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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-27079

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing legislation in Scotland similar to the UK Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

The Scottish Government, at this time, does not have plans to introduce legislation similar to the UK Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

The Scottish Government remains committed to improving animal welfare and will carefully consider DEFRA’s proposals for restricting advertising of animal activities abroad, once known.

Sadly the opportunity to jointly introduce this legislation was lost due to the last minute handling by the UK Government that saw Scottish Ministers given insufficient time to consider the proposals and their implications. The Scottish Government would have liked to have given their full support to these measures

Scottish Ministers will continue to engage with the UK Government and other devolved administrations where it is practical and feasible to do so.

Question reference: S6W-26980

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure equitable access to alcohol and drug rehabilitation services in (a) East and (b) South Ayrshire, in light of reports that the 12-week programme costs between £15,000 and £20,000 per person.

The Scottish Government has made a significant investment in residential rehabilitation services and associated aftercare as part of the £250 million investment into our National Mission to improve and save lives impacted by substance use. As part of this investment, we allocated a £5 million uplift in funding to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) across Scotland, to be spent on residential rehabilitation until the end of this parliament.

The Scottish Government has been clear that this funding must be distributed fairly, taking account of the many factors that influence the needs of particular areas and the costs of supplying local services. The ADP uplift, therefore, was and continues to be administered using the National Resource Allocation Formula, which is responsibility of the NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC).

The NRAC formula remains the fairest method of distributing funding allocations across the country, and this was applied to the allocation for both East and South Ayrshire, taking into consideration the local requirements as appropriate.

Public Health Scotland published their interim Evaluation of the Scottish Government Residential Rehabilitation programme in February, where the best available evidence put the average cost estimate of a publicly funded residential rehabilitation placement in Scotland at £11,000 per person (in the first six months of financial year 2023-2024).

Question reference: S6W-26850

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any concerns regarding the management of the closure of Glasgow East Women’s Aid services, in light of reports of planned legal action by Unite on behalf of staff of the charity.

Question reference: S6W-26974

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26724 by Paul McLennan on 22 April 2024, whether it will publish its response regarding standardised approaches to bond calculations, inspections, and approvals in relation to housebuilding before July 2024.

Question reference: S6W-26827

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-23717 and S6W-23718 by Jenni Minto on 19 December 2023, whether it is aware of any specialist services for children and young people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in Scotland, and, if it is the case that it is not aware of any such services, what plans it has to address this.

We recognise the importance of good quality care for children and young people living with ME/CFS.

Children and young people with ME/CFS can experience a wide spectrum of symptoms and may require input from clinicians from a variety of specialisms. We know there is no ‘one-size fits all’ response and a focus is required on coordinating existing care. Whilst children and Young People are not included within the scope of the current Neurological Care & Support Framework strategy, those who need assessment by a consultant or other professional can access this after an appropriate referral, normally from a GP, and can be referred to any further services as required such as paediatric medical specialities, paediatric physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

The provision of healthcare services is the responsibility of local NHS Health Boards, taking into account national guidance, local service needs and priorities for investment. Whilst our 2023 survey of health boards’ arrangements for ME/CFS care did not identify any ME-specific specialist services for children and young people, Boards are expected to ensure that patients have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition.

Question reference: S6W-26716

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of every capital project that it has (a) delayed and (b) cancelled, and the budget allocated for each project, as a result of decisions that it has taken following the 2024-25 Scottish Budget.

Based on the latest forecasts, our block grant for capital is expected to reduce in real terms by 8.7 per cent by 2027-28 – a cumulative loss of over £1.3 billion. This is why the Scottish Government is currently undertaking a cross government review of all capital projects and anticipate the revised infrastructure investment pipeline will be published alongside the Medium-Term Financial Strategy in the Spring.

Question reference: S6W-27180

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the evaluation of the operation of the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020 in practice.

During the initial passage of the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020 (the EURO 2020 Act), the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee’s report included a recommendation, which the Scottish Government accepted, that a formal evaluation of the operation of the legislation’s provision in practice should be undertaken.

Any scope to report on, and evaluate, the EURO 2020 Act was severely limited due to the Coronavirus pandemic’s impact. The rescheduled event took place in 2021 with a limited number of spectators present. Public health considerations were of paramount importance and a number of mitigations were put in place for the event in order to reduce the risk of transmission. Glasgow City Council oversaw compliance with these measures.

The Scottish Government was unsuccessful in procuring an independent evaluation of the operation of the measures provided for by the EURO 2020 Act and associated regulations. However, feedback on operation of the legislation was gathered from event partners, including Glasgow City Council and UEFA.

A summary of feedback received from partners was as follows:

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have not received any reports under the EURO 2020 Act. As far as COPFS officials are able to identify, COPFS did not receive any reports in relation to ticket touting, illegal street trading or illegal advertising with offence dates between 11 June and 12 July 2021.
Glasgow City Council noted that the legislation was essential in ensuring restrictions could be put in place. However, it would have been useful for event partners to have agreed upon the requirement to implement legislation sooner, particularly had the original 2020 dates taken place. This would have allowed for a fuller public consultation and more notice to traders of the restrictions being implemented;
The Scottish Football Association echoed the point around the need for identifying a legislative solution sooner, in the context of the originally scheduled EURO 2020. However, the Scottish Football Association recognised that the Scottish Government successfully managed to expedite a process, timetable and resource base that provided considerable comfort and confidence to key project stakeholders – UEFA, the Scottish Football Association, and Glasgow City Council; and
UEFA noted that, despite the strong and clear wording of the legislation, implementation of the legislation was challenging. Whilst UEFA considers that Glasgow City Council Trading Standards’ level of resource and patrolling was sufficient, it has also observed that Glasgow City Council Trading Standards did not feel comfortable going above and beyond what they would do in normal circumstances against infringing activities.

The summary feedback set out above – along with the more detailed findings collated by officials as part of this exercise – will be used to inform the public consultation of EURO 2028: commercial rights protection which was launched on 2 May 2024.

Question reference: S6O-03412

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what work it is doing to ensure that teachers get permanent contracts.

Question reference: S6O-03414

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any reduction in the number of taxis in Glasgow as a result of the introduction of the Low Emission Zone in June 2023.

Question reference: S6O-03413

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how a public health approach to justice can reduce crime and make communities safer.