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: S6W-27491

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many people currently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes have made requests to their NHS board to access hybrid closed loop systems, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-27453

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether any repair work has been required on the 16 R100 subsea cables to Scottish islands, broken down by (a) year and (b) cost of repair.

Question reference: S6W-27546

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the delivery of 10% of new affordable housing in rural areas, as set out in its Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan, is an equitable figure, in light of reports that 17% of Scotland’s overall population lives in rural areas.

Our 110,000 affordable homes target includes that “at least” 10% of those homes will be delivered in rural and island areas. We allocate Affordable Housing Supply Programme funding to local authority areas based on our Strategic Housing Investment Framework agreed with COSLA in 2012. Local authorities then prioritise the use of this funding as outlined in their Strategic Housing Investment Plans. This includes the size, tenure and location of homes.

We are investing in rural and island areas through both our mainstream Affordable Housing Supply Programme as well as demand-led funds including the Rural and Island Housing Fund and the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund which are part of our approach to addressing the specific housing issues that rural and island areas face. From 2016-2017 to 2022-23 we have supported the delivery of 10,094 affordable homes in rural and island areas. This accounted for 16% of homes delivered over this time period.

We will invest nearly £600m in affordable homes this year including our demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund and Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund.

Question reference: S6W-27452

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many properties on the 15 islands that had R100 subsea cables installed are (a) still due to be connected in R100 contracts and (b) have been connected as a result of R100 contracts, broken down by island.

The number of premises that are either due to be delivered or have been delivered on the 15 islands that have had new subsea cables installed as part of the Scottish Government’s £600 million R100 contracts are in the following table.

Island	Local Authority	Number Of Premises In Contracts	Number of Premises Delivered	Number of Premises Still To Be Delivered
Colonsay	Argyll and Bute	175	0	175
Iona	Argyll and Bute	146	0	146
Lismore	Argyll and Bute	151	143	8
Eigg	Highlands	33	0	33
Eday	Orkney	123	0	123
Flotta	Orkney	74	0	74
Hoy	Orkney	332	0	332
Rousay	Orkney	162	0	162
Sanday	Orkney	317	0	317
Shapinsay	Orkney	183	0	183
Stronsay	Orkney	206	0	206
Fair Isle	Shetland	51	48	3
Unst	Shetland	497	0	497
Whalesey	Shetland	199	0	199
Yell	Shetland	596	383	213

These are the latest verified delivery figures from 31st March 2024

All of the island build will be gigabit capable – more than 30 times faster than the Scottish Government’s original commitment and providing future-proofed connectivity for decades to come.

Question reference: S6W-27451

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any trunk road upgrades that may be needed in the future, broken down by (a) section and (b) local authority area, as well as the date that the repair work (i) was first identified as required and (ii) is projected to be completed by.

Transport Scotland conducts machine-based based surveys using specialist vehicles each year to gather information on the surface integrity of the road; the friction characteristics of the surface; and the structural capacity (strength) of the underlying road construction. This provides an annual snapshot of the changing road condition across the network, which is supplemented with a series of targeted inspections completed under the term maintenance contract to obtain specific information about the road asset.

The combined information is used as part of an annual cycle to determine maintenance programmes and investment requirements. This annual process results in the production of a 3-year Programme, which is reviewed and refined in light of available funding until a final programme is determined.

A copy of the latest three-year programme can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 65070) and it sets out the works that are currently proposed for delivery over the three period from April 2024 until March 2027. The works are listed by road/route and the Section References are provided but the data is not available grouped by local authority area. Delivery of these works is subject to the availability of funding and operational constraints.

Longer term the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), published in December 2022, notes that investing in the Trunk Road and Motorway network is important in order to improve safety and resilience of the network for the communities and businesses of Scotland. STPR2 recommendations for strategic roads focus on safety, climate change adaptation and resilience. For safety improvements these will be a primary, but not exclusive, focused on rural sections.

Question reference: S6W-27547

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken by the Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group since it was established.

Question reference: S6W-27542

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to support the work of the Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group in each year since it was established.

The Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group is supported by officials from the Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands portfolio, and a small amount of funding will be dedicated to supporting the Rural Delivery Plan.

The Rural Delivery Plan is an opportunity to set out the actions that government is and will be taking which impact rural, island and rural coastal communities, with funding from across ministerial portfolios benefiting rural Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27545

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards developing a Rural Delivery Plan.

Preparatory work and engagement is underway to develop the Rural Delivery Plan. A data dashboard was published in December 2023, measurable objectives are being considered and investment mapped. The Rural Scotland Data Dashboard can be found at .

Minutes from the Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group are publicly available and provide details of key developments of the Rural Delivery Plan. Minutes can be found online at .

Question reference: S6W-27544

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group will next meet.

Question reference: S6W-27328

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any studies to monitor the number of (a) further and (b) higher education graduates that leave the Highlands and Islands region, and, if so, whether it will publish details of this.

The Scottish Government has not conducted any specific studies to monitor the number of further or higher education graduates that leave the Highlands and Islands region. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) collect and publish information on those entering and completing College and University courses across Scotland. However, this information is not published at a regional level.