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-03500

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to address child poverty.

Question reference: S6O-03493

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Question reference: S6O-03504

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that disabled people who receive Scottish social security benefits are treated lawfully, in light of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s reported investigation into the treatment of some disabled benefits claimants by the UK Department for Work and Pensions.

Question reference: S6W-27583

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether Forestry and Land Scotland has received any payments from Statkraft for widening roads at Brown Hill.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) do not own or manage the land where Statkraft are proposing the development of the Craigwatch windfarm. They have therefore not been approached by Statkraft or received any payment from them for widening of roads.

There are several proposed windfarm sites in this area, and it is possible that road widening works are happening on neighbouring private land, of which FLS is not involved.

Question reference: S6W-27597

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it remains committed to banning conversion therapy practices in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27770

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Neil Gray on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified during the course of its ongoing investigation any other public sector organisations that have been impacted by the cyber attack on NHS Dumfries and Galloway infrastructure.

As part of the on-going forensic analysis, NHS Dumfries & Galloway identified that files belonging to National Records of Scotland, that were stored on the NHS D&G IT infrastructure, have been stolen as part of the cyber-attack. As National Records of Scotland are the data controller for those files, they are now considered a second victim in this incident. As such a crime report has been made to Police Scotland.

National Records of Scotland have undertaken a risk assessment and are taking appropriate actions to notify individuals that have been affected. National Records of Scotland will issue a news release later today to provide further information to members of the public.

Question reference: S6W-27347

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the impact of the reductions in the number of police officers since 2008 on the force’s ability to respond to reports of a crime.

Police Scotland implemented the THRIVE approach as part of the roll out of its Contact Assessment Model (CAM) across 2019/20. THRIVE is used to ensure a consistent response to an incident report by evaluating threat, harm, risk, investigation, vulnerability and engagement. That places the needs of the individual at the centre of the police’s decisions while ensuring that effective prioritisation is in place.

It is vitally important that the Chief Constable has the flexibility to develop her workforce in a way that responds to the challenges she faces by ensuring the right workforce mix. She confirmed to the Criminal Justice Committee on 20 December that the extra £75.7m of resource funding provided by Scottish Government in 2024-25 will enable Police Scotland to bring officer numbers up to around 16,500-16,600. With plans in place to bring in over 1000 new officers this financial year and around 320 having joined since March, she is bringing in the resources that will ensure that frontline policing is prioritised.

Question reference: S6W-27103

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to people seeking asylum who are resident in Scotland, including anyone who may be impacted by the Illegal Migration Act 2023.

The Scottish Government is strongly opposed to the Illegal Migration Act that will push vulnerable people further into destitution and increase the risk of exploitation and we have raised our serious concerns with the Home Secretary.

We continue to deliver a range of interventions to support people seeking asylum living in Scotland including providing £3.6m of grant funding to Scottish Refugee Council this year for a comprehensive, nationwide Refugee Support Service.

The Service will support refugees and people seeking asylum to settle into communities through providing advice, information and resources, improving access to support services and facilitating social connections and will support the implementation of the third New Scots refugee integration strategy.

Many of the essential services which support people seeking asylum are devolved and are delivered inclusively for everyone living in Scotland, as far as possible within UK immigration legislation and rules. For example, people seeking asylum can access NHS healthcare and asylum-seeking children are entitled to school education.

Question reference: S6W-27545

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards developing a Rural Delivery Plan.

Preparatory work and engagement is underway to develop the Rural Delivery Plan. A data dashboard was published in December 2023, measurable objectives are being considered and investment mapped. The Rural Scotland Data Dashboard can be found at https://infogram.com/1pzg5qxldkwy2zf29ve97mvgdmb1dggnyrm?live .

Minutes from the Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group are publicly available and provide details of key developments of the Rural Delivery Plan. Minutes can be found online at www.gov.scot/groups/rural-delivery-plan-ministerial-working-group/ .

Question reference: S6W-27542

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to support the work of the Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group in each year since it was established.

The Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group is supported by officials from the Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands portfolio, and a small amount of funding will be dedicated to supporting the Rural Delivery Plan.

The Rural Delivery Plan is an opportunity to set out the actions that government is and will be taking which impact rural, island and rural coastal communities, with funding from across ministerial portfolios benefiting rural Scotland.