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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-03282

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport's recommendations for the future delivery of the regional bus network.

Question reference: S6O-03185

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what cross-government action it is taking to improve island connectivity, in order to support measures to increase the population of Scotland's islands.

Question reference: S6O-03006

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether a greater increase in the Scottish Child Payment or a Council Tax freeze will do more to help families in poverty.

Question reference: S6O-02896

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the costs of the licensing schemes contained within the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill will be covered by the licence fees.

Question reference: S6W-22756

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish its research, conducted by Rocket Science, into vigils and protests that take place outside of hospitals and clinics offering abortion services.

The independent research which aims to examine the impact and scale of vigils and protests which take place outside of healthcare settings providing abortion services is ongoing.

The research was commissioned by the former Ministerial-led working group on safe access zones in 2022, and a final report is due in 2024. In the interim the Scottish Government will publish a literature review, which has been prepared as part of this research, before the end of 2023. In addition to this, a year 1 report which outlines the work that has been undertaken to date will be submitted to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee as part of the call for evidence for the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6O-02784

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will consider having a third exhibition area, in light of there being considerable demand for such spaces.

Question reference: S6O-02511

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further information regarding the Minimum Income Guarantee Expert Group.

Question reference: S6O-02483

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the potential introduction of strict liability in Scottish football.

Question reference: S6W-19897

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the most recent known level of Income Tax paid at the UK median wage for all employees is in Scotland, and what information it has on how this compares with the level paid in the rest of the UK.

According to the latest available data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2022, the median wage for employees in the UK was £27,756 in 2022.

At this level of income, and at the 2023-24 rates and bands of Scottish Income Tax, someone in Scotland would have an annual tax liability of £3,036.26. Someone living in the rest of the UK on this salary would have an annual tax liability of £3,037.20.

Question reference: S6W-19898

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the most recent known level at which business rates begin to be paid for the rateable value of individual properties is in Scotland, and what information it has on how this compares with the level in (a) England and (b) Wales.

The Scottish Budget delivered a package of reliefs for 2023-24 worth £749 million, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme which offers up to 100% relief for eligible individual properties in Scotland with a rateable value of up to £20,000.

To improve the design of the scheme, the Scottish Government expanded the upper eligibility threshold for the Small Business Bonus Scheme from £18,000 to £20,000 and made the relief more progressive by introducing a taper for properties with a rateable value between £12,001 and £20,000. The Small Business Bonus Scheme remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK, and continues to take 100,000 properties out of rates altogether. Table 1 provides a comparison of small business rates reliefs in Scotland, England and Wales.

Table 1: Small Business Rates Reliefs in Scotland, England and Wales in 2023-24

Scotland

England

Wales

Small business 100% relief threshold (rateable value) *

The relief is 100% for properties with a rateable value up to £12,000.

The relief is 100% for properties with a rateable value up to £12,000

The relief is 100% for properties with a rateable value up to £6,000.

Small business relief thresholds (rateable value) for relief less than 100% *

The relief tapers from 100% to 25% for properties with rateable value from £12,001 to £15,000.

The relief tapers from 25% to 0% for properties with a rateable value from £15,001 to £20,000.

The relief tapers from 100% to 0% for properties with a rateable value from £12,001 to £15,000.

The relief tapers from 100% to 0% for properties with a rateable value from £6,001 to £12,000.

Small business relief cumulative rules for ratepayers with multiple properties.

The relief may also be available for ratepayers with multiple properties where the total rateable value of all of the properties does not exceed £35,000.

Where the total rateable value is £12,000 or less, the relief is 100%.

Where total rateable value is between £12,001 to £35,000:

The relief is 25% for properties with an individual rateable value of £15,000 or less.

The relief tapers from 25% to 0% for properties with an individual rateable value of £15,001 to £20,000.

The relief is available for ratepayers with only one property.

If a ratepayer occupies a second property, the relief continues to be available on the existing property for 12 months before expiring, unless the rateable values of both properties are less than £2,900 and the total rateable value is less than £20,000 (£28,000 in London).

The relief is limited to two properties per business in each local authority.

*Note: A property is required to meet eligibility criteria other than rateable value in order to be eligible for the relief. For example, in Scotland properties used for the purposes of payday lending or betting shops are not eligible. Similarly, there are eligibility restrictions for ratepayers occupying multiple properties as shown in the table.