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-03632

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its decision to grant early release to prisoners currently in custody, whether all victims and their families will be duly notified of the early release of any prisoner.

Question reference: S6W-28120

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints regarding unlicensed short-term let operators have been investigated by Police Scotland since the introduction of the short-term let licensing scheme.

Question reference: S6O-03612

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Audit Scotland’s analysis showing that Social Security Scotland’s benefit expenditure budget was £5.1 billion in 2023-24, which was an increase of 22% on its 2022-23 budget, what action it is taking to reduce expenditure on Scottish social security benefits, including through assisting people into meaningful paid employment.

Question reference: S6W-27903

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what measures it will put in place to increase the rate of housebuilding in Scotland.

We are conscious of the ongoing global issues affecting construction which are impacting the pace of housing delivery and remain focused on our target of delivering 110,000 high quality, energy efficient affordable homes by 2032. The £80m over two years announced on 26 April takes our investment in affordable housing in 2024-25 to nearly £600m, which will deliver social and affordable homes across Scotland, including acquisitions.

The recently established Housing Investment Taskforce will, over the course of financial year 2024/25, work to identify actions that will unlock both existing and new commitments to investment in housing across all tenures, bringing together key interests of investors and investees.

Following recent legal proceedings, we will shortly provide a message to stakeholders relating to policy 16 of National Planning Framework. In addition, we are working with stakeholders on a series of cross-sector actions to ensure those involved collectively play a positive part in housing delivery.

Question reference: S6W-27902

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 11 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the operation of the short-term lets licensing legislation, in light of reports that, despite a growing black market in short-term lets, no breaches of the legislation have been recorded by the police.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Police Scotland during legislation development and implementation. It is important to remember that we are still within the transitional period of implementation and licensing authorities are processing thousands of licensing applications. We are aware authorities are working in partnership with local Police Scotland teams to investigate complaints about unlicensed operators, adopting an educate and encourage approach, with enforcement as a last resort. This is a supportive approach to businesses in a new regulatory environment and an approach advocated for by trade bodies representing the sector.

Operating without a licence ultimately is a criminal offence, which may attract a maximum fine of £2,500, and which may also invalidate insurance and other policies if premises are used without a licence. We have already announced that we will legislate to increase the level of the maximum fine and this is still the intention once the scheme is embedded.

Question reference: S6W-27901

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 11 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will support the protection of children against online abuse, in light of the finding of a recent study by Childlight that 7% of men in the UK were likely to have engaged in online behaviour that could be classed as online child sexual abuse.

Keeping children and young people safe from online sexual abuse and exploitation is of the utmost importance to the Scottish Government.

We welcome the work of Childlight to harness worldwide data to help inform tangible action to protect children. We recognise that these problems are global and require global solutions.

In Scotland, we are working closely with partners to deliver a co-ordinated multi-agency response to preventing child sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms.

We are establishing a new strategic group to provide national leadership and further improve our shared response in Scotland to child sexual abuse and exploitation, including online abuse. This group will first meet in the summer.

Through the Scottish Government’s membership of Police Scotland’s Multi-Agency Group on Preventing Online Child Sexual Abuse, we monitor emerging online threats and agree a shared approach to using technological advancements to tackle abuse, improve data-gathering, improve support for victims and survivors and promote key activities delivered by our partners.

We recognise that prevention is key to protecting children online and we are taking a range of actions to increase awareness of online child sexual abuse and exploitation and improve support to victims.

In 2023-24 we provided around £570,000 to third sector organisations involved in child safeguarding and prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including online abuse. We have also updated our National Child Protection Guidance to support practitioners to develop effective, evidence-based responses to child sexual abuse and exploitation. In 2022 and 2023, we ran a national public awareness campaign to support parents are carers to keep their children safer online.

While regulation of the internet remains a reserved matter, we have successfully engaged with the UK Government on its Online Safety Act, to strengthen protections for children. We will continue to engage with both the UK Government and Ofcom to ensure that the Act does all that it can to protect children online. With the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, I will be meeting Ofcom to discuss implementation of this important legislation and to ensure that children in Scotland are kept safe online.

Question reference: S6W-27717

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support the short-term lets industry, in light of recent reports from industry leaders that at least 1,000 self-catering homes have stopped operating since the introduction of the licensing scheme.

Short-term let accommodation is an important part of the tourism economy, and I am grateful to the many thousands of operators who have applied for a licence which shows their businesses are of high quality and safety for visitors.

Our Business Regulatory Impact Assessment in 2019 was informed by available online listings data, I am pleased that we are now able to publish quarterly official statistics on application levels, reflecting the importance of formal monitoring of the size of the sector, and any trends in application data. I do not wish to see any operator leave the sector and I am aware of a range of factors, including the impact of the costs crisis that may be influencing business decisions.

Since the deadline for existing hosts in October 2023, myself and my officials have undertaken a range of engagement with stakeholders which will be used as part of ongoing monitoring, and I will provide an update to Parliament on the implementation of licensing in June this year.

Question reference: S6W-27716

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recently reported comments from trade union representatives that "time is running out" to give Ferguson Marine shipyard a future.

When the Ferguson Marine shipyard was threatened with closure in 2019 the Scottish Government stepped forward and saved the business. Taking the yard into public ownership preserved commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde, rescued more than 300 jobs and ensured that the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa vessels – vital for our island communities – will be delivered.

We want to see the yard prosper, be competitive and continue the proud shipbuilding traditions on the Clyde. We are continuing to work with the business to understand its forward plans and to review proposals for investment.

Question reference: S6O-03536

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will increase the take-up of modern foreign languages in schools.

Question reference: S6W-27598

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to comments by the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service to the Public Audit Committee that the entire prison estate may shortly reach maximum capacity and present significant risk of potential disorder.

In my statement to Parliament on 16 May, I set out that there is now a critical risk to the continued safe and effective operation of the prison estate, and that urgent action is needed.

If the legal test for use of emergency release is satisfied when section 11 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 comes into force on 26 May, then I intend to bring forward a proposal for Parliament’s consideration for the emergency release of prisoners.

This is not a decision I have taken lightly. But we must ensure the safety and wellbeing of Scottish Prison Service staff and those people in their care, and that our prisons continue to function effectively to accommodate those who pose the greatest risk of harm.

Members will have the opportunity to scrutinise and debate the approach and, in this instance, we will not release a single prisoner without Parliament’s consent.

I also intend to carry out a short consultative exercise over the summer, and to return after recess with a proposal for a Bill for Parliament’s consideration to change how long-term prisoners are released and managed.

Finally, I intend to bring forward secondary legislation to amend the eligibility criteria for use of Home Detention Curfew (HDC), increasing the period of time individuals can spend on release under licence conditions. These regulations will be subject to scrutiny under the affirmative procedure.