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-03099

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Pain Management Task Force.

Question reference: S6O-03085

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 8 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the project board that is being formed to oversee the consideration of future funding for violence against women services will next meet.

The Violence Against Women and Girls Sustainable Funding Project Board is currently being developed and I expect it to meet for the first time in March. It has been formed to take forward our commitment to develop a flexible and stable funding model that will ensure a focus on prevention and high quality, accessible, specialist violence against women and girls services.

‎ The Project Board, will be co-chaired by Scottish Government and CoSLA, and will include representatives of public sector and specialist stakeholders. The remit of the group will be agreed with the members and will include producing an accurate assessment of the current costs and spend of violence against women and girls, to help inform the development of a sustainable funding model.

Question reference: S6W-24896

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the next major capital projects progress update.

Today, the Scottish Government has published its latest Major Capital Projects Progress Update associated with the Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) for 2021-22 to 2025-26, which sets out progress on the delivery of infrastructure projects with a value over £5 million which have agreed Outline Business Cases or equivalent. The update can be viewed via the following link: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781835218976

The UK Government did not inflation-proof their Capital Budget which has resulted in nearly a 10% real-terms cut in our capital funding over the medium-term between 2023-24 and 2027-28. The decisions made by the UK Government to reduce our capital funding in real terms year on year, alongside the construction supply chain issues, labour shortages and high inflation means that we cannot deliver on all our capital projects within the funding available.

Further work is therefore underway to update the full pipeline of projects and programmes relating to the current IIP to ensure it is affordable and deliverable and provides best value for money. A refresh of the overall infrastructure pipeline is intended to be published alongside the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) in May 2024.

As set out in the May 2023 MTFS, we plan to extend the current IIP period by one year, to 2026-27. This will ensure spending is aligned to the three missions for this Parliament and that it takes account of the fiscal and economic reality at the time. Work with stakeholders and colleagues is ongoing to develop the next IIP, which will be published in due course and in plenty of time to be adopted in 2027-28.

Question reference: S6O-03024

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its funding for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

Question reference: S6O-02991

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is any scope in its proposed land reform legislation to amend the power of the King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, known as the KLTR.

Question reference: S6W-23892

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Natalie Don on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on the scoping study that it commissioned on historic forced adoption.

I welcome the scoping study on historic forced adoption which has been published today and the important further contribution this research has made to helping us understand the needs of those affected.

It is clear that the historic practices that forced the separation of mothers from their babies has resulted in lifelong pain and suffering for many of those involved. I am grateful to those people who shared their stories with bravery and dignity.

The Scottish Government will now assess the feasibility, including the financial, legislative and operational implications of the key areas of consideration and publish a response by the end of March 2024. In doing so we will continue to work with partners and importantly those with lived experience to consider options for service delivery and how best to implement the necessary improvements.

Question reference: S6W-23329

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Maree Todd on 28 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting people affected by self-harm in Scotland.

Scotland's Self-Harm Strategy and Action Plan 2023-27 has been published today by Scottish Government and COSLA. This strategy – which is a world first in its dedicated focus on self-harm - is an early deliverable from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan published earlier this month.

The views of people with lived experience of self-harm, and insights from services that support them are at the centre of the strategy. This has shaped our vision, which is for people who have self-harmed, of who are thinking of self-harming, to receive compassionate, recovery-focused support, without fear of stigma or discrimination.

The three year action plan – which will prioritise support for people which evidence suggests are at higher risk of self-harm - focuses on three areas:deepening knowledge and compassionate understanding of self-harm to reduce stigma and discrimination;
building support and services across Scotland;
and improving and sharing data and evidence.

We have already invested £1.5m in the development of new, bespoke self-harm support services over the last two years through Self-Harm Network Scotland, and early evidence shows this is having a positive impact. We are committing a further £1.5 million to back delivery of the action plan, and this will secure the continuation of these vital services over the next 2 years (2024-25 and 2025-26).

We are extremely grateful to all the people who have contributed to this important work over the last 18 months, particularly those who shared their own experiences of self-harm to help shape our approach.

Question reference: S6F-02606

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2023

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.

Question reference: S6O-02807

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any supply issues with drugs for people with type 2 diabetes.

Question reference: S6W-23063

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Tom Arthur on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement of a council tax freeze for 2024-25, whether a change to the council tax multipliers for bands E to H will be progressed for 2024-25.