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-11816

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) self-funded and (b) council-funded care home places there have there been in each year since 1999, broken down by (i) care home and (ii) local authority area.

The number of resident places by funding category (i.e. self-funded/publicly funded) is not available. However, Public Health Scotland have published the estimated number of long stay residents in care homes for older people by funding category and by local authority since 2009.

a) i) This information is not held centrally and is not published by Public Health Scotland.

a) ii) These figures are available in two parts:

contains figures from 2012 - 2022. The figures can be found in the “Funding and Charges” section of the dashboard.

contains figures from 2009 – 2011. The figures can be found in Table 13C of the accompanying Care Home Census Data Tables.

b) i) This information is not held centrally and is not published by Public Health Scotland.

b) ii) These figures are available in two parts:

contains figures from 2012 - 2022. The figures can be found in the “Funding and Charges” section of the dashboard.

contains figures from 2009 – 2011. The figures can be found in Table 13C of the accompanying Care Home Census Data Tables.

Question reference: S6W-11386

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of its Budget has been allocated to local government spending in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Local Government annually through the Local Government settlement. This is made up of a combination of the general revenue grant, general capital grant, income from non-domestic rates as well as specific revenue and capital grants.

Included in the table (BIB 63725) is the Local Government budget following the annual Spring Budget Revision ('SBR') as a proportion of both the Scottish Governments total fiscal budget excluding FTs (i.e. its discretionary spending limit) as well as its Total Managed expenditure. Note that the SBR budget figure does not include amounts provided by other portfolios via grant funding to local government.

Given the changes in the Scottish Governments devolved powers since devolution it is not possible to draw a direct comparison between the funding levels since 1999. To illustrate this point we would note that in 2013-14 funding of over £1bn in respect of Police and Fire was removed from Local Government.

Question reference: S6W-11813

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) assessment it has made of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, and (b) potential lessons can learned for Scotland.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting all survivors of childhood abuse. We are currently considering the evidence, findings and recommendations which have come out of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales, and will do the same for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry when it reports the outcome of its investigations in due course. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry continues to investigate the abuse of children in care in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-01530

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what actions are being taken to end the practice of children living in temporary accommodation, in light of recent homelessness statistics.

Question reference: S6W-11817

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a Help to Buy scheme for veterans, to support veterans and their families when buying a home.

Question reference: S6W-11814

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been helped through the Help to Buy scheme in each year since its introduction.

Question reference: S6W-11444

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding tenancies that have indexed or fixed rent increases as part of their contractual agreements, whether the provisions set out in the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill overwrite these contracts and lease arrangements, and, in instances where rent was previously set to increase after a certain date according to a contract, whether this will still happen, or whether it is now frozen.

Provisions within Part 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, introduce a temporary cap on in-tenancy rent increases, which is set at 0% until at least 31 March 2023.

The following tenancies are not covered by the rent cap:

some assured tenancies where rent increases are controlled by the contract - if a tenant has an assured tenancy where the way their rent will increase is set out in their contract - and the emergency legislation is still legally in force - then rent will be able to increase in the way agreed in the contract;
regulated tenancies under the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 - these tenancies already have strong protections in place, and rents for these tenancies can only increase once every three years;
common law tenancies - this includes arrangements like agricultural tenancies and lodger agreements (where a tenant lives with a landlord in their home), with the exception of student tenancy agreements; and new tenancies.

Question reference: S6W-11442

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding new tenancy agreements whereby the tenant remains the same person, whether this is within the scope of the provisions set out in the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill for the purposes of a rent cap, or whether an actual gap in time between the tenancies is required.

Provisions within Part 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, introduce a temporary cap on in-tenancy rent increases. The cap is set at 0% until at least 31 March 2023.

This means that a landlord is able to set the rent for any new tenancy and is allowed to put the rent up between one tenant moving out and the next tenant moving in.

Where a tenant remains the same person, but is required, in line with statutory processes, to be issued with a new tenancy agreement, the rent cap provisions within the Act do not apply.

Question reference: S6W-11395

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that any reduced capacity in the cancer services workforce is not limiting patient choice and equitable access to treatment.

Cancer remains a priority for the Scottish Government with NHS Scotland continuing to prioritise urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) referrals and delivering high-quality care, in the safest possible way, to those who need it most. We’re continuing to invest in cancer pathways to improve waiting times, including through up-skilling nurses and have begun testing the use of Single Points of Contact in cancer pathways to support patients from the point of referral.

In addition, we have stood up a National Oncology Taskforce of NHS Board Chief Executives and Medical Directors to seek national solutions to ensure long term resilience of oncology services in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-11392

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it will accelerate clinical research and development to encourage participation in clinical trials for people living in remote and rural areas.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling health inequalities and providing access to the highest quality of care for all. We work across the clinical research system to ensure sponsors of clinical studies understand their ethical and legal responsibilities, including increasing equitable access to clinical trials. We recognise the benefits of innovative approaches to the future of clinical trials, including the opportunities presented by increased use of data and digital technologies, and learning from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.