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-03973

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it continues to assess the impact of Brexit on Scotland’s economy.

Question reference: S6O-03949

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action Police Scotland can take to ensure the safe and legal use of e-bikes and e-scooters.

Question reference: S6O-03772

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its efforts to develop a world-leading green hydrogen sector.

Question reference: S6W-28479

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 5 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the Scottish Local Authority Remuneration Commission report on councillor pay.

Question reference: S6O-03631

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s Strategic review of the Scottish Police Authority, which was published earlier this month and sets out the progress made by the Scottish Police Authority in providing oversight and scrutiny of policing in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03600

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of inflation on health and social care services in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03554

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support entrepreneurs and start-up businesses.

Question reference: S6F-03158

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 May 2024

To ask the First Minister what the potential implications are for Scotland's economy of the UK Government's immigration policy changes for graduates.

Question reference: S6W-26975

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the UK Government’s Project Gigabit programme in Scotland.

The Scottish Government will play a key role in delivering Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland. The Scottish Government will lead delivery of local (Type A) and regional (Type B) activity, providing opportunities for alternative network suppliers in Scotland. We will also work alongside the UK Government to manage the UK-wide (Type C) framework in Scotland.

This is a recognition of our strong track record of delivering large scale digital infrastructure programmes and will allow us to align Project Gigabit with our own Reaching 100% (R100) programme.

The first local procurement in Scotland is expected to launch imminently, covering the Borders and East Lothian areas. A regional procurement, in the Dundee, Aberdeenshire, Angus, and Moray Coast areas is expected to follow in the coming months.

The Scottish Government and Building Digital UK (BDUK) have worked together to prepare further procurements, and these will be launched if and when we are confident that there is the market interest needed for them to succeed. We are also preparing the ground for the UK-wide (Type C) framework to deliver across Scotland.

Unlike our R100 programme, there is no predetermined level of funding assigned to deliver connections in Scotland via Project Gigabit. Instead, funding is allocated to each individual procurement based on a model developed by the UK Government.

As we work jointly to deliver these procurements in Scotland, we will continue to urge the UK Government to match our ambition for Scotland’s digital infrastructure with a sufficient level of financial commitment to deliver in this wholly reserved area.

Question reference: S6O-03268

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that stagnation has had on Scotland's public finances, in light of the final report of the Resolution Foundation's The Economy 2030 Inquiry, which found that the UK is a decade and a half into a period of stagnation.