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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 MSPs 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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-19087

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the parameters and methodology of its electricity systems modelling analysis that was used to inform its draft Energy Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-19081

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether Contracts for Difference for wind farms in Scotland include the cost of decommissioning wind farms at the end of life.

Question reference: S6W-18919

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15222 by Lorna Slater on 6 March 2023, when it plans to update the guidance to local authorities, and whether it plans for Deposit Return Scheme recycling data to be attributed either to the local authority where a scheme article is returned, or where a recycling facility is located.

Question reference: S6W-19136

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service have been responded to (a) within (i) under 10, (ii) 10 to 29, (iii) 30 to 59 and (iv) 60 to 120 and (b) after over 120 minutes in each calendar year since 2016, also broken down by NHS board area.

Question reference: S6W-18925

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18307 by Michael Matheson on 2 June 2023, what business continuity plans are being prepared for buildings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Question reference: S6W-18915

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18307 by Michael Matheson on 2 June 2023, how the findings of individual discovery surveys will be shared with the (a) Parliament and (b) public.

Question reference: S6W-19079

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the average strike price is under the Contracts for Difference scheme of the operational wind farms in Scotland, given in (a) 2012 prices and (b) current prices.

Question reference: S6W-19105

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the full membership of the New Deal for Business Group, co-chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy.

The New Deal for Business Group membership is now published on the Scottish Government Website ( Business: New Deal for Business Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Representation is across a range of business sectors, sizes and locations in both the Group’s membership as well as members and contributors to the five subgroup’s led by Scottish Government and Business. After June, the membership and frequency of the Group will be reviewed as we move to the implementation phase.

Question reference: S6W-19088

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its policy on energy production in Scotland, what assessment it has made of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study, The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World, which states that “the least-cost portfolios include an important share for nuclear".

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study considers the potential contribution nuclear can make as a dispatchable low-carbon technology.

The report states: “The fundamental problem is cost. Other generation technologies have become cheaper in recent decades, while new nuclear plants have only become costlier.”

As set out in our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, rather than new nuclear, it is significant growth in renewables, such as wind power, as well as investment in storage, hydrogen and carbon capture which will provide the best pathway for Scotland to achieve net zero by 2045.

Question reference: S6W-18938

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it (a) can take and (b) is taking to ensure that workers' rights are properly enforced in Scotland.

While labour market enforcement is a reserved matter, the Scottish Government is committed to promoting positive outcomes for workers and their rights. Last year, we published our Refreshed Fair Work action plan that set out our vision for Scotland to become leading Fair Work Nation by 2025, where Fair Work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, organisations and society.

To that end, public sector grant recipients must agree to a specific criteria, as part of the Fair Work First program, to be eligible for funding. We believe that public sector funding should generate broader gains, enhancing a sustainable and prosperous wellbeing economy. Fair Work First criteria have been attached to some £4 billion of public funding since 2019.

Furthermore, Scottish Government has provided £250,000 each year for the last 7 years through the Trade Union Fair Work and Modernisation Fund, which has supported unions in implementing Fair Work in Scotland's workplaces.

However, we are aware we are limited to what we can achieve and that only with independence can we realise our full potential. In a 'Building a New Scotland: A Stronger Economy with Independence', we outlined plans to offer comprehensive employment rights including flexible working, parental leave, and unfair dismissal claims on day one of workers taking up employment. It also set out how we would prevent exploitation in the gig economy by providing written statements of status and conditions from the first day of work.