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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-01055

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when its policy on ending custodial sentences for 16- and 17-year-olds will be implemented.

Question reference: S6W-07572

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it will monitor the impact of self-declaration, in the context of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-07571

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what is meant by living in the acquired gender, in the context of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Living in the acquired gender’ is the gender in which a person is living when an application for a Gender Recognition Certificate is made.

It is an existing requirement under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. The Gender Recognition Panel who is currently responsible for handling applications advises in guidance for applicants that this may include, for example, having changed the gender marker on your passport and driving licence.

The Scottish Government will work with National Records of Scotland to provide guidance to applicants on the application process.

Question reference: S6W-07574

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how a false declaration will be demonstrated, in the context of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

It is an existing criminal offence to knowingly make a false statutory declaration and the Bill creates a new offence of knowingly making a false application for legal gender recognition. The maximum penalty for these offences is imprisonment for up to 2 years or an unlimited fine, or both.

There is provision in the Bill for a person with an interest in a Gender Recognition Certificate, such as the Registrar General to make an application to the Sheriff for revocation of a GRC on the grounds that it was fraudulently obtained. For example, the Registrar General may receive information that would have led to the refusal of the application or a person may make it known they have submitted a false application.

As with any criminal offence, it would be a matter for the police, the procurator fiscal and the courts to demonstrate and determine where an offence has been committed.

Question reference: S6O-01048

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the transition to secondary school and flexi-schooling models for pupils with additional support needs.

Question reference: S6F-01022

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2022

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will investigate the reported increasing number of children being referred to the gender specialist clinic in Glasgow, in light of reports of a similar inquiry planned by the UK Government.

Question reference: S6W-07621

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what capacity there currently is to offer catch-up vaccinations for children who have missed one or more routine vaccinations.

The routine pre-school immunisation programmes are delivered by local Health Boards in Scotland. If a child has missed a routine immunisation appointment, their parent or guardian will be able to contact the Health Board directly to arrange another appointment.

The Personal Child Health Record (or Red Book) is provided to all parents in Scotland and contains information on what vaccinations children should receive and when they should receive them, and is used to record when a vaccination has been administered. This enables parents or guardians to check whether any vaccinations have been missed, and provides contact details to arrange an appointment if needed. Information on childhood vaccinations is also available on the Parent Club website.

If a parent or guardian is unsure on the vaccination status of a child, they can contact their local Health Board or GP who will be able to provide them with more information.

Question reference: S6W-07625

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many routine non-COVID-19 vaccines have had to be disposed of because they could not be used due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neither the Scottish Government or Public Health Scotland are able to quantify how many routine vaccine doses have been disposed of due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine wastage can be attributed to other factors and therefore delineation of contributing factors is not possible.

The Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme is a well established programme that runs annually (usually between October – March each year), for which vaccine is procured nationally for the eligible groups. Every effort is made to minimise wastage, taking into account previous years’ vaccination uptake, whilst ensuring that sufficient stock is procured to support optimum uptake rates, and protect those most at risk of flu. During the pandemic, in 2020-21 and 2021-22 the flu programme has continued to record very good uptake across the eligible cohorts.

Question reference: S6W-07619

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government (a) whether and (b) how the routine vaccination programme for children under one year old has been impacted by recent health restrictions and reported strain on the NHS.

The routine childhood immunisation programmes have continued in Scotland throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for children of all ages.

Uptake for vaccines given to children aged under one year has remained consistently high in Scotland. Statistics on childhood immunisations are published quarterly by Public Health Scotland, which show that around 96% of children had received each routine immunisation by the time they were 12 months of age in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Uptake of the rotavirus vaccination by 12 months of age increased during the pandemic, from 93.2% in 2019 to 94.2% in 2021. Uptake of the first dose of MMR by the age of 24 months also increased, rising from 94% in 2019 to 94.4% in 2021.

The continued high uptake of childhood immunisations is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the NHS and the recognition of the benefits of vaccination.

Question reference: S6W-07622

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how parents and children can know if they have missed a routine vaccination, and what procedures are in place for such children.