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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: S6T-01780

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to comments made by the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service that prisoners may need to be released early due to overcrowding.

Question reference: S6F-02821

Asked by: Jim Fairlie, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on what progress the Scottish Government has made towards implementing the recommendations of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee’s report, Long COVID.

Question reference: S6F-02810

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the Who Cares? Scotland research report, Is Scotland Keeping the Promise?, which reportedly indicates that, on the fourth anniversary of the publication of The Promise, key pledges made to care experienced people are not being fulfilled.

Question reference: S6F-02813

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the Scottish Information Commissioner’s intervention into its use and retention of informal communications, in light of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Question reference: S6F-02798

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to strengthen enforcement powers in relation to long-term empty homes.

Question reference: S6F-02792

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02793

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-24821

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, for what reason it decided to include provisions that reportedly allow for murder to be prosecuted in the proposed specialist Sexual Offences Court if the crime had a sexual element involved.

The Sexual Offences Court will be of equivalent status to the High Court when sitting as a court of first instance. Its processes and procedures will be the same as the High Court unless specifically provided for otherwise by the Bill, or subsequent secondary legislation or court rules. Importantly, judges sitting in the Court will have the same sentencing powers.

The proposed jurisdiction of the Sexual Offences Court includes murder only where it is libeled alongside a sexual offence listed in Schedule 3 of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill . The Crown may prosecute cases involving serious sexual offending where the accused is alleged to have killed one of their victims. Given the experiences of the surviving complainers, the nature of their evidence, and the benefits the Sexual Offences Court will bring, the objective is to ensure there is the opportunity for those cases to be heard in the Sexual Offences Court.

It should also be noted, these cases can still be prosecuted in the High Court, the Bill gives prosecutors this additional option to indict these cases to the Sexual Offences Court should they consider it appropriate to do so.

Question reference: S6W-24800

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what objectives it set for any funding that it has provided to the Friends of the Edington Hospital, North Berwick, since 2019.

Question reference: S6W-24799

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what objectives it set for any funding that it has provided to Alcohol & Drugs Action since 2019.

Alcohol & Drugs Action received funding from the Scottish Government’s National Development Project Fund (NDPF) from 2019 to 2021. High-level NDPF objectives are set out in Grant Offer Letters, and are as follows:

Recruiting staff to mentoring and supervision roles
Staff Mentoring roles / training and Recovery Group Peer-led Activity (range, location)
Advocacy role (training)
Develop further Peer Volunteer roles (Hospital, Housing, Justice settings)
Deliver activities in identified key settings
Evaluate effectiveness of mentor / supervisory aspects
Evaluate effectiveness of at-risk engagement with services/support
Adjust and further develop activities as required

Whilst Scottish Government did not directly set the objectives, the Corra Foundation administer funds on our behalf. The Challenge Fund, in 2018-19 and 2019-20 and the National Drugs Mission Funds, from 2021-22, to third sector and grassroots organisations. Alcohol & Drugs Action is a recipient of these funds and details of the projects are available at: Grant holder data - Corra Foundation