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-02577

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to provide support to people from Afghanistan already resident in Scotland, who wish to support family members still in Afghanistan to seek asylum in the UK.

Asylum and immigration are matters reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes the design and operation of the UK asylum system and decisions relating to asylum applications. The Scottish Government is not involved in these processes, but can provide signposting to sources of information and advice.

The Scottish Government has made clear that the UK Government must consider asylum applications from Afghan nationals quickly and compassionately.

Question reference: S6W-02575

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the current situation in Afghanistan, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding (a) reviewing family reunion rules and (b) indefinitely suspending attempts to return people currently resident in Scotland, who were refused asylum in the UK, back to Afghanistan.

Following the commitment made by the Prime Minister on 18 August that the UK will not return Afghan nationals who have sought asylum in the UK, the First Minister wrote to the Prime Minister on 24 August to urge the Home Office to urgently review any cases which are in the asylum appeals process, or where people have previously been refused asylum.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government wrote to the Home Secretary on 1 September. She asked the UK Government to consider easing the eligibility criteria for family reunion to enable more people from Afghanistan (and elsewhere around the world) to join family members in the UK. She also called for asylum applications from Afghan nationals in the UK to be considered quickly and compassionately and pressed the Home Office to urgently review any cases which are in the asylum appeals process or where people have previously been refused asylum on the basis that Kabul is safe.

On 6 September, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government and I met with the UK Government’s Afghan Resettlement Minister, Victoria Atkins, and Lord Greenhalgh, Minister for Building Safety and Communities, as part of a devolved administrations call to discuss relocation and resettlement from Afghanistan. During that call we raised our concerns about family reunion and the position of Afghan nationals in the UK asylum system, including those whose applications have been refused, as well as those awaiting an initial decision and those in the appeal process.

Question reference: S6W-02336

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding its training of Sri Lankan police, and whether ministers have discussed any human rights concerns related to Sri Lankan police.

Scottish Ministers have not discussed the training delivered by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka. Scottish Government officials regularly discuss overseas deployments with Police Scotland’s International Development and Innovation Unit, who have confirmed that training in Sri Lanka has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Scottish Police Authority has responsibility for oversight of Police Scotland and to scrutinise the decisions of the Chief Constable.

Question reference: S6W-02341

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Sri Lankan police’s human rights record, and what assessment it has made of any risk to Scotland’s international reputation from Police Scotland continuing to train with Sri Lankan police.

The delivery of training by Police Scotland, in Sri Lanka, is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. The current training programme, provided by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka, is aimed at improving community policing and gender equality, with all training underpinned by equality and human rights. The current programme of training in Sri Lanka is currently suspended, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Scottish Government has not made an assessment on the continuation of training by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka as it is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to agree the details of any training programme. The Scottish Police Authority has responsibility for oversight of Police Scotland and to scrutinise the decisions of the Chief Constable.

Question reference: S6W-02340

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to recent reported comments by a Sri Lankan police spokesman that Sri Lankan police would not take cases of intimate partner violence to court nor separate husband and wife in cases that he described as “simple intimidation” and “slight assault”, and what impact this has had on its assessment of the effectiveness of Police Scotland’s training on gender-based violence.

The delivery of training by Police Scotland, in Sri Lanka, is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. The current training programme, provided by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka, is aimed at improving community policing and gender equality, with all training underpinned by equality and human rights. The Scottish Government has not carried out an assessment of the effectiveness of Police Scotland’s training on gender-based violence as it is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to agree the details of any training programme. The Scottish Police Authority has responsibility for oversight of Police Scotland and to scrutinise the decisions of the Chief Constable.

Question reference: S6W-02359

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment by the previous SNP administration to maintain environmental standards in line with those in the EU, whether it is still committed to this.

The Scottish Government remains committed to maintain or exceed the environmental standards in place upon EU exit. Provisions in the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 give a discretionary power to align devolved law with EU law. The Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party’s Shared Policy Programme also commits that, where practicable, we will stay aligned with new EU measures and policy developments.

However, the UK Internal Market Act 2020 risks undermining devolved decision-making across a wide range of areas, including environmental policy. The Act’s market access principle means that despite decisions we may make in Scotland to protect and advance the high standards we enjoyed as part of the EU, Scotland could be compelled to accept goods and services coming from other parts of the UK regardless of differing standards.

Question reference: S6W-02358

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what EU legislation has been passed since the UK's exit from the EU that it plans to keep pace with using the powers in the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021.

Question reference: S6F-00228

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking ahead of COP26 regarding the future of oil and gas exploration and securing a just transition for workers.

Question reference: S6W-02342

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Police Scotland being funded by the UK Government to train Sri Lankan police has compromised Scottish Government commitments on human rights.

Scotland has a strong and enduring commitment to securing democracy, the rule of law and human rights across the world. We expect all states to recognise fundamental human rights, comply with human rights legislation and condemn human rights abuses wherever they occur. Through International Engagement we will share our experiences, values and expertise in areas such as justice, education and climate change, with a view to seeing the human rights of people across the world fully realised.

The decision to enter into UK Government funded contracts to train police forces in countries such as Sri Lanka is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is operationally independent of the Scottish Government. The current training programme, provided by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka, is aimed at improving community policing and gender equality, with all training underpinned by equality and human rights. We understand that Police Scotland suspended the current training programme due to the coronavirus pandemic and that they will re-evaluate delivery of the programme when restrictions on foreign travel are lifted.

Question reference: S6W-02335

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether community policing training delivered by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka includes training on intelligence gathering or operating intelligence databases on communities; whether any technology or software relating to community policing has been transferred to Sri Lanka, and what functions that technology or software has.