Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 42072 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-04507

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with representatives from Lothian Buses.

Question reference: S6O-04511

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-35576

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in Shelter Scotland’s report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, how it will ensure that local authorities receive long-term funding and the appropriate guidance to accelerate the delivery of social housing, provide permanent family homes and reduce waiting times for families stuck in temporary accommodation.

Increasing housing supply is key to reducing levels of homelessness. In 2024-25, we made additional funding of £40 million available to local authorities, taking investment in affordable housing to almost £600 million. 80% of the additional funding has been targeted to areas with the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures to increase the supply of social and affordable homes through acquisitions and to bring long term empty social homes back into use. This will help to increase the supply of settled homes of the right type and size, including larger properties suitable for families.

The 2025-26 budget of £768 million represents a 38% increase when compared to the 2024-25 original published budget of £555.8 million – an increase of £181 million capital (44%) and an increase of £30.8 million (63%) in financial transactions. Supported by our guidance on the planning and delivery of the affordable housing supply programme, this investment is estimated to enable the delivery of approximately 8,000 homes while contributing towards our target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. This significant increase in our budget will allow us to prioritise proposals that aim to reduce the number of families with children in temporary accommodation. To the end of September 2024, 24,382 homes have been delivered towards this target, of which 18,539 (76%) are homes for social rent. And an estimated 2,776 households with children have been helped into affordable housing in the year to September 2024.

Our long term commitment of £100 million over several financial years for mid-market rent will, with institutional investment, grow to at least £500 million and will support the delivery of around 2,800 affordable homes.

Through our engagement with local authorities, we know that efforts are being made at a local level to help reduce the time between a household accepting an offer of settled housing and moving into their home.

However, the most effective way to reduce the flow of households into the homelessness system is to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place. The measures in the Housing (Scotland) Bill are designed to make the prevention of homelessness everybody’s business and to ensure that people get the help they need to prevent their homelessness earlier.

Question reference: S6W-35361

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has advised the Scottish Fiscal Commission of any potential contingent liability implications in relation to future budgets, as a consequence of pursuing a policy of encouraging private finance investment.

We will comply with all aspects of the reporting and authorisation requirements detailed in the Scottish Public Finance Manual, which includes notification to the Finance and Public Administration Committee. Scottish Government does not intend to advise the Scottish Fiscal Commission on this question separately. All contingent liabilities are disclosed in the Scottish Government's annual report and accounts.

Question reference: S6W-35626

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to regulate canine fertility clinics.

Question reference: S6W-35619

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the reporting and recording of sexual assaults in hospital wards, in light of reports of more than 250 assaults in five years.

NHS Boards have reporting systems to capture data on violence and aggression - including sexual assault. I strongly encourage staff to report any and all instances of violent and aggressive behaviour.

Health Improvement Scotland are working with all NHS boards and partner organisations to standardise the reporting of adverse events, and have developed a national framework which was published in February.

This details the importance of national standards of reporting and the requirement for monitoring and publishing of data. This will facilitate the collation of accurate data nationally.

The courts have extensive powers to deal robustly with sexual offending. All instances of such behaviour should be reported and escalated to Police Scotland as quickly as possible for consideration of necessary action.

Question reference: S6W-35555

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that retailers should be encouraged to report all instances of shoplifting to Police Scotland.

We encourage all businesses to report any instances of criminality to Police Scotland. As well as enabling the perpetrators to be caught and being prevented from committing further crimes, such reports also ensure Police Scotland has the best possible intelligence on incidents in particular areas. The Scottish Government would also urge retailers to engage with the Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime (SPAACE) in order to help safeguard their business and the people that work there. The SPAACE Strategy outlines a partnership approach to the prevention, deterrence, and enforcement around a range of crimes including housebreaking and theft.

Question reference: S6W-35566

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it (a) can take and (b) is taking to ensure that there is clear labelling that distinguishes between farmed and wild Scottish salmon, as well as imported salmon, in order that consumers can make informed choices, in light of a recent survey, which reportedly found that 41% of people in Scotland are confused about the origin of the salmon that they are purchasing.

The commercial harvesting of wild Atlantic salmon in Scotland is now very limited consequent to conservation measures. It is unlikely that wild Atlantic salmon from Scotland will appear in UK supermarkets.

Whether farmed or wild caught, the origin of unprocessed and certain types of smoked fish, including imported salmon, should be included on the product label or on display if sold loose. There is a general requirement that food information must not mislead consumers as to the characteristics of the food, its nature, identity, country of origin or place of provenance, method of manufacture or production.

Question reference: S6W-35577

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will accelerate plans to amend the rent adjudication framework to remove the ability of the rent officer or tribunal to determine a rent that is higher than that requested by the landlord, in light of the ending of the temporary restrictions on rent increases from April 2025.

Question reference: S6W-36011

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Project Willow Grangemouth study.

The Project Willow study has concluded and the publication of a “Public Information Document” is now available on Scottish Development International’s website. Ernst & Young Parthenon (EY) supplied the study to the Grangemouth Refinery owner Petroineos and the work was co-funded by the Scottish Government and the UK Government.

The Project Willow Public Information Document illustrates that a transformative future for the existing Grangemouth Refinery site is possible if the public and private sectors work together. It outlines nine low carbon projects that could be progressed at Grangemouth subject to public and private sector investment, and policy and regulatory changes.

Scottish Enterprise and the UK Office for Investment will now work together to identify and attract investors to support the deployment of the technologies highlighted in Project Willow.

The Public Information Document can be accessed here: https://www.sdi.co.uk/invest-in-scotland/invest-in-projects/project-willow-grangemouth.

Subject to the agreement of Parliament, I will make a statement to Parliament in due course on the conclusion of Project Willow and the next steps being taken by this government to secure a long term and sustainable future for Grangemouth.