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: S6T-01989

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that the reported legal action raised against it by Biffa and any potential actions by other companies that incurred expenditure in expectation of the Deposit Return Scheme being implemented are successful and lead to any financial losses, whether it will consider suing the UK Government in respect of any such losses, in light of its reported position that the UK Government is responsible for the scheme not proceeding in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-26861

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26188 by Angela Constance on 15 April 2024, in the event that the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill does not apply to Scotland, what consideration it is giving to how Scottish legislation would define any case involving the Horizon system in relation to which a person who was wrongfully convicted in Scotland should be exonerated, and whether it will propose a parliamentary debate on the issues arising from the Post Office Horizon system in Scotland following a ministerial update to the Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-26638

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's attendance at the meeting of the Conveners Group on 27 March 2024, and his statement that, if the details of some of the cases in Scotland were made public, people would be "horrified" if these convictions were overturned, whether it will publish any (a) advice and/or speaking notes that were provided to the First Minister as part of his attendance and (b) briefing that he has been provided on the cases in Scotland involving the Post Office's Horizon IT system.

Question reference: S6W-26639

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's attendance at the meeting of the Conveners Group on 27 March 2024, and his statement that, if the details of some of the cases in Scotland were made public, people would be "horrified" if these convictions were overturned, whether it will detail which specific cases the First Minister was referring to; what specific advice he had received in relation to that assertion, and what consideration he has made of the individual cases in Scotland, and, if it cannot or will not detail which specific cases the First Minister was referring to, what its position is on how this will impact on any people who were wrongfully convicted in Scotland and who are still awaiting exoneration.

Question reference: S6W-26636

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the consultants, Deloitte, provided evidence to the Post Office in 2017 suggesting that errors in the Horizon IT system or remote tampering could have caused the financial losses that were being investigated, what its position is on whether any convictions in Scotland that involved evidence related to the Horizon IT system (a) can be considered safe and (b) should be quashed.

The Scottish Government believes that the Post Office Horizon scandal is a unique situation requiring urgent action to ensure those wrongly convicted can finally access justice. Whilst the determination of innocence or guilt in criminal cases is usually rightly a matter for the judiciary, the situation arising is unprecedented in its scale and nature.

The Scottish Government can confirm that a Bill is currently going through the usual parliamentary process and will be introduced shortly.

The Scottish Bill will need to be passed after the UK Bill has been passed, to take account of any amendments made during passage at Westminster. This is to ensure full compatibility with UK legislation and the UK compensation scheme, in which the Scottish parliament has no locus, as we do not want to see anything that could lead to sub-postmasters not being treated on and equal and fair basis.

Question reference: S6O-03394

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding undertaking an immediate review of the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011, in order to allow proactive water course management to assist farmers, crofters and land managers to protect agricultural land from flooding risks themselves.

Question reference: S6W-26642

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what security, guarantee or other assurance was provided to Biffa in relation to its obligations under the contract that it entered into with Circularity Scotland, and whether it will publish the full details of these, including any letters or other written documentation.

The contract between Biffa and Circularity Scotland Ltd was a contract between two private companies. The Scottish Government provided no security, guarantee or other assurance to Biffa in relation to its obligations under the contract that it entered into with Circularity Scotland.

The Scottish Government regularly confirmed our continuing commitment to DRS in Parliament, in public statements, and to those businesses and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of DRS. A letter was sent to Biffa in May 2022 confirming the government’s commitment to DRS.

Question reference: S6W-26645

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the oral evidence by representatives of the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 21 June 2023, what information it has on when the loan of £9 million from SNIB to Circularity Scotland was drawn down, including what sums were paid to Circularity Scotland by SNIB and on what dates, and whether it will publish any documents that it has on this matter, including any correspondence that it has had with SNIB regarding any such payments and the loan generally.

The Scottish Government has routine and regular discussions with the Scottish National Investment Bank on a range of matters. However, the Bank makes independent decisions on individual investments and the terms attached to those investments following extensive due diligence and risk assessment in line with other commercial investors and other development banks. Scottish Ministers and officials have no role in those decisions and/or the relationship between the Bank and the businesses in which it invests. The Scottish Government therefore does not hold information on when the loan to CSL was drawn down.

Question reference: S6W-26643

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to sue the UK Government in respect of any losses that the (a) Scottish Government and (b) Scottish National Investment Bank incurs as a result of the Deposit Return Scheme not proceeding.

Question reference: S6W-26644

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it stating that the UK Government is responsible for the Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland not proceeding, which will reportedly result in an estimated loss of £9 million of public funding, whether, following the completion of the liquidation of Circularity Scotland, it will attempt to recover any such losses from the UK Government.