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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: S6W-37780

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what options are available to private landlords in circumstances where a tenant is the liable person for council tax but they are not making payments to ensure that the bills are covered and any situation of arrears can be addressed.

In Scotland, typically the responsibility for Council Tax liability falls to the occupier of the property, not the owner. The exceptions to this general position may apply in specific circumstances, such as where a property is exempt, or let as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) where the owner has the responsibility to pay Council Tax.

Generally, landlords are not expected to take responsibility for ensuring that tenants pay Council Tax, and would not be aware of the payments arrangements between the council and the occupant for Council Tax purposes.

The collection and enforcement of Council Tax is governed by legislation and administered by local authorities. Collection rates for Council Tax are consistently high compared to other forms of taxation, averaging around 97% in recent years.

Question reference: S6W-37852

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the University of Edinburgh regarding reports that the university plans to reduce jobs by up to 1,750.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills has met recently with the Principal of Edinburgh University to discuss its cost-saving programme and potential impact on staff.

Staffing and operational matters are the responsibility of individual universities as autonomous institutions, however the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Councill will continue to engage closely with the sector and offer appropriate support to universities, including Edinburgh, as they develop their plans to address financial challenges.

Whilst Ministers cannot compel institutions to commit to no compulsory redundancies, the Scottish Government’s expectation is that universities work with staff to make every effort to protect jobs, and for compulsory redundancies to be considered as a last resort, after all other cost saving measures have been fully explored.

Question reference: S6W-37831

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what risk assessments it has made of non-compliance with the Equality Act 2010 of its own policies and guidance.

The Scottish Government has met with the EHRC and we will continue to engage as they update the Code of Practice.

The Scottish Government has already begun work on implementation. We have established a Short Life Working Group to ensure support and consistency across Government. The EHRC are aware of our approach and this work will position us towards a state of readiness to take all necessary steps when the EHRC’s Code of Practice and updated guidance are published.

The group consists of senior civil servants representing all relevant portfolios across government. The aims of the group are to;

- ensure that there is a consistent approach to the understanding of the ruling;

- review legislation, guidance and policies within Scottish Government portfolios that the ruling impacts on; and

- ensure the Scottish Government is ready and prepared once the EHRC's revised Code of Practice is published.

Question reference: S6W-37976

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many public inquiries have overrun their original timeframe since 2007, and what the total additional cost of any such overruns has been.

For the majority of current or concluded Scottish Public Inquiries none have overrun their original timeframe since the Inquiries (Scotland) Rules 2007 came into effect. This is because Ministers have not sought to specify in the Terms of Reference a fixed date by which the inquiry must conclude, to ensure that there is no impediment to the ability of the Chair to follow evidence wherever it may lead, and that their independence from government is manifest to all those with an interest in the inquiry.

However, the exception to this would be the concluded Vale of Leven Inquiry. The Terms of Reference included a provision “to report by 30 September 2010 unless otherwise provided by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing”. The Chair of the Inquiry made an application to the Cabinet Secretary for the deadline for the report to be extended, with the final phase of oral hearing not being completed until June 2012. The Chair confirmed in the inquiry’s report that they “did not consider it possible to report by a specified date” explaining that “until the work of an inquiry is well underway any prediction about a time limit cannot be accurate and may be totally unrealistic”.

The current Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry Terms of Reference provide an example of how an overall expectation in relation to reporting timeframes can be set, whereby they include an expectation of the inquiry “To provide reports to the Scottish Ministers as soon as practicable”. How the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry fulfils that expectation in practice is, under the legislation, a matter for its independent Chair.

In relation to costs, there is no single record maintained by Scottish Government of cost information relating to current and former inquiries. Costs are determined to a large extent by how each inquiry is run by its independent Chair and, for this reason, the Scottish Government does not set a fixed budget or cost limit for an inquiry. Under section 17 of the Inquiries Act 2005, the Chair is responsible for the procedure and conduct of an inquiry, and has a duty to avoid any unnecessary cost. Publication of information in relation to costs is undertaken independently by inquiries themselves.

Question reference: S6W-37945

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what policy initiatives it plans to enact that are aimed at supporting female entrepreneurs.

As outlined in this year's Programme for Government, we are investing a record £6m to continue implementation of the recommendations of Ana Stewart and Mark Logan’s Pathways report on women in entrepreneurship.

This funding will build on the success of the South of Scotland Enterprise Pre-Start Regional Pilot and Pathways Fund and ensure that the opportunities of entrepreneurship are accessible to more women, closing the gender gaps in business participation and opening up the opportunities of entrepreneurship to under-represented and under-supported groups.

Question reference: S6W-37837

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding action to address the impact on consumers in Scotland from reported rising renewable energy costs.

Question reference: S6W-37844

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Human Rights Commission’s reported view that the treatment of autistic people resembles that of a “bygone era”.

The Scottish Government is firmly committed to building a country that ensures equality of opportunity for all by embedding equality, inclusion and human rights into everything that we do. That includes ensuring that the rights of all neurodivergent people, including those with autism, are respected, protected and championed.

We are continuing to deliver work across government and with national and local partners, combining a national focus with strong local leadership.

Work is continuing on the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill, which presents a unique and world-leading opportunity to help create a society where being neurodivergent or having a learning disability is as accepted as being neurotypical.

Question reference: S6W-37994

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £90.2 million invested through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal has been invested directly in the (a) Stirling and (b) Clackmannanshire Council area.

Funding for the Deal is awarded by both Governments to the Stirling and Clackmannanshire region rather than individual Local Authority areas with investment decisions ultimately made by regional partners. This includes joint projects between the three main Deal partners, Stirling Council, Clackmannanshire Council and University of Stirling.

Neither the initial capital investment location nor the lead delivery partner for a specific Deal project conveys where the economic impact of Government investment is realised at Local Authority level. An indicative investment breakdown based on project location includes:

£21.55 million within Clackmannanshire;
£62.08 million within Stirling; and
£6.56 million pan Stirling and Clackmannanshire.

Question reference: S6T-02583

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of claims by a whistleblower at Police Scotland that officers are being “coerced” into logging individuals in line with their gender identity, even in serious sexual assault cases.

Question reference: S6T-02586

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the connectivity of local communities in the west of Scotland, in light of reports that over 400 Stagecoach drivers in Ayr, Arran, Ardrossan and Kilmarnock have begun industrial action until 21 July.