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 31581 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6F-03233

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that hundreds of rapes and sexual assaults that had been reported by sex workers were not acted upon.

Question reference: S6F-03223

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03239

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its policy for economic development in Scotland of the findings of the Resolution Foundation’s recent report on the UK’s economic and trade performance.

Question reference: S6F-03221

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03222

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-27898

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 10 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27369 by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024, how many of the (a) 545 charges related to incidents that took place in and (b) 17 convictions were for crimes against residents of the Lothian region.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical purposes and the information within it is structured accordingly. Information provided is at date of extract and may therefore be subject to change as data and systems are updated for operational reasons.

Of the 545 charges referred to in the answer to question S6W-27369, 90 charges took place in the Lothian region. For the purposes of this answer, the ‘Lothian region’ has been limited to charges reported to COPFS from Edinburgh and Livingston Sheriff Court Districts only.

Of the 17 convictions referred to in the answer to question S6W-27369, there were 2 which related to offending against residents of the Lothian region.

Question reference: S6W-27946

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the (a) First Minister (b) Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs and (c) Lord Advocate, and any other ministers, and their officials, last met with the (i) Chief Constable and (ii) Deputy Chief Constables at Police Scotland, and what was discussed.

The First Minister last met with the Chief Constable on 16 May 2024. Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs was also in attendance. The agenda covered:

Introduction
Mental health and policing
Criminal justice system
Workforce and operating model
Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill
Hate crime

I meet the Chief Constable regularly. The last meeting was on 4 June 2024 with Deputy Chief Constable Bex Smith also in attendance. The agenda covered:

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill
Revised model of policing
Criminal justice system
Scottish Resilience Partnership
Emma Caldwell Investigation – NPCC Request

The Lord Advocate last met with the Chief Constable on 12 March 2024. Deputy Chief Constable Bex Smith was also in attendance. The Lord Advocate and Chief Constable discussed violence against women and girls in Scotland and how prosecutors and police officers could work together to improve outcomes for victims.

From January 2024, I agreed with the Chief Constable and SPA Chair to publish notes of their meetings, once approved, on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/collections/police-minutes-of-regular-meetings

Question reference: S6W-27993

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 10 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27605 by Siobhian Brown on 28 May 2024, whether it has considered alternative approaches to carrying out this research in the event that the re-tendering process is unsuccessful, and whether this has been raised by the (a) Law Society of Scotland, (b) Scottish Solicitors Bar Association and (c) Scottish Legal Aid Board.

Alternative approaches to the work have been considered at meetings of the research group, which the Law Society of Scotland, Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, and the Scottish Legal Aid Board are part of, should the tendering process remain unsuccessful. Ministers are also very mindful that the recommendation of the Legal Aid Payment Advisory Panel was very clear that any research carried out should be independent from the Scottish Government and that there are commercial sensitivities around the data being sought. Any alternative approaches would have to be carefully considered to ensure that this independence remains and that legal aid providers have confidence in the data gathering process.

Question reference: S6W-27950

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 10 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it considers workers in the so-called gig economy as part of the work that it is undertaking to make Scotland "a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025".

All workers should be paid fairly for the work they do and have the opportunity of job security. Recent research from Herriot-Watt University points to particular challenges in this regard in the gig economy.

These are not unique to Scotland. According to the Living Wage Foundation, 20% of workers in Scotland experience some form of work insecurity. Only London (18%) and the South East (19%) have lower levels compared to the highest region, Wales (26%). Research from the Fair Work Convention shows that other countries do better.

Responsibility for employment law, including the rights and protection of workers, is reserved to the UK Government, therefore the Scottish Government cannot legislate for greater job security. Nevertheless, through Fair Work First we require recipients of government funding to move away from the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts and other non-standard types of employment that offer workers minimal job or financial security. This is part of our approach to delivering an economy that is fair, green and growing, while creating more secure, sustainable and satisfying jobs.

Question reference: S6W-28032

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the NatureScot licensing review.