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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-18849

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to prevent landlords from banning tenants keeping pets in a property without good reason, in light of similar plans in other jurisdictions.

We are aware of the proposals in the Renters (Reform) Bill in England introduced last month. The Shared Policy Programme in August 2021, followed by our ‘New Deal for Tenants’ consultation in December 2021 sought views on proposals to strengthen the rights of tenants including, specifically, greater rights to have a pet.

Our proposals for reform are in development ahead of a future Housing Bill. The timing and content of that Housing Bill is currently being considered as we continue to deliver our emergency response to support tenants through the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-18862

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals own land holdings of over 500 hectares.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that that on 13 June 2023, out of the 2025 registered titles with a footprint area over 500 ha, 801 are owned exclusively by one or more natural persons.

A further 15 titles are leased exclusively by one or more natural persons and 2 are mixed tenure titles registered under the Land Registration (Scotland) 1979 Act.

These figures exclude titles where a natural person may be acting in a special capacity (e.g. as a trustee or partner), as well as titles with a complex proprietorship structure consisting of a mix of natural and non-natural persons acting in various capacities.

Of the 616 areas of unregistered land over 500 ha, which have been linked to a Sasines Search Sheet in the RoS Unlocking Sasines dataset, an estimated 245 are owned exclusively by one or more natural persons.

Question reference: S6W-18860

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many land holdings in Scotland are over 500 hectares in size, and what total area of land is covered by land holdings of over 500 hectares.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that that on 13 June 2023, there were 2,025 Registered titles in the Land Register of Scotland where the total footprint of the title exceeds 500 ha. Together, these titles comprise a combined footprint of 2,813,263 ha.

A further 256 draft titles which are currently undergoing registration for the first time look set to also exceed this threshold once registration is complete. The expected combined footprint for these titles will be around 448,361 ha, which may include rights which overlap with already registered titles.

The figures above include outright ownership as well as long-term leases.

A further 616 unregistered areas of land, each with homogenous ownership and an indicative extent over 500 ha, have been linked to a Sasines Search Sheet in the RoS Unlocking Sasines dataset. These unregistered areas comprise an indicative extent of 1,739,070 ha, with no overlapping rights present.

Question reference: S6W-18966

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what impact any increased incident response times by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have on the safety of the general public and people endangered or affected by incidents.

Question reference: S6W-18963

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reported withdrawal of fire appliances at Maryhill, Govan and Cowcaddens in Glasgow, Kingsway East in Dundee, Greenock, Dunfermline, Glenrothes, Methil, Perth and Hamilton will have on the safety of the public.

The safety of those in our communities is paramount for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service decision to temporarily remove these appliances was made following detailed modelling using historic incident data and a robust assessment of the risks present in the communities those fire stations cover. SFRS will continue to respond to every incident in Scotland with the appropriate level of resources

Question reference: S6W-19286

Asked by: John Swinney, MSP for Perthshire North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the next paper in the Building a New Scotland series.

I am pleased to inform the Parliament that the Scottish Government is continuing to deliver on its commitment to give people the information they need to make an informed choice about their future, and is today publishing Creating a Modern Constitution for an Independent Scotland.

The fourth paper in the Building a New Scotland series sets out the proposals for developing a written constitution for an independent Scotland, providing the opportunity to replace the sovereignty of the Westminster Parliament with the sovereignty of the people in Scotland.

The paper sets out how the people of Scotland would have the direct opportunity to shape and build a better country. It contains this Government’s proposals for how an independent Scotland could put in place an ambitious written constitution, that would enshrine and protect rights. A written constitution for Scotland, designed by the people who live here, could also protect key features of Scotland’s democracy, such as the Scottish Parliament and the courts, and provide constitutional recognition of the NHS in Scotland, giving people the right to access a system of health care, available free at the point of need.

The Scottish Government intends to seek agreement of the Parliamentary Bureau to a debate on this paper in the next week.

The next paper in the Building a New Scotland series will give more detail on citizenship in an independent Scotland and will be published in the summer.

Building a New Scotland: Creating a Modern Constitution for an Independent Scotland is available to view on the Scottish Government website from today at www.gov.scot/newscotland .

Question reference: S6W-18917

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 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18307 by Michael Matheson on 2 June 2023, how much is being spent on conducting the discovery surveys.

Question reference: S6W-18961

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns regarding a budget crisis within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, what action it plans to take to address this.

There is no budget crisis within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Scottish Government has provided a £14.4m increase in the budget cover for SFRS in 2023-24.

In common with all public bodies in Scotland it is right that SFRS continues to review its operations to ensure it is effective and delivering value for money. Decisions on how they spend their budget is a matter for the SFRS Board.

The Scottish Government is in close contact with SFRS on the management of its budget.

Question reference: S6W-18916

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 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18307 by Michael Matheson on 2 June 2023, by what date the discovery surveys will be completed.

Question reference: S6W-18863

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many private corporations own land holdings of over 500 hectares, and what total area of land is owned by private corporations with land holdings of over 500 hectares.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that that on 13 June 2023, out of the 2025 registered titles with a footprint area over 500 ha, 432 are owned exclusively by a company. These titles comprise a combined footprint area of 939,133 ha.

A further 213 titles are leased exclusively by a company and 2 are mixed tenure titles registered under the Land Registration (Scotland) 1979 Act.

This figure excludes public bodies, charities, trusts, and titles with a complex proprietorship structure consisting of a mix of natural and non-natural persons acting in various capacities.

Of the 616 unregistered areas of land over 500 ha, which have been linked to a Sasines Search Sheet in the RoS Unlocking Sasines dataset, an estimated 189 are owned by a company. Together, these areas comprise an indicative area of 667,178 ha.