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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1770 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-16831

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many tasers are currently available for use by Police Scotland officers.

Question reference: S6W-17600

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16058 by Elena Whitham on 19 April 2023, whether it can provide an estimate of the number of people treated by ear, nose and throat specialists for conditions caused by the delivery and absorption of drugs through the nasal cavity route, in any year for which data is available across Scotland as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-17432

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage victims of cyber fraud to report the crime to the police, in light of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) findings that, for most types of cyber fraud, a majority of victims did not report the incident.

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) details a variety of reasons why people do not always report instances of cyber fraud to Police Scotland. This includes dealing with the issue personally or reporting it to another authority, such as a bank.

Both the Scottish Government and Police Scotland encourage anyone in Scotland who may have been the victim of cyber fraud to call 101 or report it to any Police Officer or at any Police Station. Police Scotland will investigate all crimes reported to them whilst being mindful of the need to provide support and advice to the victim. Where an individual or organisation is subject to a cyber dependant crime, Police Scotland actively encourage reporting in order that their specialist investigative teams can offer support and guidance on mitigation.

Question reference: S6W-16465

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is, regarding any impact on Scotland, on the UK Government’s proposal to restrict the sale of nitrous oxide.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is reserved legislation so any changes made to the classification of substances (such as nitrous oxide) will affect the whole of the UK. We await the outcome of the UK Government’s consultation into the exemptions which will apply for the legitimate uses of nitrous oxide in medical, industry and food production sectors.

Upon the implementation of the classification of nitrous oxide as a Class C drug, Police Scotland will work with colleagues in UK policing to make sure the law is applied in the same way across the UK.

Question reference: S6W-17418

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in 2022, how many disclosures to Police Scotland were made by individuals with a firearm or shotgun certificate regarding the mental health, or other relevant illness, of the licence holder or a family member that might affect their suitability to own a firearm, and in how many cases the firearms were removed from their possession as a result.

Question reference: S6O-02208

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent research from the British Dental Association, which shows that 83% of dentists in Scotland expect to reduce the amount of NHS work they do in the year ahead.

Question reference: S6W-16798

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the pathfinder phase for Bairns' Hoose has begun, and, if it is the case that it has not yet commenced, when it will do so.

Question reference: S6W-17375

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the prevalence of cryptosporidium in source water, and whether it can provide a list of where it has been detected.

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite which is found in the gut of warm blooded animals and enters the water environment from faecal matter.

Scottish Water is required to assess the risk of Cryptosporidium in the water sources it uses for drinking water supplies and to design and operate water treatment processes that will remove the parasite or render it harmless. Scottish Water is also required to monitor drinking water supplies for cryptosporidium. The Drinking Water Quality Regulator provides a commentary on treated water detections in her Annual Report. Page 4 of the 2021 report covers Cryptosporidium annual-report-public-supplies-2021.pdf (dwqr.scot)

Question reference: S6W-17437

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to (a) ban and (b) restrict the breeding of the Scottish Fold cat.

The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to ban the breeding of the Scottish Fold cat. The breeding of this particular breed is however restricted under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (the 2021 regulations).

The 2021 Regulations include a licence condition (section 8(4), schedule 2) which states that "no cat may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype, conformation, behaviour or state of health, that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or the health or welfare of its offspring". Given the well documented conformational health issues with this breed, the licensing authority is likely to refuse any application for a licence or a request to vary a licence where the intention is to breed the Scottish Fold. Comprehensive guidance produced for local authorities and cat breeders also makes it clear that persons seeking to breed the Scottish Fold are unlikely to be granted a licence to do so.

Question reference: S6W-17319

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the NatureScot publication, Avian Influenza Report on the H5N1 outbreak in wild birds 2020-2023, published on 11 April 2023.

We welcome NatureScot’s Avian Influenza Report on the H5N1 outbreak in wild birds and agree that our priority both now and in the future should be on continued disease surveillance, demographic monitoring and research to inform the long-term management of our wild bird populations in light of HPAI and other pressures.

The Scottish Government will continue working with the Scottish Avian Influenza Task Force to monitor and respond to HPAI in wild birds.