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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: S6F-04789

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2026

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland report indicating that staff shortages mean young prisoners at HMP & YOI Polmont lack enough opportunities for work, education or recreation and spend “far too long locked in their cells".

Question reference: S6W-44111

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is consulting with users of the M74 regarding the implications of option 3 in the Transport Scotland consultation on a permanent solution for the M8 Woodside viaducts.

Transport Scotland is undertaking consultation and engagement on the strategic approaches for the M8 Woodside Viaducts Permanent Solution project through the current public exhibition process, which runs until 25 March. This consultation is open to all stakeholders, including users of the wider trunk road network such as the M74. In addition to holding two in-person public exhibitions in Glasgow on 25 February at Dundasvale Residents Hall and 4 March at Woodside Halls, a virtual exhibition room was launched on 25 February, to allow those unable to attend the in-person events to view the exhibition material and provide feedback. To maximise awareness and participation, Transport Scotland has taken a range of proactive steps to promote the consultation, including:

Promotion through a Transport Scotland news release, issued on 18 February.

Social media promotion, to direct road users and communities to the exhibition materials.

Paid adverts placed in both local and national media, including The Herald and The Glasgow Times, to publicise the consultation period and the exhibition events to as wide an audience as possible.

Letter drops in the local area ensuring residents near the viaducts were directly informed of the consultation opportunities.

and

Direct correspondence issued to key stakeholders, including elected members across the Glasgow area and relevant community councils, inviting participation and drawing attention to the consultation period and events.

Feedback gathered from all channels will inform the assessment of the strategic approaches to the Permanent Solution.

Question reference: S6W-44109

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Transport Scotland regarding options available for a permanent solution for the M8 Woodside viaducts.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with Transport Scotland, which is responsible for taking forward the M8 Woodside Viaducts Permanent Solution project. Work is in progress to develop the Strategic Outline Case for the project, including consideration of a range of alternative approaches that are currently the subject of a public consultation which runs to 25 March. Feedback from that consultation will be considered alongside other factors to determine the preferred approach for the project, which will balance issues such as engineering, environmental, economic, health and safety and social value considerations. Transport Scotland will discuss the emerging findings from this assessment with the Scottish Government when this work is sufficiently advanced.

Question reference: S6W-44110

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding option 3 in the Transport Scotland consultation on the permanent solution for the M8 Woodside viaducts.

Question reference: S6W-43994

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it or Police Scotland has undertaken of public confidence in the police since the creation of Police Scotland.

Since 2008-09, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) has included questions on how confident respondents are in the ability of police in their local area across seven key areas (including preventing crime, catching criminals and supporting victims of crime). In addition, respondents have been asked since 2012-13 about how good a job they think the police in their local area are doing overall. The latest findings for the 2023-24 reporting year can be found here.

The next set of results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey for the 2024-25 financial year will be published on 17 March 2026.

In addition to the above, Police Scotland collect views of the public through their own surveys, specifically their Your Police Survey and Local policing user experience survey (as part of their wider User Experience Surveys). Feedback from these surveys are regularly presented at the Scottish Police Authority's Policing Performance Committee. The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) also conducts regular polling of Scottish adults (aged 16 and over) on policing in Scotland and other related interests. The SPA polling reports can be found here.

Question reference: S6W-43992

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government regarding the budget for Police Scotland, whether it will provide information on what it would have been if it had it kept up with inflation measured (a) using Consumer Price Index (b) by Retail Price Index, in each year since the creation of Police Scotland.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of inflation faced by consumers, and is not an appropriate comparison for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) budget. Retail Price Index (RPI) is not an Accredited Official Statistic, and the Office for Statistics Regulation advises against its use as a measure of inflation. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator is the broadest measure of economy-wide inflation, and is the standard measure when considering real terms government spending.

Using the GDP deflator, the 2026-27 SPA Budget has increased in real terms compared to the opening 2025-26 budget. We will invest record funding of over £1.7 billion in policing in 2026-27, a total budget increase of £81.5 million or 5% compared to the published 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) budget. It is for the SPA, working with the Chief Constable, to determine how to allocate this budget to meet policing priorities.

Question reference: S6W-43990

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it and Police Scotland are taking to increase the funding available to improve the psychological wellbeing of police officers.

Our police officers and staff do a challenging job, often in very distressing circumstances, where health and welfare remain a priority for Police Scotland. I welcome the commitment by the Chief Constable to ensuring her workforce receives the right physical and mental wellbeing support, by working to educate and support officers in managing trauma exposure.

Police Scotland has made a £17 million investment over four years to support the health and wellbeing of the workforce and the Chief Constable confirmed the expansion of support measures, including through the Employee Assistance programme and trauma risk management provision.

The Scottish Government will invest record funding of over £1.7 billion in policing in 2026-27, a total budget increase of £81.5 million or 5% compared to the published 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision budget. It is for the Scottish Police Authority, working with the Chief Constable, to determine how best to allocate this budget to meet policing priorities, including the wellbeing of officers and staff.

Question reference: S6W-43996

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many assaults on police officers have been recorded by Police Scotland in each year since the creation of Police Scotland.

The production of the Accredited Official Statistics on recorded crime in Scotland was amended to allow the separate identification of assaults against police officers/staff from the reporting year of 2024-25 onwards. These can be further broken down into Serious assault, Common assault (with injury) and Common assault (without injury).

The number of these crimes recorded in 2024-25 is provided below. The next full year will be available in June 2026 as part of the Recorded Crime in Scotland 2025-26 Accredited Official Statistics.

Police recorded crimes of assaults on police officer/staff, by type, 2024-25, Scotland.

Crime; assault on police officer/staff	2024-25
Serious assault	20
Common assault (with injury)	1,123
Common assault (without injury)	6,098
Total	7,241

Source: Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2024-25 - gov.scot

Question reference: S6W-43998

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will complete the roll-out of new equipment to provide greater protection to police officers.

While the rollout of all equipment to officers is a matter for the Chief Constable, Police Scotland have confirmed that the rollout of Body Worn Video (BWV) to the planned first tranche of 10,500 officers will complete in the coming weeks, with the final group of officers expected to receive the technology in May.

The rollout of Body Worn Video is a game changer for Police Scotland’s hard working officers and is expected to increase public confidence in policing and improve safety for police officers and staff.

Ensuring our officers can access this technology is a result of record Scottish Government investment in policing.

Question reference: S6W-43993

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent police officers have been employed in each year since the creation of Police Scotland.

Information on the number of full-time equivalent police officers is published on a quarterly basis. These publications can be found on the Scottish Government website.

The latest publication, Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 31 December 2025, contains a table that shows the number of full-time equivalent police officers employed by Police Scotland as at the end of each quarter from 31 March 2007 to 31 December 2025.

The next publication, Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 31 March 2026, will be published on 5 May 2026.