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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-03228

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any implications for its role in supporting the delivery of Prevent in Scotland of the UK Government’s new definition of extremism.

Question reference: S6O-03231

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to challenge and deter men's demand for prostitution.

Question reference: S6O-03223

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support public interest journalism.

Question reference: S6O-03220

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is providing to the arts sector in Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S6W-26007

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the reported £700 million that it received in option fees through the 2022 ScotWind leasing round it spent in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24, and how much it projects that it will spend in (i) 2024-25, (ii) 2025-26, and (iii) 2026-27.

Crown Estate Scotland received £756 million in option fees from the initial ScotWind auctions in 2022-23. As set out in the 2022 Resource spending review, and subsequent budget publications, these funds were initially profiled to be drawn down by the Scottish Government over a three year period as follows:

2022-23 - £96 million

2023-24 - £310 million

2024-25 - £350 million

The final drawdown for 2022-23 was £96 million as planned. Drawdowns for 2023-24 and subsequent years are only finalised at the very end of March when the Scottish Government has more certainty over its financial position.

At the time of the 2024-25 Scottish Budget the planned drawdown for 2024-25 was decreased to £200 million reflecting the need to ensure sufficient funds were available to balance the 2023-24 financial position. Given the recent improvement to the 2023-24 position it is now likely that this will not be required in 2023-24 and therefore may be used to support future financial years.

Question reference: S6W-25963

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what research it or its agencies have undertaken regarding the current rates of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), including the Additional Dwelling Supplement, and whether it will make the findings of any such research publicly available.

Revenue Scotland publish monthly data for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) which sets out the number and value of transactions for residential LBTT, the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) and non-residential leases and conveyances. These publications can be found on Revenue Scotland's website at the following link: Monthly LBTT Statistics | Revenue Scotland

Revenue Scotland also publish an Annual Summary of Trends in the Devolved Taxes which sets out detailed data and commentary for LBTT and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT). The latest publication covering 2022-23 was published in November 2023 and can be found at the following link: Annual Summary of Trends in the Devolved Taxes 2022/23 | Revenue Scotland

Question reference: S6W-25966

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it or its agencies have done on modelling for a tax based on land value in Scotland, and whether it will make the outcomes of any such work publicly available.

In 2017, the Scottish Government asked the Scottish Land Commission to look at the potential for introducing a form of land value based tax in Scotland. One of their key findings was that, although the theoretical case for the introduction of a land value tax is strong, there is a lack of empirical evidence that land value taxes have actually delivered the theoretical benefits attributed to them. They went on to note that to date no country has ever replaced existing taxes on land and property with a single tax and most people today accept that the idea of a single tax is not practical in the 21st century. These findings were published by the Scottish Land Commission in October 2018.

Following the publication of these findings, the Scottish Government has not carried out any further modelling of a land value tax. However, the Scottish Government has continued to engage with academics and stakeholders with an interest in this topic.

Question reference: S6W-25965

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it or its agencies have done on modelling for a tax on wealth in Scotland, and whether it will make the outcomes of any such work publicly available.

We believe that the power to tax wealth should be devolved to this Parliament, so that it can be designed to work fairly and effectively in a Scottish-specific context. Any analysis of wealth taxes, therefore, must consider the limits of powers currently devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

We will continue to consider any tax proposals in line with our core tax principles which are set out in the Framework for Tax and believe that those with the broadest shoulders should contribute the most.

Question reference: S6W-25949

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential public expenditure or contingent liability implications for its Budget to de-risk or otherwise sufficiently underwrite private investment in nature sufficient to deliver private investment at the scale of (a) £5 billion, (b) £10 billion and (c) £15 billion up to 2032, in the absence of carbon prices capable of fully funding private investment ambitions, and whether it will publish any such assessment.

Options are currently being explored for spending models on nature restoration that can encourage greater responsible private investment while maximising the value of public spending. This includes consideration of ‘blended finance’ mechanisms where public funding is used in a more targeted way to support increased nature restoration activity by attracting responsible private investment.

The Scottish Government has not assessed potential public expenditure or contingent liability implications for its budget to de-risk or otherwise sufficiently underwrite private investment in nature. Budget implications would be published in line with usual processes.

Question reference: S6W-25943

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports of malpractice have been made to Health Improvement Scotland regarding medical aesthetic procedures carried out by healthcare professionals, since 2021.