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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-03193

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03216

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2024

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will review the impact of the short-term let licensing legislation, in light of the upcoming summer tourist season.

Question reference: S6F-03194

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-27733

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it logs and collates incidents of dog attacks in each local authority area to understand the extent of any problem.

The Scottish Government does not collate data on dog attacks broken down by local authority area.

However, Public Health Scotland collects data provided by NHS Health Boards on the number of inpatient and day case admissions to hospital where a diagnosis of dog attack (bite or strike) was recorded.

I would refer you to the answer given to question S6W-24486 on 24 January 2024 for the available data from 2004 to 2022.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-27736

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consequences a dog might face where it attacks and physically injures a pedestrian.

There are powers available under a range of legislation that can be used depending on the specific situation. This is ultimately a matter for those involved in enforcing the law to decide based on the facts and circumstances of each individual case.

However, a dog that attacks and injures someone faces being seized, and could ultimately be destroyed. For example, where a dog owner has been found guilty of possessing a dangerously out of control dog under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, the court has a range of options available to it when sentencing. This includes imposing a destruction order in relation to the dog in question. These are matters for the independent court to decide upon in any given case.

Question reference: S6W-27734

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what research has been undertaken into whether dog harnesses are as effective at controlling aggressive dogs as leads.

There are various research papers that that can be found online that are relevant in this area. This includes : Dog Pulling on the Leash: Effects of Restraint by a Neck Collar vs. a Chest Harness - PMC (nih.gov) .

In addition, there are papers on the behavioural and biomechanical effects of using harnesses from a welfare perspective, for instance: Effect of harness design on the biomechanics of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) — SRUC, Scotland's Rural College

Question reference: S6W-27735

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on the number of attacks by dogs on people that have been committed by dogs in harnesses as opposed to with leads.

Question reference: S6W-27726

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to investigate any reasons for the standardised mortality ratio reportedly being (a) above the upper warning limit for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and (b) below the lower warning limit for the Western General Hospital, in 2023.

Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio data is one of a series of measures we use to monitor safety in Scotland’s hospitals. With regard to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE), the Deputy National Clinical Director (DNCD) has been in contact with NHS Lothian and has received assurance that this has been investigated.

The investigation provided evidence that there were a number of factors that have contributed to the higher-than-predicted mortality for admissions to RIE. The DNCD is confident that appropriate action has been put in place to address the findings of the investigation.

The Regional Centre for Cancer and Clinical Neuroscience is based at the Western General, and this is an important factor in its HSMR data. The slightly different case-mix of patients have understandably higher predicted probabilities of mortality.

The mix of patients seen varies between hospitals, and the mortality rate may be higher or lower at a hospital for many reasons; the patients seen, for example, may be more seriously ill than average. HSMRs therefore take account of some of the factors known to affect the risk of death, so that comparisons between individual hospitals and Scotland are made on a comparable basis.

Question reference: S6W-27688

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what penalties there are for any window installation firms that knowingly fit inappropriate windows on (a) listed and (b) historic buildings in conservation areas without the correct planning consent.

Under planning legislation set out in The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (the 1997 Act) it is a breach of planning control to carry out any development, including the installation of replacement windows, without the required planning consent.

When a planning authority consider that a breach of planning control has occurred in their area, the planning authority has a range of powers available to them to ensure that the breach is rectified. These powers extend to requiring that any changes to the appearance of a building or land be reversed and the property in question restored to its original state prior to the unauthorised development taking place. Should any person responsible for the unauthorised development fail to comply with enforcement measures, the planning authority has the power to enter the land and carry out the required remedial work themselves, with the costs of such work being recovered form that person. Additionally the planning authority can seek to prosecute that person through the Scottish Courts with the maximum fine on summary conviction currently set at £50,000.

In the case of unauthorised works to a listed building, in addition to any action taken under the 1997 Act, the owner may also be subject to enforcement action under the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997. Again, they can be required to carry out any remedial work and can be liable to conviction with a fine of up to £50,000 on summary conviction.

Question reference: S6W-27676

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work being carried out by the Strategic Board for Teacher Education.

The Board agreed its workplan in September 2023. The most recently published version of the workplan can be found on the Scottish Government website. https://www.gov.scot/publications/strategic-board-teacher-education-meeting-27-thursday-1-february-2024-10-00am-11-30am/pages/2/

The workplan contains three workstreams:

Workstream 1 – Workforce Planning and Increasing Diversity of the Profession
Workstream 2 – Improving the Promotion of Teaching as a Valued Career
Workstream 3 – Continuum of Teacher Education

The Board has held meetings in November, February and March to progress these workstreams. The agendas, minutes and papers from these meeting are published on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/groups/strategic-board-for-teacher-education/

The Board last met on 15 May 2024, and the agenda, minutes and papers from this meeting will be published on the Scottish Government website following the next meeting of the Board, which is scheduled for 27 June.