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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-35553

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the projected cost of HMP Glasgow was revised to £998.4 million; when the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs was advised of this figure, and whether it expects this to be the final cost.

Following a period of negotiation with the contractor Kier on the construction contract price, the total project cost of £998.4 million was confirmed in November 2024.

I received regular updates on the pricing and commercial process of the HMP Glasgow construction contract from the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service over the course of 2024. On 13 January 2025 Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs received formal advice confirming the total project cost £998.4m.

The construction contract is fixed price and the total project cost includes contingency for risk.

Question reference: S6W-35563

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what proportion of prisoners released under each early release programme in each of the last five years has an outstanding warrant for arrest, also broken down by what proportion has left the UK.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. Outstanding warrants are an operational matter for Police Scotland and other relevant authorities.

Emergency early release regulations have been utilised twice within the last five years (May 2020 and June/July 2024).

Any individuals who were identified during the assessment process as having any outstanding warrants, or court processes, were not eligible for release during either emergency process.

Question reference: S6W-35586

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of police cars are fitted with telematics technology, also broken down by Police Scotland division.

Question reference: S6W-35556

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether police officer numbers will return to at least their level at the beginning of the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown of 17,431, which was set on 31 March 2020, and, if it anticipates that they will, by when.

The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. In 2023, Police Scotland restructuring led to a new establishment figure of around 16,500 to 16,600 officers. The Scottish Government’s record investment of £1.55bn in 2024-25 has enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception, bringing officer numbers up to 16,508 at 31 December 2024.

Police Scotland’s three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 aims to make maximum impact with a workforce that has the right skills and capacity to keep people safe. Through workforce modernisation, they will reduce back-office duplication and create capacity to deal with new and increasing threats by moving more officers to frontline roles.

The Chief Constable has been clear that the context of frontline strength goes beyond an overall officer headcount and that of a police workforce which includes police staff.

Question reference: S6W-35588

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the effectiveness of police cars being fitted with telematics technology.

Question reference: S6W-35555

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that retailers should be encouraged to report all instances of shoplifting to Police Scotland.

We encourage all businesses to report any instances of criminality to Police Scotland. As well as enabling the perpetrators to be caught and being prevented from committing further crimes, such reports also ensure Police Scotland has the best possible intelligence on incidents in particular areas. The Scottish Government would also urge retailers to engage with the Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime (SPAACE) in order to help safeguard their business and the people that work there. The SPAACE Strategy outlines a partnership approach to the prevention, deterrence, and enforcement around a range of crimes including housebreaking and theft.

Question reference: S6W-34977

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what formal representations it has made to the UK Government regarding which sectors in Scotland could be exempted from the planned increase in the rate of employer national insurance contributions, and, if it has made any such representations, which sectors it has specifically raised with the UK Government, and whether this included licensed hospitality.

We have consistently called on the UK Government to reverse in full its decision to increase employer national insurance contributions from April 2025.

The First Minister wrote jointly with COSLA President Shona Morrison to the Chancellor in January, supported by a range of voluntary organisations setting out our serious concern at the impact of this tax change on the third sector.

We have called upon the UKG to take an ‘actual costs’ approach to compensation for increased costs as a result of the increase in employer’s national insurance contributions to all organisations who provide public services.

Question reference: S6W-35073

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the increase in freight capacity will be on the Aberdeen-Edinburgh/Glasgow railway lines under the Aberdeen to central belt 2026 enhancement project.

Question reference: S6W-34972

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33261 by Gillian Martin on 12 February 2025, whether it will provide the information requested regarding what (a) discussions and (b) meetings it has had with (i) expert organisations and (ii) the UK Government regarding the potential consequences for the UK’s future gas supply if the Jackdaw gas field was not to be developed for any reason, and whether it will publish the minutes of any such meetings, and, if no such discussions or meetings have taken place, whether it will confirm this.

Question reference: S6W-34862

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many Police Scotland officers or staff were unavailable for deployment in each month of (a) 2023 and (b) 2024 due to sickness or other physical or mental ill health.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on officer and police staff absences due to sickness or other physical or mental ill health reasons. The recording of staffing absences are a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Chief Constable’s commitment to police officers and staff wellbeing. Police Scotland provide access to a range of services including, a 24/7 employee assistance programme and direct access to occupational health services to support officers and police staff’s physical and mental wellbeing.