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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-01423

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to reduce deaths in custody, including suicides, in light of reports of a 60% year-on-year increase.

Question reference: S6F-01419

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2022

To ask the First Minister what discussions she has had with the UK Government about new investment zones for Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-01410

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01409

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-11085

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 3 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many letters the First Minister has sent to the new Prime Minister; on what date each was sent, and what issues were raised in each.

Question reference: S6W-10989

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 3 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommendations on lung cancer screening and what action it is taking to implement these recommendations.

The Scottish Government is aware that the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) now recommend that the four UK countries should move toward the implementation of a targeted screening programme for lung cancer in adults aged 55-74 with a history of smoking.

The Scottish Government welcomes this recommendation, though notes that the UK NSC also acknowledges the significant complexities that must be worked through ahead of implementation. Scotland will play an active part in that work. The Scottish Government will also follow the advice of the National Screening Oversight (NSO) and Scottish Screening Committee (SSC) who will consider how the recommendation can best be taken forward in Scotland.

In the meantime, we have agreed to fund a one year extension of the University of Edinburgh’s feasibility study, LungScot, into targeted lung health checks for high risk individuals. This will help to inform future approaches.

Question reference: S6W-10991

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 3 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work is being undertaken on a national lung cancer screening programme in line with pilots that are progressing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S6W-10828

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 3 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to investigate the link between a so-called "blackout challenge", reportedly associated with TikTok, and youth fatalities and injuries, and what advice and information is available to children, young people, parents, carers and the wider public.

Protecting children from online harm is a key priority for the Scottish Government. We are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Scotland’s children and young people.

In October 2021, a National Hub was established to review all deaths of children. This will channel learning in order to reduce preventable deaths of, and harm to, children and young people. It is jointly operated by Health Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate with £550,000 funding from the Scottish Government.

Recognising that public engagement is vital, we ran a communications campaign giving advice to parents and carers on how to help keep children safe online. Across February and March, that campaign reached hundreds of thousands of Scots. It linked to the Scottish Government’s Parent Club website and a newly created Online Safety Hub .

With regards to education, the technologies area of the curriculum includes learning on internet safety and cyber resilience. Children and young people will learn about the safe and responsible use of different technologies, including the internet and social media, as part of their broad general education under Curriculum for Excellence. Education Scotland’s DigiLearn website provides training, resources and tailored guidance to support teachers to embed cyber resilience and internet safety learning across the curriculum.

The regulation of the internet is a reserved matter and falls to the UK Government. The UK Government’s Online Safety Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 17 March 2022, and has begun its passage through the Houses of Parliament. The legislation contains a number of important provisions which have the potential to keep children in Scotland safer online while enjoying the benefits the internet has to offer. The Scottish Government continues to work with UK Government counterparts and Ofcom on the implications of this legislation for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09602

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03209 by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many nurses have (a) joined and (b) left the NHS in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-11078

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to continue to support national museums and galleries in order to ensure they remain free to access, during the current cost of living crisis, what support it is providing to smaller organisations that face rising costs and falling incomes.

While funding for the national collections is a direct responsibility of the Scottish Government, other museums and galleries are core funded from a variety of sources including local government. The Scottish Government is in discussion with Museums Galleries Scotland to understand the current challenges facing smaller organisations. Museums Galleries Scotland provides development and project funding to the sector on behalf of the Scottish Government. In view of cost increases museums across Scotland are facing, Museums Galleries Scotland has decided to pause its planned grants programme in order to review whether it is the most effective way to meet the needs of the sector at this challenging time. They are working on this as a matter of urgency and will announce any revisions to their programme to the sector as soon as possible.