Parliamentary questions
Sarah Boyack
2,373 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11628 by Neil Gray on 7 November 2022, what action it took following the letter received by the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture from the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) on 26 September 2022.
Answer · Neil Gray: Further to the answer to question S6W-11628, answered on 7 November 2022, I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-11493 on 26 October 2022, and S6T-00915 on 25 October 2022. The administration process is still ongoing, but I would like to assure the…
8 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Carnegie UK publication, Five steps to put wellbeing at the centre of policymaking in Scotland, which was published in 2022.
Answer · John Swinney: I welcome the recently published briefing from Carnegie UK and the five recommendations to put wellbeing at the centre of policymaking in Scotland. I look forward to their engagement as part of the forthcoming review of the National Outcomes. The National Pe…
1 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a timeline of when Historic Environment Scotland expects sites currently closed to the public as part of the high-level masonry programme will reopen, and what information it has on the budgets required to do this.
Answer · Neil Gray: The member can find details on the progress of the High Level Masonry inspections and the reopening of sites on the Historic Environment Scotland website at – https://www.historicenvironment.scot/conservation-works-happening-at-our-sites/ Historic Environm…
1 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the new £50 million fund for bringing homes back into use has been allocated, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Neil Gray: Since the Scottish Government's £50m Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund was launched on 22 September 2022, there has been two successful applications: Aberdeen City Council has been awarded up to £6.150m for up to 500 void properties on 28 October 2022. …
1 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the allocation of the additional £1 million support for Ukrainian refugees across local authorities.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government have allocated £1 million to support local authorities to date to cover the costs of welcome activities, such as access to meals, translation services and trauma support. We recognise that costs arising may go beyond the £1 million ini…
1 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the 23 awards made to date as part of the £8 million Cycling Facilities Fund, including the amount of each award and details of each project.
Answer · Maree Todd: 18 To date the Scottish Government and sportscotland (National Lottery) has funded 29 projects via the Cycling Facilities Fund, seven of which have been completed. The details and amounts of this funding can be found in the following table: Project Appli…
1 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £1 million Community Cycling Fund has been committed, and what consultation has been carried out with local authorities on how it has been spent.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Community Cycling Fund is initially a two-year programme funded by sportscotland and EventScotland and in partnership with the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. It is made up of two separate funding opportunities with investment awarded separately. T…
1 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the minutes of all meetings to date of the Industry Advisory Group.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government has created a web page for the Ministerial Industry Advisory Group for rest of UK Talent Attraction; Industry Advisory Group for rUK Talent Attraction - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Content will be updated regularly and a note of all me…
1 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the allocation of the £11.2 million housing support for Ukrainian refugees across local authorities.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government have committed £11.2 million to local government to increase the capacity of local resettlement teams, support refurbishment of properties and support integration work. We do not currently plan to publish a further breakdown of costs.
31 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many residents have been accommodated on the MS Ambition for more than (a) two, (b) four, (c) six, (d) eight, (e) 10, (f) 12 and (g) 14 weeks.
Answer · Neil Gray: This information is not collected by Scottish Government. We do collect information for the number of people accommodated on the MS Ambition. This is published in our monthly statistics on our website. The latest publication was on 20 October 2022 and can be…
31 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many residents have been accommodated on the MS Victoria for more than (a) two, (b) four, (c) six, (d) eight, (e) 10, (f) 12 and (g) 14 weeks.
Answer · Neil Gray: This information is not collected by Scottish Government. We do collect information for the number of people accommodated on the MS Victoria. This is published in our monthly statistics on our website. The latest publication was on 20 October 2022 and can be…
31 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the locations of all of the accommodation that it has supported local authorities to use to accommodate people through its Super Sponsor Scheme.
Answer · Neil Gray: We regularly review our temporary accommodation in order to provide the best support to our Ukrainian guests and do not want people spending any longer than necessary in temporary accommodation. Disclosing this information may result in a significant risk to …
28 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific support it has put in place to help unpaid older carers of adults with a learning disability to deal with with the cost of living crisis.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is in the final stages of preparing a Carers Strategy which will set out our long-term approach to unpaid carers’ social and financial inclusion. This will apply to different caring situations, including unpaid older carers of adults w…
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11743 by John Swinney on 25 October 2022, what discussions the Deputy First Minister has had with the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture and (b) Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development on the impa…
Answer · John Swinney: I have engaged with all Cabinet Secretaries collectively throughout the EBR process.
24 Oct 2022 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported “perfect storm” that the arts and culture sector is facing, in light of reports that organisations such as the Falkirk Town Hall, the Filmhouse in Edinburgh, the Belmont in Aberdeen and the Edinburgh International Film Festival recently ent…
12 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs incurred since 22 September 2022 to date, for the Lord Advocate's referral to the Supreme Court.
Answer · Angus Robertson: We will be publishing updated costs of the reference, including a breakdown of them, in December.
12 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the £113,955.10 spent up until 22 September 2022 on the Lord Advocate's referral to the Supreme Court.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The spending on the Lord Advocate’s reference to the Supreme Court as published on 22 September 2022 was on external legal fees. An additional £350 has been spent on Supreme Court filing fees.
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has carried out on its review of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answer · Neil Gray: Homes for Ukraine is the UK Government scheme and the Scottish Super Sponsor scheme works within it to offer an alternative route for displaced people from Ukraine to come to the UK. The review convened a number of experts from across national and local gov…
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11199 by Neil Gray on 4 October 2022, whether it will list the meetings that its (a) ministers and (b) officials have had with COSLA between March 2022 and October 2022 to discuss Scotland's welcome to Ukrainian refugees.
Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Government officials and COSLA are working together as a partnership to ensure all Ukrainian displaced people are supported during their time in Scotland. As they are a key stakeholder in this work, the Scottish Government has regular and ongoing eng…
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the minutes from the quarterly meetings of the New Scots Core Group.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The New Scots refugee integration strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and involves a wide range of partners across different sectors. The New Scots Core Group brings toge…
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many cultural organisations in Scotland have closed since the start of 2019.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. There are official figures available for businesses that have ceased trading during a given period. These figures do not represent a complete picture of business activity as only businesses tha…
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review funding to Museums Galleries Scotland in order to help it support its member organisations during the cost of living crisis.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11261 on 19 October 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of recent (a) meetings, (b) telephone calls and (c) other communications it has had with COSLA to discuss funding support for Ukrainian refugees.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11199 on 4 October 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committe…
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of recent (a) meetings, (b) telephone calls and (c) other communications it has had with COSLA to discuss housing need and availability for Ukrainian refugees.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government has regular and ongoing engagement with COSLA which includes discussing housing needs for Ukrainian displaced people in Scotland and funding support. Most recently a meeting with senior leaders and officials from Scottish Government, …
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish its refreshed Culture Strategy Action Plan.
Answer · Neil Gray: We are working towards publishing the refreshed Culture Strategy Action Plan before the end of the year. As part of this, we have been working with the culture sector to identify priority workstreams to support recovery and renewal, taking into account the co…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation is carried out following the allocation of international development spending.
Answer · Neil Gray: Full details of the Scottish Government's monitoring and evaluation of International Development spending is available at Monitoring and evaluating international funding - International development - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its scheme to provide free bicycles to children who cannot afford them.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: In this government’s first 100 days, we established six pilot schemes to provide free bikes for school age children who cannot afford one. A further four pilots were then established by the end of 2021. The official pilot period for these pilots has now conc…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to recruit and retain workers from the rest of the UK, and what targets are in place for any such work, broken down by each industry.
Answer · Ivan McKee: While responsibility for immigration rests with the UK and we are clear the UK immigration system is not working for Scotland’s economy, public services or communities, the Scottish Government will do all we can to attract and retain people in Scotland. Last …
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that the UCI Cycling World Championships 2023 lead to increased cycling in Scotland.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships has been a policy-led event from inception. While successful delivery of the 13 world championships in August 2023 is a key focus, an overarching aim is to use the event as a catalyst for positive change and encourage …
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that the UCI Cycling World Championships 2023 benefit local communities in Scotland.
Answer · Angus Robertson: In August 2023 Scotland will host the first ever Cycling World Championships, which is predicted to welcome 2,600 elite cyclists, including para-athletes, from 120 countries, and up to 1 million spectators. The Scottish Government aims to spread the benefits …