Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-38190

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many journeys have been taken on ScotRail trains in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6T-02586

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the connectivity of local communities in the west of Scotland, in light of reports that over 400 Stagecoach drivers in Ayr, Arran, Ardrossan and Kilmarnock have begun industrial action until 21 July.

Question reference: S6W-37928

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 6 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to support partners to reduce any widespread disruptive gatherings on coastal communities and beaches during seasonal warm weather and bank holidays, in light of reports of such gatherings resulting in antisocial behaviours, violence and serious incidents.

We want to encourage people to enjoy our beautiful beaches safely and responsibly.

The Scottish Government is working with partners to promote community safety over the summer period.

This month, our grant funded partner Fearless will launch a summer safety campaign to encourage pro-social behaviour and responsible decision-making among children and young people on key issues affecting them. Campaign messaging will be promoted through social media as well as a series of outreach events across Scotland.

We support Police Scotland and partners in making full use of available resources, tools and powers available to them. Partners working locally are best placed to understand and address issues that communities face, including at coastal communities. Taking account of different circumstances and intelligence, preventative, diversionary work may also be undertaken by partners. Police Scotland can enforce the law by using a number of measures, including public disorder and dispersal powers

The Scottish Government also supports a range of targeted prevention and early intervention activity in schools, hospitals and across communities, working with partners to tackle violence. This is in addition to the Cashback for Communities programme, which supports young people most at risk of being involved in antisocial behaviour, offending or reoffending.

Our Water Safety Action Plan includes raising awareness of how to stay safe around water through promoting the Scottish Water Safety Code, which recommends avoiding alcohol or drugs if near water to prevent an increased risk-taking behaviour.

Question reference: S6W-37703

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the most recent data on how many (a) full-time equivalent, (b) part-time, (c) casual and (d) other employees it has in each local authority area.

The Scottish government publish official workforce statistics on a quarterly basis. The latest available data, is for December 2024 Scottish Government workforce information - gov.scot.

The following table provides details of the working location of directly employed Scottish Government staff, split by Local authority, Full time/Part time working pattern and Permanent/Temporary status.

Scottish Government - Directly employed workforce headcount, December 2024
	Permanent - Full time	Permanent - Part time	Temporary - Full Time	Temporary - Part Time	Total
Aberdeen City	199	47	1	0	247
Aberdeenshire	62	17	1	0	80
Angus	3	1	0	0	4
Argyll and Bute	32	9	0	0	41
Clackmannanshire	0	0	0	0	0
Dumfries and Galloway	25	5	0	0	30
Dundee City	42	6	0	0	48
East Ayrshire	0	0	0	0	0
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0
East Lothian	0	0	0	0	0
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0
City of Edinburgh	5169	1029	28	3	6229
Falkirk	35	22	0	0	57
Fife	3	1	0	0	4
Glasgow City	1800	272	8	2	2082
Highland	124	36	0	0	160
Inverclyde	0	0	0	0	0
Midlothian	0	0	0	0	0
Moray	11	0	0	0	11
Na h-Eileanan Siar	23	8	0	0	31
North Ayrshire	0	0	0	0	0
North Lanarkshire	0	0	0	0	0
Orkney Islands	15	2	0	0	17
Perth and Kinross	79	29	0	0	108
Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0
Scottish Borders	33	12	0	0	45
Shetland Islands	12	3	0	0	15
South Ayrshire	39	9	0	0	48
South Lanarkshire	23	7	0	0	30
Stirling	0	0	0	0	0
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0
West Lothian	26	4	0	0	30
Outwith Scotland	29	1	2	0	32
	7784	1520	40	5	9349

Question reference: S6W-37924

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 30 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the sale of Prestwick Airport to a new owner or the timescales around its potential return to the private sector.

I wrote to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 25 June 2024 to confirm that a market testing exercise for Glasgow Prestwick Airport was underway. Scottish Ministers’ longstanding position is that the airport should be returned to the private sector at the appropriate time and opportunity. This must be to an organisation with the commitment and capability to operate businesses directly relevant to GPA.

Any decision to sell GPA must represent value for money for taxpayers and be informed by what is right for the long-term success of the business and its contribution to the local and Scottish economy.

This process is continuing and I will update Parliament when a significant development has been made.

Question reference: S6W-37775

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of a six-fold increase in ferry cancellations due to technical faults on the Clyde and Hebrides routes, what specific measures it is taking to improve service reliability and maintain consistent connectivity for island communities.

CalMac make every effort to avoid cancellations due to technical breakdowns, but it is impossible to completely remove the risk of this happening in technically complex vessels.

Between 2015 and 2024 CalMac have operated over 1.5 million sailings, with 5.2% cancelled. Of those cancelled sailings, 22% were for technical reasons and 62% were related to weather.

The arrival of 13 new vessels by 2029, which started with MV Glen Sannox in January this year, will help improve connectivity and resilience for island residents, businesses, and communities. These new vessels should be able to operate in more challenging weather and sea conditions and will also improve accessibility and route flexibility. Communities and services will also benefit from the provision of shore power upgrades and enhanced port facilities.

Question reference: S6W-37702

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prosecuted under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 in each year since 2010.

The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2022-23.

The following table provides the number of people prosecuted under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) 2003 Act, where it was a main crime, 2010-11 to 2021-22.

	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
DOG FOULING (SCOTLAND) 2003 SECTION 1(1)	61	50	27	85	78	26	14	11	7	5	1	1
DOG FOULING (SCOTLAND) 2003 SECTION 5(4)	4	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-
Total	65	52	28	86	78	26	14	11	7	6	1	1

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.

Please note: data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are affected by the pandemic, subsequent court closures, reduced court capacity due to physical distancing measures and delays to cases where key participants were forced to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19, and may not be considered indicative of long term trends.

Question reference: S6W-37701

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average fine issued for the possession of (a) heroin, (b) cocaine, (c) ecstasy, (d) cannabis and (e) amphetamines has been in each of the last 10 years.

The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2022-23. The answer is provided in the following table.

Average fine amount (£), where main penalty, for people convicted of a main charge of drug possession or possession with intent to supply, by selected drug types, 2013–14 to 2022–23
		2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Possession with intent to supply	a:Heroin	369	353	562	462	371	277	3,826	836	379	499
	b:Cocaine	425	700	1,598	1,071	655	683	885	450	627	719
	c:Ecstasy	502	610	450	543	400	534	527	280	478	503
	d:Cannabis	582	551	526	600	545	532	636	534	698	485
	e:Amphetamines	575	1,615	300	364	-	-	550	1,000	750	-
Possession	a:Heroin	186	192	175	193	202	195	200	204	203	243
	b:Cocaine	238	250	233	266	246	238	273	280	293	356
	c:Ecstasy	208	220	205	236	255	213	223	309	303	311
	d:Cannabis	140	148	154	177	197	190	198	215	253	274
	e:Amphetamines	179	218	214	180	216	226	173	168	164	275

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.

Please note: data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are affected by the pandemic, subsequent court closures, reduced court capacity due to physical distancing measures and delays to cases where key participants were forced to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19, and may not be considered indicative of long term trends.

Question reference: S6W-37348

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) uptake of the Council Tax Reduction scheme, in light of reports of record council tax rises.

The Council Tax Reduction Scheme exists to ensure that nobody in Scotland should have to meet a Council Tax liability they cannot be expected to afford.

Over 460,000 households receive some level of CTR, and on average recipients save over £850 a year. Over 380,000 households were in receipt of full CTR and therefore did not have to pay any council tax (as at March 20204).

The Council Tax working age scheme was revised from April 2022, to ensure that, as far as practicable, a household in the same circumstances receives the same level of Council Tax Reduction whether it is on Universal Credit or not.

In 2025-26 the Scottish Government has allocated over £15 million for the provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice. In 2025-26, Citizens Advice Scotland and the network of Bureaux have been allocated over £7.7 million. This funding supports the Money Talk Team service, providing free and confidential income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services across Scotland as well as the new national roll-out of the Council Tax Debt project.

Question reference: S6W-37346

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that its anti-poverty strategy explicitly addresses the reported disproportionate impact of poverty on single mothers and older women.

Gender equality is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s vision for a fairer Scotland. We want women of all ages to be empowered to exercise equal rights and opportunities, and to have equitable access to economic resources and decision making.

Eradicating child poverty is the top priority across all of government, with wide ranging action being taken to tackle poverty – including through investment in funded childcare, devolved employability services, and social security benefits such as our Scottish Child Payment.

We recognise that child poverty and women’s poverty are inextricably linked and that children in lone parent families, of which around 90% are headed by women, are at greater risk of poverty. Best Start, Bright Futures, our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan for 2022-26, outlines our focus on ensuring that policies and approaches effectively tackle the challenges and barriers faced by families at greatest risk of poverty, including lone parents. We will continue to use evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, and are increasingly taking an intersectional approach, to understand the challenges and needs of particular groups and ensure effective action is taken, including for lone parents.

The Scottish Government also recognises the positive contribution older people make to their communities and sees the value in bringing generations together. We aim to enable better access to a range of services for older people as and when they need them. We want to ensure people are financially secure and supported as they age.

The Scottish Government’s ‘A Fairer Scotland for Older People: framework for action’ contains a dedicated strand focused on activity we are undertaking to ensure people are financially secure and supported as they age. In addition, we provide funding of £2.2 million, through the Equality and Human Rights Fund, to older people’s organisations and age equality projects. This funding is delivering a range of initiatives that tackles poverty among older people.

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