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: S6O-04006

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will empower local communities and ensure that land is being used to their benefit.

Question reference: S6W-31444

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on progress on delivering the Programme for Government commitment to expand Scotland’s Migration Service to provide more support to users.

The full expanded version of Scotland's Migration Service will be launched on 19th November 2024.

We know that employers, inward investors and individuals often face challenges in navigating the UK immigration system. Scotland's Migration Service will provide practical advice and support to employers to help them recruit internationally; inward investors to move to, or expand their business in, Scotland; individuals looking to move to Scotland for work or family; and individuals in Scotland on a temporary visa, including international students, looking to move visa routes.

The Service will provide practical information delivered through a digital platform as well as free personalised advice appointments delivered by our expert suppliers, Citizens Advice Scotland and the immigration law firm Seraphus.

Delivery of this Programme for Government commitment will contribute to our work to grow our economy, maximise our existing talent pool, and attract more individuals to Scotland to address skills shortages and demographic challenges.

Question reference: S6W-31008

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 14 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-03876 by Kaukab Stewart on 31 October 2024, in which the minister stated that people "can either be male or female", what progress it is making with the Non-Binary Equality Action Plan, and whether it remains its position that many people identify with neither a male or a female gender.

In law, including under the Equality Act 2010, people are either male or female.

The Scottish Government recognises that many people may identify differently. Scotland’s Census 2022 showed that almost half of people who responded to the question on trans status or history identified as non-binary. We know too that depending on the circumstances, the law on gender reassignment discrimination might protect non-binary people.

The Scottish Government is committed to advancing equality for all LGBTQI+ people, and promoting, protecting and realising the rights of every LGBTQI+ person in Scotland. This includes trans people, and non-binary people who do not identify as either male or female.

The Non-Binary Equality Action Plan 2023-28, published last November, aims to improve equality and bring about real, positive and lasting change to the lives of non-binary people.

We will soon publish our first Progress Report which will provide detail on the steps which we have made so far towards achieving the actions in the Plan.

Question reference: S6W-31106

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 November 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Alasdair Allan on 8 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will conclude its review of the New Build Heat Standard.

An amendment to the New Build Heat Standard will shortly be laid in Parliament. This will demonstrate we have heard and responded to the concerns raised earlier in the year about the reliance on woodburning stoves and bioenergy, particularly in rural and island areas.

The review involved full consideration of previous and new evidence submitted, and a series of individual and group workshops with key stakeholders, and two Ministerial roundtables. The Standard will be subject to the usual Parliamentary process and remains an important and positive step in our journey to decarbonising buildings.

Question reference: S6O-03957

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to free university tuition, in light of the UK Government's decision to raise tuition fees for universities in England.

Question reference: S6O-03886

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to establish a care pathway for people living with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and hypermobility spectrum disorders.

Question reference: S6O-03867

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the internal ferry fleet in Orkney.

Question reference: S6W-30511

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion, expressed as a percentage, of the area of the inshore out to the six nautical mile limit is covered by a year-round prohibition on the use of mobile or active gear to (a) dredge for scallops and (b) trawl for nephrops norvegicus under any legal instrument as of April 2024.

Question reference: S6W-30509

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether industry and other stakeholders have been, or will be, consulted on considerations around whether the National Marine Plan 2 will include detailed marine spatial plans.

The Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate will be sharing draft outputs, as noted in our revised Statement of Public Participation and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, as they become available so we can collaboratively develop the plan with communities as part of our commitment to considering the Just Transition principles in the marine planning process.

By including a staged approach to our engagement for NMP2, and by speaking to people who use or rely on Scotland’s seas, the Marine Directorate can take time to better understand their needs and use these experiences and knowledge to create a new plan that works well for the people of Scotland.

This engagement has included the first National Marine Planning Forum and sector-based workshops, with future engagement planned around the consultation on the NMP2’s forthcoming Planning Position Statement (PPS) and draft plan.

Question reference: S6W-30508

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the National Marine Plan 2 will include detailed marine spatial plans.

The National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2) will provide the coordinated overarching planning framework for sustainable development. It will incorporate within the planning framework policy developed in relevant areas - such as marine environmental protection, climate change mitigation and adaption, energy and fisheries - and consider the interaction between these policies in planning decisions. This includes the pathway to deliver net zero and the approach to delivering a green recovery established in the Climate Change Plan 2018 – 2032.

The Marine Directorate will explore, with stakeholders, the potential options for spatial policies as part of the NMP2 process, taking into account the need for protection of the marine environment to serve as a strong platform providing opportunities for sustainable development of our existing and growing marine sectors. NMP2 is intended as a high-level strategic framework which would not contain detailed marine spatial plans or measures.

There is a Sectoral Marine Plan supporting offshore wind development, which provides the spatial framework for the sustainable development of this sector in our seas.