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-29668

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is still committed to investing £10 million in Changing Places toilets by the end of the current parliamentary session, in light of the reprofiling of the commencement of the Changing Places toilet fund, as detailed in the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government to the Convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, published on 3 September 2024.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country, allowing people easier access to events and outdoor venues.

As you will be aware, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government’s statement to Parliament on 3 September outlined the challenging financial situation faced by the Scottish Government following the UK Chancellor's July statement. She confirmed that spending controls are in place to make sure the entire Scottish Government budget is being managed prudently. These additional controls set out that any activity undertaken, or commitment made, that generates expenditure in 2024-25 must only proceed if it is truly essential and unavoidable. “Unavoidable” means if the Scottish Government would otherwise breach its legal obligations, or fail to provide essential support to emergency situations, or cause significant economic damage across Scotland. The scale of the savings required means that these exceptional measures are being applied across the whole Government, with all policy areas having to think about what this means for them.

This means that whilst the Scottish Government had set out the intention to make CPT funding available across financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26, unfortunately it is no longer possible to launch the fund in the current financial year. However, funding will be reprofiled into future years.

Question reference: S6W-29670

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, prior to the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, in her letter to the Convener of Finance and Public Administration Committee, that the Changing Places toilet fund would be reprofiled, what work it had undertaken to prepare for the fund to open at the start of 2025, as previously committed to by the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport.

A range of work has been undertaken to prepare for the opening of the Changing Places Toilets fund. This has included scoping work, internal discussions and meetings with key stakeholders. We are working closely with PAMIS (Promoting a More Inclusive Society) and will continue to engage with wider interests, including the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Changing Places Toilets, as we finalise the details of the fund.

Question reference: S6O-03747

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent report from the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit, which highlights that "core outcomes related to inequalities and health are not improving significantly and some are getting worse".

Question reference: S6W-29141

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is committed to continued support through Transport Scotland of SUSTRANS’ Places for Everyone programme, as part of its commitment to supporting active travel.

Transport Scotland has already allocated £46.7 million of funding to Sustrans for Places for Everyone for 2024-25 which will deliver a range of active travel infrastructure this year. More broadly in 2024-25 financial year more than £145 million has been allocated for Active Travel.

The utmost importance is placed on balancing the Scottish Government’s budget each financial year. The Scottish Government and the whole of the public sector face a financial position that is extremely challenging. It is always necessary to ensure resources are used economically, efficiently and effectively, and increased scrutiny and spending controls are in place across all expenditure. As with all programmes across Scottish Government, further funding for Places for Everyone will need to be considered in this context for 2024-25.

Increased Active Travel funding has led to major change programme for Active Travel delivery starting in 2024. This is aligned with the Verity House Agreement (June 2023) which confirmed the direction of travel towards more direct funding to Local Authorities and for local control over that budget, with a driving principle of ‘local by default, national by agreement’.

As part of this, from 2025-26, Transport Scotland will be providing funding for all active travel infrastructure projects of the type that have historically been delivered through Places for Everyone directly to Local Authorities, Regional Transport Partnerships and National Park Authorities rather than via Sustrans. A managed transition of existing projects from Sustrans to Transport Scotland is underway and for those which are likely to be completed by December 2025, it is the intention that these will continue to be managed by Sustrans.

Question reference: S6W-29113

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the public sector equality duty and any new human rights framework are compatible and adequately linked.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29112 on 5 September 2024. 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-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Officials are working together with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the work on advancing human rights, including the proposals around extending rights protections in law, is compatible and aligned with the public sector equality duty and other existing requirements on bodies exercising public functions.

Question reference: S6W-29138

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that decisions regarding funding for SUSTRANS’ Places for Everyone programme for 2024-25 will be made by Transport Scotland.

Transport Scotland has already provided £46.7 million of funding to Sustrans for Places for Everyone for 2024-25 which will deliver a range of active travel infrastructure this year. More broadly in 2024-25 more than £145 million has been provided for Active Travel.

The utmost importance is placed on balancing the Scottish Government’s budget each financial year. The Scottish Government and the whole of the public sector faces a financial position that is extremely challenging. It is always necessary to ensure resources are used economically, efficiently and effectively, and increased scrutiny and spending controls are in place across all expenditure. As with all programmes across Scottish Government, further funding for Places for Everyone will need to be considered in this context for 2024-25. This consideration is currently on-going and once concluded will enable further decisions to be made.

Question reference: S6W-29139

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last met Transport Scotland to discuss the Places for Everyone programme administered by SUSTRANS and its associated funding.

Question reference: S6W-29140

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) ministers and (b) representatives of Transport Scotland last met (i) SUSTRANS and (ii) other relevant stakeholders to discuss the Neilston and Uplawmoor Link active travel project.

Sustrans are funded to manage and administer the Places for Everyone fund and meet with the applicants as appropriate. As Sustrans manage the fund on behalf of Transport Scotland neither Ministers nor Transport Scotland meet regularly to discuss specific projects that are funded through the programme. Transport Scotland does however receive regular updates through our oversight of the programme and management of the grant to Sustrans for the programme.

Question reference: S6W-29112

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that lessons from the implementation of the public sector equality duty are taken into account in the development of its proposed Human Rights Bill.

The 2024-25 Programme for Government set out the Scottish Government’s commitment to strengthening the implementation of human rights and advancing proposals around extended rights protection. This includes continuing to work to develop a new Human Rights Bill that will incorporate international treaties into Scots law.

Lessons from the implementation of the public sector equality duty and associated Scottish regulations will continue to shape development of the Human Rights Bill in the period ahead, including reflections on the alignment of existing and upcoming reporting requirements on listed public bodies and work on guidance, toolkits and wider capability and capacity building. The Scottish Government will do this through regular dialogue with duty bearers, sectoral groups of duty bearers, civil society and through close and regular communication between officials.

Question reference: S6O-03704

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its Pre-budget Fiscal Update on 3 September, what the potential impact will be of its "review and reprofile of recruitment" at Social Security Scotland on the agency’s provision of frontline services to clients.