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: S6F-03107

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2024

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s progress towards its target to increase the number of residential rehabilitation beds in Scotland to 650 by 2026.

Question reference: S6W-26498

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Police Scotland's decision not to investigate every crime, what its response is to reported comments by Police Scotland that criminals could be handed a "tactical advantage" if police guidance on what crimes will no longer be investigated by officers is published.

Every call received by Police Scotland is individually assessed using the THRIVE model – Threat, Harm, Risk, Investigative opportunity, Vulnerability and Engagement. Every crime report is different and it is simply not the case that certain specific crimes will no longer be investigated as part of the Proportionate Response to Crime pilot in the North East.

As part of their evaluation of the pilot that was undertaken in the North East, Police Scotland published a number of real life examples that highlighted the diversity in the range of calls received and how they were assessed and responded to. I would particularly draw the member’s attention to the examples where, while the crime appeared to be relatively minor, there were investigative opportunities, meaning that the incident was passed to local policing.

It is important to remember that the pilot’s evaluation shows that only 5% of crime reports were recorded and filed for no further enquiry. The evaluation states that this freed up 2,657 police officer hours which were therefore used to investigate crimes where there are lines of inquiry.

On the basis that Police Scotland are clearly not going to disclose details of their operational tactics, I am fully supportive of their approach.

Question reference: S6W-26936

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Historic Environment Scotland's blue plaque scheme is reportedly inactive at present, and whether there are any plans to reopen the scheme.

Question reference: S6O-03369

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of how income tax divergence has impacted or may impact private sector recruitment.

Question reference: S6O-03350

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will improve connectivity on the islands of Arran and Cumbrae ahead of the busy summer tourist season.

Question reference: S6W-26271

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported figures highlighting that, in 2022-23, social workers in Scotland lost over 30,000 days in absences due to mental ill-health.

The Scottish Government recognises the pressures social workers are under and are taking action to support the workforce.

We have invested in wellbeing resources. From 2021 onwards, we provided the Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) with £296,000 to invest in a Social Work Professional Support Service. This service covers a number of professional issues, including wellbeing and resilience, and is backed by the National Wellbeing Hub.

We have also provided funding to support the social work workforce. In 2022-2023 and also in 2023-2024, we gave £22 million to councils to address the shortages of social work staff in adult services.

Currently, we are working with partners to identify ways to better support social workers, including developing a Joint Workforce Improvement Plan in conjunction with COSLA to address recruitment and retention challenges. We have also formed a Joint Social Care and Social Work/Services Workforce Taskforce to explore ways we can deliver improvements for workforces in adult and children’s social care and social work.

We will create a National Social Work Agency to provide a single national body with oversight of the social work profession. The Agency will promote workforce wellbeing and create a listening leadership culture.

Question reference: S6W-26275

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will take to support the childcare sector, in light of reported data showing that the number of childminders almost halved from just over 6,200 in December 2012 to 3,225 in December 2023.

The Scottish Government values the important work that childminders undertake in communities and is committed to supporting and growing the sector. We commissioned research on the reasons for the reduction in childminder numbers (a trend that is mirrored elsewhere in the UK) which was published in April 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/childminding-workforce-trends-qualitative-research-report/

Informed by that research, we are working with the Scottish Childminding Association to address the decline in the childminding workforce via a programme of recruitment and retention work. This work has been informed by recent pilot activity and will ensure that more families have access to the unique and flexible experience of childcare that childminders can offer. This programme is expected to launch in the Spring.

We will implement a range of measures to address retention issues, ensuring that our childminders are supported with their workloads and professional development, including trialling a mentoring scheme and models of funded time off the floor to allow childminders to undertake activity such as planning and continuous professional learning.

Question reference: S6W-26273

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the work of justice social workers in communities, in light of reported data showing that 13 local authorities made reductions to frontline criminal justice social workers in 2022-23.

The Scottish Government is working with local government and other stakeholders to support justice social workers and to enhance the delivery of services. This includes increasing funding and providing updated operational guidance.

In 2024-25, a total of £148 million will be invested in community justice. This includes an additional £14 million to encourage wider use of robust community-based interventions where appropriate. This additional investment reflects the evidence that such interventions can be more effective than short-term imprisonment at reducing reoffending, assisting with rehabilitation and ultimately ensuring there are fewer victims of crime.

Question reference: S6W-26274

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland that HMP Greenock "should be bulldozed" because of its condition.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) are committed to modernising and improving the prison estate, to ensure it is fit for purpose for those who live and work in prisons, and supports the rehabilitation of people living there.

The decisions made by the UK Government to reduce capital funding in real terms year on year, alongside construction supply chain issues, labour shortages and recent high inflation mean that we are having to prioritise capital investment on areas of highest need. Replacing HMP Inverness and HMP Barlinnie remain the current prison infrastructure priorities.

In addition, SPS are undertaking a series of improvements to HMP Greenock until at least 2030, including roofing upgrades and replacements and refurbishment of the kitchen.

Question reference: S6W-26495

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 15 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the UK Secretary of State for Scotland's letter to the First Minister on 21 March 2024, in which he offered "the UK Government's assistance in introducing a recall mechanism for MSPs".