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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.

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Question reference: S6W-34859

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and Edinburgh Trams Ltd to extend the discount available to those aged under 22 from Glasgow and Edinburgh to other young people in Scotland who hold a Scottish National Entitlement Card or Young Scot National Entitlement Card.

The Scottish Government provides funding for the National Concessionary Bus Travel Schemes for Older and Disabled People and for Young People which provide free bus travel throughout Scotland for eligible National Entitlement Card holders.

We have no plans to extend the Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme to Edinburgh trams or the Glasgow subway.

Local authorities have discretionary powers under the Transport Act 1985 to provide and fund local concessionary travel schemes for their residents. The extent and terms of any such scheme are for individual local authorities to decide.

Although the Scottish Government contributed to the cost of the trams and the Glasgow Underground, it is for City of Edinburgh Council and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) to determine whether to offer travel concessions for those travelling on these services.

Question reference: S6W-34334

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports in each of the five calendar years prior to the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 coming into force were made to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) under the (a) Explosives Act 1875, (b) Environmental Protection Act 1990, (c) Fireworks Act 2003, (d) Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004, (e) Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004, for the inappropriate use of fireworks and pyrotechnic articles, (f) Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005 and (g) Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2010, and how many subsequent (i) prosecutions and (ii) convictions there were.

The following tables have been produced in answer to the question above. It should be noted that cases which are reported in any given year may not result in prosecutions or convictions until subsequent years.

Explosives Act 1985

Year	Charges reported	Charges prosecuted	Charges resulting in a conviction
2017	21	7	5
2018	10	2	2
2019	10	7	5
2020	13	1	0
2021	7	3	0

Environmental Protection Act 1990

Year	Charges reported	Charges prosecuted	Charges resulting in a conviction
2017	355	28	13
2018	268	30	13
2019	185	35	15
2020	158	17	7
2021	74	21	11

Fireworks Act 2003

Year	Charges reported	Charges prosecuted	Charges resulting in a conviction
2017	0	0	0
2018	2	1	1
2019	0	0	0
2020	0	0	0
2021	0	0	0

Fireworks (Scotland) Regulations 2004

Year	Charges reported	Charges prosecuted	Charges resulting in a conviction
2017	0	0	0
2018	0	0	0
2019	0	0	0
2020	0	0	0
2021	1	0	0

Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 [1](where fireworks and/or pyrotechnics were mentioned in the charge).

Year	Charges reported	Charges prosecuted	Charges resulting in a conviction
2017	0	0	0
2018	5	0	0
2019	2	0	0
2020	0	0	0
2021	0	0	0

Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005

Year	Charges reported	Charges prosecuted	Charges resulting in a conviction
2017	0	0	0
2018	0	0	0
2019	0	0	0
2020	0	0	0
2021	0	0	0

Pyrotechnics Articles (Safety) Regulations 2010

Year	Charges reported	Charges prosecuted	Charges resulting in a conviction
2017	0	0	0
2018	0	0	0
2019	0	0	0
2020	0	0	0
2021	0	0	0

[1] These figures are based on a key word search on the relevant database. This is the only viable method by which the figures could be collated. These figures may be imperfect due to the possibility of human error at the reporting stage.

Question reference: S6W-34333

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports have been made (a) each calendar year and (b) since 1 January 2025 to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, and how many subsequent (i) prosecutions and (ii) convictions there have been.

The following tables have been produced in answer to the question above. Table 1 shows figures for charges reported under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, Table 2 shows figures for charges reported with aggravations under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022. It should be noted that cases which are reported in any given year may not result in prosecutions or convictions until subsequent years. Figures for 2025 cover the period from 01 January 2025 to 03 February 2025.

Table 1 Charges reported under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022

Year	Reported Cases	Prosecutions	Convictions
2022	0	0	0
2023	31	20	08
2024	64	28	07
2025	06	0	0

Table 2 Cases reported with aggravations based on the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022

Year	Reported Cases	Prosecutions	Convictions
2022	22	2	2
2023	54	9	1
2024	14	10	0
2025	0	0	0

Question reference: S6O-04260

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to prevent death by suicide in prison.

Question reference: S6W-32767

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the proposals to reduce ScotRail ticket office opening hours at a number of stations, whether it will list the full range of fares, products and services that will no longer be available at these stations during the times that the ticket offices are proposed to be closed.

Question reference: S6W-32766

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the proposals to reduce ScotRail ticket office opening hours at a number of stations, what its position is on how these proposals represent an improvement for passengers, compared with current arrangements, in relation to (a) access to rail fares and products, (b) passenger assistance, (c) provision of information, including during disruptions, (d) safety, (e) penalty fare arrangements and (f) access to station facilities.

Proposed adjustments will enable a redeployment of some ScotRail staff to provide more and better assistance for passengers. Passenger assistance services will remain available across ScotRail as they are now and all ScotRail services are specified to convey a member of staff on-board to assist passengers.

ScotRail stations will continue to offer access to assets as they do at present. Facilities and toilets used by the public in most cases will remain open even when ticket office desks are shut. Additionally, help with ticket selection is now available at help points at stations. This help is available whenever the station is open, which is longer than current ticket offices opening times.

ScotRail does not impose penalty fares.

Question reference: S6W-32071

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-02170 by Fiona Hyslop on 5 November 2024, in relation to the proposed reduction in ticket office opening hours in the evenings on the ScotRail network, what further details it can provide in response to the reported concerns of passengers travelling at night, particularly women, regarding safety and antisocial behaviour.

The passenger safety, especially women and girls’, is one of the Scottish Government’s priorities. The Scottish Government expects that, once ScotRail’s plans have been implemented, the improved staff visibility and ScotRail having ability to deploy staff more flexibly will not only improve feeling of safety for all passengers, including women and girls, but also maintain an environment, which helps to deter any potential anti-social behaviour.

Question reference: S6W-32074

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-02170 by Fiona Hyslop on 5 November 2024, in relation to the proposed reduction in ticket office opening hours on the ScotRail network, what further details it can provide in response to the reported concerns of passengers and staff that the proposals will introduce uncertainty about the presence of staff who can provide support and address any antisocial behaviour at stations.

Question reference: S6O-04191

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions the economy secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the potential impact on the Scottish economy of the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery.

Question reference: S6W-32073

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-02170 by Fiona Hyslop on 5 November 2024, in relation to the estimate that ScotRail’s proposed changes in staff deployment will deliver an additional 11.5 million opportunities per year for interactions with passengers, how this figure has been calculated, and where it is anticipated that those interactions will take place.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32072 on 7 January 2025.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

It is incumbent on ScotRail and Scottish Rail Holdings to demonstrate that aims set out it their proposals to adjust the opening hours of some of ScotRail ticket offices can be achieved.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers