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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-02863

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to prevent convicted sex offenders from changing their identity.

Question reference: S6F-02856

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02857

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-25324

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its revised prison suicide prevention strategy.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS have completed the first stage of a review of Talk To Me, our suicide prevention strategy which was gathering the evidence base. This has included a literature review, User Voice interviews, staff focus groups, an NHS survey and a workshop for families. The next step is to analyse this evidence and formulate recommendations.

Once this is complete, recommendations will be presented to the SPS lead National Suicide Prevention Management Group for consideration and ratification. This group includes a number of experts in the field such as third sector, NHS and Public Health Scotland.

The policy will be aligned with the Scottish Government Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-25290

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many drugs deaths there have been in custody (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of total deaths in custody in each of the last five years, also broken down by drug category or categories implicated, including cases involving (i) synthetic opioids (ii) synthetic benzodiazepines and (iii) other synthetic drugs.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Any death of an individual whilst in the care of the SPS is a tragedy, irrespective of the cause. Unfortunately, there have been 34 deaths in custody between month 2019 and month 2023 confirmed as drug related, either by postmortem or by a Medical Certificate Cause of Death. This is approximately 16% of deaths in custody. SPS do not record drug category or categories implicated in deaths.

All deaths in custody are subject to a Fatal Accident Enquiry, the findings of which are published on the Scottish Courts website.

Question reference: S6W-25240

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how often it monitors and reviews the decisions taken by NHS boards on safeguarding training for non-clinical staff who interact with patients.

The Staff Governance Standard, which is applicable to all staff employed in NHSScotland, requires health boards to appropriately train and develop staff, as well as provide a safe working environment. The Scottish Government monitors compliance annually to ensure health boards, as employers, are meeting this standard. This includes providing the necessary training for staff according to statutory requirements.

Question reference: S6W-25254

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessments it has made of future prison constructions to ensure that they are built (a) on time and (b) within budget.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to ensure progress on prison infrastructure projects. SPS works closely with contractors and external advisors to ensure value for money, benefits realisation and timely progress.

Until the main construction contract is signed, costs and time-scales are likely to fluctuate due to site identification, design changes, and market condition changes.

Question reference: S6W-25026

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by a former health secretary that aspects of the NHS are not fit for purpose and are in need of "radical reform".

The Scottish Government continues to make significant investment in Scotland’s NHS while recognising the need to reform the way we deliver services to meet the changing needs of the people in Scotland. The Government has been clear in the Policy Prospectus and Programme for Government : reform is required. Scottish Ministers have outlined that given the growing demand our health service faces, the NHS requires major reform to ensure that we have a sustainable health service able to deliver the best possible care for patients.

Significant change is underway to ensure sustainability of services, improvement of productivity, reduction of health inequalities, adoption of innovation and technology, and overall improvement of health outcomes in Scotland.

The Deputy First Minister announced in her budget statement on 19 December that the Government will be taking forward national engagement to help shape the NHS for the future. The Deputy First Minister set out the Scottish Government's continued commitment to upholding the principles of public ownership of our NHS and ensuring that services are available free at the point of need.

Question reference: S6W-25178

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will deliver on its Programme for Government 2021-22 commitment to consult on proposals to phase out cages and farrowing crates.

The Scottish Government Programme for Government made the commitment to consult on phasing out the use cages for gamebirds and laying hens. This work is now progressing and the consultation on phasing out cages for laying hens and the call for evidence on gamebirds and quail are expected to go live in the early spring.

The proposed consultation on phasing out farrowing crates for pigs was originally intended to have been delivered jointly across all UK administrations. However, progress on a number of important pieces of animal welfare legislation have been significantly delayed or has ceased due to delays in UK Government timetabling, such as the Kept Animals Bill. DEFRA have confirmed that it now has no immediate plans to take forward the work on farrowing crates.

Regardless, the Scottish Government is pressing ahead on improving the welfare of all animals in Scotland, including pigs, and on 20 November 2023 published the Scottish Government Guidance for the Welfare of Pigs . We are also in the process of updating the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2010 to include this updated pigs’ welfare guidance.

We continue to listen and work with the industry and stakeholders on how best to achieve improvements in animal welfare as well as monitoring industry information to allow us to determine how to ensure best practice is delivered.

Question reference: S6W-24944

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning has not met since May 2023.

Since May 2023 discussion and work has been ongoing with regards to refining the workplan for and membership of the Gender Equality Taskforce to ensure that it is able to enact the long term systemic change that is needed. The next meeting of the Gender Equality Taskforce is scheduled for 18 April 2024. Contributory work on preventing and responding to gender-base violence in schools has been taken forward by the short-life Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group, with a framework for schools to be published in the coming weeks.