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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-37260

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to increase the uptake of Funeral Support Payment since its introduction in 2019.

Social Security Scotland is committed to tackling funeral poverty and increasing take-up of all Scottish benefits. Since its introduction in 2019, Funeral Support Payment has been promoted across a wide range of channels including advertising on radio, in print and online, as well as through articles in media outlets and content on our own social media channels.

Social Security Scotland works with funeral directors and other stakeholders to increase their awareness of the payment so they can identify people who might need help to pay for funeral costs. This work includes provision of print information and attending events to raise awareness. Social Security Scotland also ensures there is accessible information available to people if online at mygov.scot.

When Funeral Support Payment launched, the Scottish Government substantially widened eligibility compared to the UK Government equivalent. Since launching in 2019, the Scottish Government has provided £56.9 million to over 29,000 people to help pay for funeral costs at a time when they need it most.

Question reference: S6W-36670

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met officials from the Department for Work and Pensions regarding work to progress the delivery of automatic split payments of universal credit, as set out in part 6, section 94 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.

The Scottish Government provided a Policy Design Specification in October 2023 for formal impact assessment by the DWP, which set out how the Scottish Government would like the split policy to be delivered. I also recently met with Sir Stephen Timms MP, on 30 April, to discuss the UK Governments UC review, highlighting the work being carried out on split payments policy and the need for the UC review to include a gendered analysis. The Scottish Government remains committed to working with the DWP towards delivery of split payments for Universal Credit.

Question reference: S6W-36672

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the steps that it has taken to share the necessary information with the Department for Work and Pensions to support the progress of the Scottish Government’s 2017 policy commitment to introduce automatic split payments of universal credit in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-36671

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates that automatic split payments of universal credit in Scotland, as it committed to in 2017, will be delivered by the end of the current parliamentary session, and, if so, by what date.

Question reference: S6O-04639

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on its own reported assessment that its target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 is at risk.

Question reference: S6W-36454

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) regarding powers of attorney.

Question reference: S6W-36453

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed the current law around lasting powers of attorney.

Lasting Powers of Attorney is an English term which refers to two separate legal documents – one for property and financial affairs, and one for health and welfare. In Scotland, the equivalent arrangement is called a Power of Attorney (PoA), which can combine continuing (financial) and welfare powers into a single document.

Last year the Scottish Government published a consultation seeking views on proposed changes to the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. The consultation opened on 25 July 2024 and closed on 17 October 2024. Part 2 of the consultation related to changes to continuing and welfare powers of attorney. The Scottish Government published analysis of consultation responses on 25 January 2025.

Question reference: S6W-36456

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether current rules for challenging powers of attorney are sufficient for challenging potential abuses of such powers.

The Scottish Government (SG) has acknowledged that, while the current system for Powers of Attorney (PoAs) generally functions well, certain elements require improving and updating.

In January SG published analysis of responses to a consultation on proposals for reform of the Adults with Incapacity Act, including PoAs.

SG are now considering those responses and working towards modernising the AWI Act, taking forward recommendations from the Scottish Mental Health Law Review.

Question reference: S6W-36457

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases were brought to contest powers of attorney in each of the last three years.

Power of Attorney (PoA) applications in Scotland are registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which is a part of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). The SCTS is an independent body corporate and was established by the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. The SCTS is not directly answerable to the Scottish Government, but rather has its own board, chaired by the Lord President.

Once a PoA is registered with the OPG, concerns about its use are generally addressed through investigation or civil court action, such as seeking removal of the attorney or appointment of a guardian. The OPG does not hold data on the number of civil court action cases brought to contest in the last three years, as it is not formally notified of them.

Question reference: S6W-36455

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether current rules for obtaining powers of attorney are sufficient in preventing any abuse of such powers.

The Scottish Government (SG) has acknowledged that, while the current system for granting Powers of Attorney (PoAs) generally functions well, certain elements require improving and updating.

In January SG published analysis of responses to a consultation on proposals for reform of the Adults with Incapacity Act, including PoAs.

SG are now considering those responses and working towards modernising the AWI Act, taking forward recommendations from the Scottish Mental Health Law Review.