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 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.

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Question reference: S6W-00499

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to concerns that there is an increased risk of pollution from sewage in Luss Bay and across Loch Lomond following heavy rainfall events, which are reportedly increasing in frequency.

Luss Bay has a designated Bathing Water and is given special protection to ensure it is safe for people to swim in during the bathing season, which normally runs from 1 June to 15 September. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has determined the current bathing water quality classification at Luss Bay as 'sufficient" and reports that there has not been any significant deterioration in annual trends at this location. The storm rainfall event last summer on 5 August 2020, did result in a poor water quality, but this was predicted by SEPA, and an appropriate poor water quality warning to the public was in place via SEPA’s real time electronic signage.

The public sewerage network in Luss, including Luss Bay, is a relatively small catchment and there are no combined sewer overflows from Scottish Water’s network in this vicinity to Loch Lomond. The Luss public sewerage network drains to Scottish Water’s Waste Water Treatment Works (WwTW). During the bathing season, to protect bathing water quality, Luss WwTW uses ultraviolet treatment to disinfect the sewage effluent. Scottish Water works with SEPA very closely and through regular monitoring has not found issues with respect to its discharge in the area. The final effluent discharge from the WwTW is sampled on a regular basis and Scottish Water is not aware of breaches of its license parameters.

Overall, SEPA classifies the environmental water quality of Loch Lomond as good for the north area and moderate for the south due to impacts from agriculture. Through River Basin Management Planning, carried out by SEPA on behalf of the Scottish Government, measures are planned to address the impacts from agriculture to ensure Loch Lomond can recover to good water quality status. SEPA and Scottish Water have also worked together to inspect the sewer network along the beach area at Luss Bay and no issues have been discovered.

Of course, the Scottish Government will continue to work together with stakeholders to ensure bathing waters reach the best possible status.

Question reference: S6W-00481

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 04 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce legislation that will require calorie-labelling on all foodstuffs, similar to that announced by the UK Government.

The Out of Home sector has an important role to play in providing access to affordable, healthier food and in helping people make informed choices.

Our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan includes specific actions to help families make healthier choices, including when eating out. As part of this, we are considering consulting on mandatory calorie labelling for food and drink purchased out of home.

The Delivery Plan is at https://www.gov.scot/publications/healthier-future-scotlands-diet-healthy-weight-delivery-plan/ .

Question reference: S6W-00501

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that some letting agents and landlords are still charging tenants reference fees, despite this practice being prohibited under the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Act 2011, what action it has taken to enforce the prohibition of charging such fees.

The Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 made it an offence to charge or receive any premium or require the making of any loan in addition to rent and a refundable deposit of no more than two months’ rent as a condition of the grant, renewal or continuance of a tenancy. This was further amended in 2011 to place beyond any doubt that such fees were illegal premiums. This position is reiterated in the statutory Letting Agent Code of Practice which came into force on 31 January 2018.

Prospective tenants who think they have been charged an illegal premium can refuse to pay, where tenants think they have paid an illegal premium they can raise an action to recover any fee paid through the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), there is no charge for this, or report the matter to Police Scotland.

In addition, where the person charging a fee is a letting agent, tenants can make an application to the Tribunal in relation to a breach of the Code of Practice. Where an agent is found to have breached the Code of Practice the Tribunal can issue a Letting Agent Enforcement Order that could include provision for the return of any prohibited fee.

Letting agents are required to be registered and to comply with the Letting Agents Code of Practice, which sets out the standards on how they manage their business and provide their services. This includes complying with relevant legislation and to have in place a complaints procedure. Concerns about a letting agent can be raised with the Letting Agent Registration team at the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-00529

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area were discharged when it was not fit to do so in each year since 2017-18.

Question reference: S6W-00576

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been recorded on the palliative care register in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

This information is not collected centrally on a national palliative care register, however, under the Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (Scotland) Directions 2018, Health Boards should each have a local Palliative Care Scheme in place to ensure that patients within their areas who reach the last days of their life receive appropriate high quality care. Health Boards are responsible for contracting with GP practices in their areas to assess patients appropriately.

Question reference: S6W-00568

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it uses to determine whether countries are listed as (a) red, (b) amber or (c) green on its international travel and managed isolation regime.

Decisions on the risk rating for individual countries is made on the basis of assessments by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, using a methodology endorsed by the four UK Chief Medical Officers. This takes into account incidence and test positivity, presence of variants of concern, and capability for genomic surveillance in that country, to reach a red, amber or green rating. The travel regulations are devolved public health measures, but we work with the other nations of the UK to come to a consistent view wherever we can.

For example, the recent decision to move Portugal onto the amber list was not one taken lightly. However it was necessary following evidence of rising incidence and higher test positivity than in Scotland. It also showed a strain of the Delta variant with an additional mutation that could mean vaccine resistance. It is therefore vital that we regularly review this data and take the right decisions for Scotland, in order to limit importation of the virus and not reverse progress with the vaccine rollout.

Question reference: S6O-00060

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to an NASUWT Scotland survey, which suggests that 53% of teachers have considered leaving the profession in the last year, feeling demoralised, unsupported and unrecognised.

Question reference: S6O-00052

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the economic recovery of town centres.

Question reference: S6O-00061

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to schools to enable them to hold modified sports events that can be attended by parents and carers.

Question reference: S6O-00055

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the business sector regarding the current COVID-19 regulations.