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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-04834

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what specific actions it is taking to strengthen Scotland's democratic infrastructure, authority and state-building preparations to ensure that the Scottish Parliament could become the legislature of an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-37933

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its policies and guidance for public bodies, what its definition of "woman" is.

The Scottish Government accepts the UK Supreme Court judgment in the appeal brought forward by For Women Scotland against Scottish Ministers, which has confirmed the meaning of woman under the Equality Act 2010. As the Equality and Human Rights Commission are the body responsible for regulating and enforcing the mainly reserved Equality Act 2010, we await their updated Code of Practice while we consider our next steps. The consultation on the draft Code of Practice launched on 20 May 2025 and can be accessed here: Code of practice for services, public functions and associations: consultation 2025 | EHRC

However, the Scottish Government is also taking action now in preparation for the updated Code of Practice. Our internal Short Life Working Group is assessing implications of the Supreme Court judgment in areas such as legislation, guidance and policies . This work will position us towards a state of readiness to take all necessary steps when the EHRC’s Code of Practice is published.

We have also issued a note to all public bodies outlining the steps the Scottish Government’s has taken since the judgment. This note can be found here: UK Supreme Court ruling on meaning of sex in Equality Act: update - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-37939

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it estimates it would need to provide to local authorities to cover the cost of implementing a national council tax freeze in 2026-27.

Question reference: S6O-04826

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-37938

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 11 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, and in light of its series of papers, Building a New Scotland, which aimed to form a prospectus for an independent Scotland, what its policy is for what the weekly state pension entitlement would be in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-37937

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in relation to issuing bonds to finance key infrastructure in Scotland since it announced its intention to do so in October 2023.

On the 4 December as part of the Budget, The Scottish Government published a borrowing memorandum (Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026: Scottish Government borrowing - gov.scot), which included the outcome of the initial phase of Due Diligence on the work towards an inaugural Scottish Government Bond. The second phase of Due Diligence on Bonds issuance is currently ongoing, and the Government will continue to update Parliament over the course of the year as this work progresses

Question reference: S6W-37934

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 11 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, whether it will consider holding an independence convention during summer 2025.

The Scottish Government is focused on delivering for people across the country and making the case for taking decisions in Scotland for Scotland with independence.

The Scottish Government will publish further material on independence to give the people of Scotland the information they need to make an informed choice about their constitutional future. We are not planning an independence convention this summer.

Question reference: S6W-37940

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on implementing a ban on surrogacy in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-37946

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of any action to reduce any sex-related pay inequality, whether it will consider changes to tax policy to increase the pay thresholds for the intermediate and higher rate tax bands for women returning to work after maternity leave.

Our Income Tax policy supports our progressive approach to tax, which balances the need of supporting households through a challenging economic period, while raising revenue to sustain our investment in public services.

We continue to deliver on our commitment to protect lower income households, ensuring more than half of taxpayers pay less than they would elsewhere in the UK for the remainder of this Parliament.

As part of the Tax Strategy published alongside the Budget, we are providing a period of stability for Income Tax for the lifetime of this Parliament which includes committing to uprating the Starter and Basic rate bands by at least inflation.

Whilst Employment Legislation is reserved, the Scottish Government has continued to use the levers at our disposal to encourage employers to adopt Fair Work practices for all workers including flexible and inclusive and family friendly workplace practices that can help reduce barriers faced by women in the labour market. Scotland has a lower gender pay gap across full and part-time earners compared to the UK and has been so since 2003.

We continue to closely monitor the impacts of our tax policy decisions on taxpayers, businesses, and the economy using a range of evidence such as real time economic data, formal evaluations and engagement with stakeholders, including the business community.

Question reference: S6W-37935

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can create a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and, if so, whether it will consider the creation of such a reserve.