiarisation needed by the operator, usually around 6-8 weeks, to conduct further owner’s sea and berthing trials and conduct final operational readiness preparations before she is ready to enter service.

CalMac anticipate the vessel entering service on the Troon-Brodick route around the end of November based on current planning assumptions.

Question reference: S6W-29962

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many buildings in Scotland that have significant evacuation challenges, such as hospitals and care settings, have been identified as having unsafe cladding.

As set out in question S6W-29963 which was answered on 24 September 2024, there are 107 entries in the pilot phase of the Cladding Remediation Programme. Entries in the pilot can comprise a single block or building, or a development, or part of a development consisting of multiple blocks or buildings.

Only a Single Building Assessment meeting the Scottish Standards can identify what cladding if any, a building has and further identify whether the cladding is unsafe.

Developers, homeowners or other organisations could have commissioned assessments without informing the Scottish Government. Therefore, the true number may be higher and could increase as further information becomes available.

In terms of the health service, there are no hospitals in Scotland with significant evacuation challenges and unsafe cladding.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6O-03794

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to NHS Ayrshire and Arran, in light of reports that the health board requires over £85 million to cover the cost of backdated repairs.

Question reference: S6W-29969

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 24 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that all unsafe cladding in Scotland will be removed or remediated.