Parliamentary questions
Liz Smith
954 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is putting in place to support outdoor education.
1 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with other UK administrations to ensure there is UK-wide compatibility in relation to a person's vaccination status.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are working across the Common Travel Area to ensure that the vaccination certification scheme recognises people who were vaccinated in other countries in the Common Travel Area with a Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved vaccin…
31 Aug 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Rural Housing Fund.
23 Aug 2021 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on addressing concerns regarding the wellbeing of young people following the impact of COVID-19.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: We have invested significantly in additional mental health and wellbeing support for since the beginning of the pandemic, including £11.25 million of dedicated funding for local authorities to address the wellbeing impacts of the pandemic on children and youn…
19 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was to the SQA of implementing the Alternative Certification Model for (a) 2020 and (b) 2021.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I asked the Scottish Qualifications Authority to reply. Initial modelling indicates that 53% of SQA’s running costs (permanent SQA staff, overheads and other indirect costs) were attributable to the implementation of the Alternative Certification Model (ACM)…
19 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was to the SQA of implementing the 2019 diet of examinations.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I asked the Scottish Qualifications Authority to reply. Initial modelling indicates that 60% of SQA’s running costs (permanent SQA staff, overheads and other indirect costs) were attributable to the implementation of the 2019 exam diet. Including direct deli…
16 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to allowing people living in Scotland who are travelling abroad to use lateral flow tests (LFT), rather than the more expensive PCR tests.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Advice from clinicians is to continue to use PCR testing for international travel, which is more accurate than other forms of testing. In addition, positive results should be genomically sequenced, which is harder to do using other types of test. We will, how…
16 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date the digital COVID-19 vaccination pass will be made available for people living in Scotland and travelling abroad.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The NHS Scotland COVID Status app is being developed for release to the public by the end of September with vaccination information initially. We are developing our app to meet the EU requirements so we expect this to be compatible with the IATA Travel Pass. …
16 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s report, The Economics of Biodiversity, which was published by the UK Government in February 2021, what steps it (a) has taken and (b) will take to ensure that Scotland's demands on nature do not exceed nature’s capacity to supply.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss is unwavering. Many of the points made in the Dasgupta review align closely with our existing approaches, and with our Wellbeing Economy, Inclusive Growth…
16 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to the findings of Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s report, The Economics of Biodiversity, which was published by the UK Government in February 2021.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The findings of the Dasgupta Review will inform the development of our National Strategy for Economic Transformation, to be published later this year, and our new biodiversity strategy, to be published in 2022.
16 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Dasgupta Review on The Economics of Biodiversity, which was published by the UK Government in February 2021, whether it will consider commissioning a Scotland-specific equivalent review, to build on the work of Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Dasgupta Review is comprehensive and takes a global perspective, and we are not planning to undertake a Scotland specific review. The Scottish Government is committed to enhancing research into biodiversity, as set out in our ‘Environment, natural resourc…
16 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the relevance of Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s recommendations for Scotland in The Economics of Biodiversity, and whether it will publish any assessment it has made.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government welcomes the key messages of the Dasgupta Review, which is highly relevant and demonstrates the central importance of biodiversity and environmental sustainability to economic policy. There are no plans to publish an assessment of the …
16 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s, The Economics of Biodiversity, that measures of economic success must be changed to guide Scotland towards sustainability, or risk endangering the prosperity of current and future generations, what work it is doing to d…
Answer · Kate Forbes: We are developing a cross-government framework, the Wellbeing Economy Monitor, to be published later this year. This work is grounded in Scotland’s National Performance Framework, to track progress towards our outcomes beyond GDP. It includes developing the f…
16 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s report, The Economics of Biodiversity, and of the urgency of protecting and restoring nature, whether it will provide an update on its work towards a new biodiversity Strategy.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: In recognition of delays in the negotiation of a new post-2020 global biodiversity framework and associated targets as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Scottish Government published a high-level Statement of Intent on biodiversity in December 2020. This…
15 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) on what basis it took the decision to align close-contact services with non-essential retail for the purposes of the business restart grants, (b) what financial analysis was conducted to inform that decision, (c) how much it would have cost to align close-contact services with busine…
Answer · Kate Forbes: Close contact and retail premises and other sectors were aggregated from December 2020 in the context of payments of the Strategic Framework Business Fund and thereafter for top-up payments, and that was carried forward to the restart grants paid in April 202…
22 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to renew beaver control licences when the current licences end on 16 August 2021.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: When beavers became a European Protected Species in May 2019, NatureScot made a commitment to carry out a review of beaver licensing after two years. This review will be concluded shortly following which Nature Scot will publish updated licence conditions an…
15 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what revenue it estimates it will receive from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in 2021-22.
27 May 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with the land reform minister regarding measures to be put in place to introduce regional land use partnerships.
24 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment, what the cost would be of bringing the higher non-domestic property rate into line with that in England, broken down by industry sector.
Answer · Kate Forbes: In 2021-22, the Scottish poundage is 49.0p with a supplement at the Intermediate Property Rate (IPR) of 1.3p for properties with a rateable value from £51,000 to £95,000; and of 2.6p at the Higher Property Rate (HPR) for properties with a rateable value over …
22 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to support the outdoor education sector in its Budget for 2021-22.
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the trials of digital deposit return schemes in Wales and Northern Ireland, and whether these schemes could be used in Scotland.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Government officials engage regularly with representatives of the other UK administrations to understand their intentions regarding the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and any implications for Scotland’s DRS. As per the answer to question S5W-31523 on 1…
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the current economic situation, and whether this will have any impact on the implementation date of July 2022 for its deposit return scheme.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35204 on 23 February 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it still anticipates its deposit return scheme will be operational by July 2022.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The 1 July 2022 date set out in regulations was based on an assessment undertaken before the pandemic, but also allowed for some flexibility for businesses responding to the disruption it has caused. We are continuing to monitor the impact of the pandemic on…
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will appoint a scheme administrator for its deposit return scheme before the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We are aware that a group of businesses and trade bodies from the producer, retailer, and wholesaler sectors has set up a company, Circularity Scotland Ltd, which intends to submit an application to Ministers in due course for approval to act as a scheme admi…
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) Welsh Government (b) Northern Ireland Executive and (c) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the operability of Scotland's deposit return scheme with other planned schemes across the UK.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Government officials engage regularly with representatives of the other UK administrations to understand their intentions regarding the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). We are open to working with the other administrations to ensure our schemes are compa…
2 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide information about how Regional Land Use Partnerships will be funded; whether that funding will be sourced from the agricultural budget, and what its reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We announced five Regional Land Use Partnership pilot regions on 5 February. The Scottish Government will work with the pilots to develop Scotland’s approach to land use in support of our transition to net-zero by testing practicalities around governance, loc…
1 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it is putting in place for infrastructure projects in 2021-22.
26 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to curling rinks.
12 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Edinburgh-Perth railway line will be upgraded.
23 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each NHS board area have been treated in hospital solely for COVID-19 since 1 December 2020, also broken down by how many received treatment in intensive care units.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: This data is not currently available. Public Health Scotland publish information on hospital admissions for Covid-19 and information on admissions to ICU for Covid 19. This is available on the daily dashboard( https://public.tableau.com/profile/phs.covid.19…