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-00104

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Home Office regarding the reported backlog in processing applications for the EU settlement scheme.

Question reference: S6T-00090

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis it has introduced a ban on non-essential travel between Scotland and Manchester and Salford.

Question reference: S6W-00942

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 June 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the three “harassment” reports that were published in March.

Question reference: S6W-00921

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the OECD report on Curriculum for Excellence published on 21 June 2021, and what the implications of the report are in relation to the planned reform of the SQA and Education Scotland.

I welcome the OECD’s report and can confirm that the Scottish Government is accepting the OECD’s 12 recommendations in full.

Recommendation 3.2 of the OECD’s report identifies the need to simplify and better align the institutional structures that support our education system. I therefore intend to replace the SQA with a new, specialist agency and I am minded to make this new body responsible for both curriculum and assessment, to ensure clarity, coherence and alignment as recommended by the OECD. I would like to thank teachers and all SQA staff for all their ongoing efforts to deliver qualifications in challenging circumstances this year.

The report found that having the inspectorate as part of an organisation that is also responsible for supporting school leaders, curriculum design and support, teacher professional learning and a range of other initiatives is an “unusual configuration”.

It is therefore my intention to move the inspection function out of Education Scotland.

During my statement to Parliament tomorrow, I will provide more details on how this will be taken forward, along with our overall response to the report and the other recommendations. I can give an assurance that we will engage widely and will consult on plans for implementation.

Question reference: S6W-00369

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33605 by Roseanna Cunningham on 10 December 2020, whether it will provide an update on the work to establish the new Litter Monitoring System, and by what date it expects the system to go live.

Zero Waste Scotland is continuing to work with Keep Scotland Beautiful, Association for Public Service Excellence, Local Authorities, the Improvement Service and SOLACE to implement a new Litter Monitoring System.

Zero Waste Scotland have been have been providing support to Keep Scotland Beautiful to trial the litter monitoring system. Training will begin over the next few months and will allow Local Authorities to use the system. The Local Environment Audit and Management System will continue to be used during this transition and it is expected to be fully replaced by the Litter Monitoring System for 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-00625

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on extending the concessionary travel scheme to apply to asylum seekers accommodated in Glasgow under the Home Office Dispersal Programme.

There is no specific eligibility criterion for asylum seekers in either the current Concessionary Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons or the new National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons. We do not plan to extend either scheme in this way.

However, asylum seekers resident in Scotland, like all others who are aged over 60 or meet the disability criteria, are able to apply for free bus travel under the Older and Disabled Person’s Scheme. Young asylum seekers meeting the eligibility criteria for the Young Persons Scheme will also be able to apply for free bus travel when the scheme is launched later in this financial year.

Question reference: S6W-00616

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what additional measures to end rough sleeping were brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and which will be continued following the lifting of restrictions across Scotland.

No one in Scotland should have to sleep rough and this is a commitment we reiterated in our updated Ending Homelessness Together action plan, published with COSLA in October 2020.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our priority has been to keep people safe and housing people without a settled home in emergency accommodation has been a public health imperative. In partnership with local authorities and the third sector, our quick and effective response dramatically reduced the number of people sleeping rough. We will continue to build on that success as restrictions lift.

In our Ending Homeless Together action plan we committed to modifying night shelter provision with a view to ending the use of night shelter and dormitory style provision in future. In winter 2020-21, we contributed to the cost of rapid rehousing welcome centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The centres offered hotel room accommodation and provided under-one-roof and multi-agency assessment for people at the sharpest end of homelessness. We will work with local authority and third sector partners to ensure there is no return to dormitory style night shelters in the future.

Local authorities are working hard to ensure people move as rapidly as possible through temporary accommodation and into settled accommodation, with the appropriate support. We are investing £37.5 million to support councils to prioritise settled accommodation through the implementation of rapid rehousing transition plans and the upscaling of Housing First for those facing the most challenges.

Question reference: S6W-00618

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what audit it has conducted to determine the costs and benefits of the duty on public bodies to maximise the receipts from land sales.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) provides clear guidance to public bodies on Property acquisition, disposal and management. There is no reference within that guidance to the maximising of receipts from the sale of land but rather a duty for each body subject to the SPFM to consider the most appropriate method for disposal either by:

1. obtaining the best possible price on the open market, or;

2. disposal of the asset at less than Market Value to deliver wider public benefits consistent with the principles of Best Value, or;

3. transfer under the Guidelines for the Transfer of Property within the Scottish Public Sector.

The costs and benefits of disposal via one of these routes will have been determined on a case by case basis when considering the method of disposal by the public body in question and any audit of such a transaction would be undertaken by Audit Scotland as part of their audit work. The duty of Best Value applies to all public bodies in Scotland and is a formal duty on Accountable Officers.

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 sets out the rights for community bodies to seek to acquire rights in any land and property held by a named public body. Guidance has been published both for relevant authorities and community bodies which explains the how any such application is to be handled. The legislation does not comment on whether disposals should be at market value or at a discount. As with all publicly-owned assets, where a disposal is being considered at less than market value, the public body decisions should be consistent with the principles of Best Value.

Question reference: S6W-00615

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with relevant public bodies about placing a legal duty on them to prevent homelessness.

In our Ending Homelessness Together action plan we committed to developing a new legislative duty on local authorities and wider public bodies for the prevention of homelessness. We commissioned an expert group – the Prevention Review Group - in October 2019 to make recommendations.

On 18 February 2021, the Prevention Review Group published its recommendations, which were developed in consultation with relevant organisations from across the public sector and third sector, frontline workers and people with lived experience of homelessness.

The recommendations highlight the importance of a whole-system, person-centred approach to preventing homelessness, for example through the work of health, education and justice services. We are now working with COSLA and our partners across the public and third sectors to discuss how we can put these recommendations into action and create the significant legislative change required. A key early stage will be a comprehensive programme of engagement across the public sector, including a public consultation, to inform the way forward.

Question reference: S6W-00619

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce legislation to place a duty on public bodies to prevent homelessness in its proposed Housing Bill, and whether that bill will be Introduced in 2021-22.

The recommendations we received from the Prevention Review Group are comprehensive and are likely to require significant updates to existing legislation as well as the development of new duties for the public sector. We are currently considering the most appropriate vehicles for implementing these changes which we will confirm in due course.

No decision on timings has yet been taken in relation to a new housing bill within this Parliament.