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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: S6F-03851

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2025

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will protect the lives of racing greyhounds.

Question reference: S6F-03836

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 24 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2025

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

Question reference: S6F-03832

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03857

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2025

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the recent study by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit regarding the contribution of the net zero sector to the UK and Scotland’s economy.

Question reference: S6W-34146

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of prosecutions for speeding offences on trunk roads have resulted in (a) fines, (b) driving bans and (c) other penalties being imposed in each year since 2018, broken down by trunk road.

(a)Number of people receiving fines for speeding offences on trunk roads, where main crime, in Scottish Courts, by court location (LA), 2018-19 to 2022-23.

	2018-19	2022-23
TRUNK ROADS (S) TEMP RESTRICT TRAFFIC & OVERTAKING 30,40,50MPH (S) ORDER 1992	-	1
TRUNK ROADS (S) TEMP RESTRICT TRAFFIC & OVERTAKING 30,40,50MPH (S) ORDER 1994	1	1
TRUNK ROADS IN SCOT (TEMP PROHIBITIONS & TEMP SPEED RESTRICTIONS) ORDER 1996	-	2
All	1	4

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.

Some speeding offences that occurred on trunk roads may have been prosecuted under more general speeding offence charges.

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.

(b) No individuals received a court-imposed driving ban under legislation specifically for speeding offences on trunk roads (where main crime) between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

(c) No individuals were convicted and sentenced to 'other penalties' under legislation related to speeding on trunk roads (where main crime) between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-34332

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Christine Grahame (on behalf of the SPCB) on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will make a representation to the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth requesting that it reviews its Standing Rules and considers admitting devolved parliaments and legislative assemblies to its membership.

The Parliament seeks to engage with other legislatures, inter-parliamentary bodies and international organisations in line with the SPCB’s International Strategy. This engagement is kept under regular review, with the Parliament’s International Relations Office providing six-monthly updates to the SPCB. Invitations to any event are a matter for the organisers. The International Relations Office constantly reviews opportunities for the Parliament to develop its engagement and maintains contact with event organisers, including of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth, and will seek involvement for the Parliament where appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-34976

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it plans to undertake with the licensed hospitality sector ahead of planned non-domestic rates revaluations in 2026.

Question reference: S6W-34639

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the early release of prisoners on public safety in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government has utilised emergency early release legislation on two separate occasions in the last five years (May 2020 and June/July 2024).

Public and victim safety is central to our decision making, particularly when releasing individuals early from their prison sentence.

In each instance, the emergency action was necessary and proportionate to ensure prisons were able to operate safely, and to protect the health and wellbeing of prison staff and those held in custody. These decisions were not taken lightly, and on both cases strict eligibility criteria were set out, and agreed by Parliament.

In both cases, the number of individuals released was carefully limited to the level required. Only individuals who were close to their scheduled release date were eligible for release. There were important exclusions put in place for domestic abuse and sexual offences, long-term sentenced individuals were excluded, and Governors could veto the emergency early release of an individual, if this would present a risk to an individual or group.

Question reference: S6W-34649

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many heat pumps have been installed in Scotland to date, broken down by local authority area; how it monitors the number and location of heat pump installations, and what assessment it has made of progress towards its targets for heat pump installations.

We publish an annual report of progress against our Heat in Buildings strategy. The most recent report was published in October 2024: Heat in Buildings: progress report 2024 - gov.scot. This includes estimates for number of domestic and non-domestic properties with heat pumps, as monitored through the Scottish House Condition Survey(SHCS) and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.

For the Local Authority analysis of the SHCS, we use a three year pooled data set. This is not available for the latest survey data due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the 2020 and 2021 SHCS.

MCS data are publicly available here: The MCS Data Dashboard - MCS.

There is currently no target for heat pump installations in Scotland. While we see heat pumps as a key solution for decarbonising Scotland’s buildings, we also see a role for heat networks and direct electric heating, as well as potentially other technologies, alongside heat pumps.

Question reference: S6W-34647

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of prisoners released under any early release programmes in each of the last five years secured (a) stable housing and (b) employment within three months of release.

Data in relation to the housing circumstances and employment status of individuals released from custody is not available.

Individuals serving short-term sentences are not routinely subject to any form of post-release supervision or monitoring, and those that had supervision or monitoring requirements post-sentence were automatically excluded from both the Coronavirus specific early release process in 2020 and the Emergency Early Release process in 2024.

Pre-release planning, including in relation to housing needs, was a key feature of both of the emergency early release processes (2020 & 2024). The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) worked closely with representatives from Local Government – including housing departments, wider public bodies, and the third sector in the planning and operation of the processes.