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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

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Question reference: S6O-04838

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it supports rural museums.

Question reference: S6O-04844

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding the decision to euthanise police dog Zara in December last year and the subsequent review by the force.

Question reference: S6O-04849

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the latest Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, which included for the first time new questions around crimes of fraud and computer misuse.

Question reference: S6O-04840

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what discussions it has had with the UK Government in relation to the Prime Minister’s reported comments that he does not believe that there will be another independence referendum during his administration and that nobody is raising this with him as their first priority, in light of reports that recent polling shows support for independence at over 50%.

Question reference: S6O-04858

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported significant demand for apprenticeships from both employers and applicants, what it is doing to increase the number of apprenticeship places available.

Question reference: S6O-04848

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Prison Service will conclude any work required to ensure that it fully complies with the judgment of the UK Supreme Court handed down on 16 April 2025 in the case, For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S6O-04863

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of holiday hub provision for children with disabilities and ASN in the City of Edinburgh and elsewhere in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-38787

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish its Grangemouth Just Transition Plan.

The Scottish Government has today (18 June) published the Grangemouth Industrial Just Transition Plan, following a public consultation on the draft plan. The Plan sets out our vision for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster and will act as the framework for all activity that supports Grangemouth’s transition. It identifies 21 actions which will help us achieve our vision, including short term actions in the next 12 months and longer term actions over the next three to five years.

The Plan has been developed with industry, the community, public sector partners, Unite the Union and the workforce at Grangemouth. The Grangemouth Future Industry Board (GFIB), with members from across these sectors and led by Scottish Enterprise, will take the lead on delivering the actions set out in the Plan.

The Grangemouth Industrial Just Transition Plan is backed by our £25m Grangemouth Just Transition Fund.

Question reference: S6W-38801

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland this winter, in light of the recent change in UK Government policy to extend Winter Fuel Payment eligibility.

On 9 June the UK Government announced their plans to extend the Winter Fuel Payment in England and Wales to Pensioners with an individual income of £35,000 or less a year. This U-turn is welcome; the UK Government’s decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment last winter was a betrayal of millions of pensioners.

Following careful consideration of the options available, the Scottish Government has decided to mirror the approach taken by the UK Government. We will therefore withdraw the current amendment regulations before the Scottish Parliament and bring forward amendment regulations to ensure that, from this winter onwards, all pensioners will receive £203.40 or £305.10 per household, depending on age, and we are in discussion with the UK Government to extend the proposed arrangements in England and Wales to recover payments from those pensioners with an individual income of more than £35,000 through the tax system. The intention is that the payment will be recovered automatically, and pensioners will not need to register with HMRC for this or take any further action.

In taking this decision Ministers have considered carefully the importance of prioritising the additional funding available to those who need it most. This approach ensures a higher level of support which those most in need will receive. Over 720,000 Scottish pensioners are estimated to benefit from the higher payment. Revised Impact Assessments will be updated and published alongside the updated regulations.

Question reference: S6W-38315

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £127,500 was provided to Dumfries and Galloway Citizens Advice Service (CAS) between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the Minority Communities Service Development in Dumfries and Galloway project.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Minority Communities Service Development in Dumfries and Galloway project was funded to take forward work on:

• providing advice, information and practical assistance tailored to the individual needs of people from minority communities

• raising awareness and increasing uptake from minority communities

• promoting volunteering opportunities and recruiting, training and supporting individuals to become volunteer advisers/administrative workers.

• working with local employers to improve their knowledge and understanding of their employment responsibilities

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

Minority communities will have increased access to advice and knowledge of their rights which in turn will empower individuals to make positive choices to improve their longer term health and well-being.
People from minority communities will gain the skills and confidence needed to improve their long term prospects of securing employment.

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf