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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: S6W-34474

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it made of restoring the Scottish Prison Service Throughcare Support Service, rather than establishing a new third sector-led national throughcare service.

The Scottish Government supports third sector delivery of voluntary throughcare support. We recognise that these organisations are uniquely positioned to offer flexible, community-based and person-centred support to individuals transitioning from prison back into their communities.

A review of throughcare provision by Community Justice Scotland in 2023 found that using a partnership approach to delivering voluntary throughcare was an effective way of supporting people leaving prison, as it enables different partners to apply their specific expertise to address a wide range of needs.

This approach aligns with the National Strategy for Community Justice, which emphasises continuity of care and the importance of reducing reoffending by ensuring that people receive consistent, holistic support during this critical period of transition.

The Scottish Prison Service established, operated and suspended their throughcare support service independently. Any decision regarding reinstating this service would be for the Scottish Prison Service.

Question reference: S6W-34539

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners it anticipates will be released between 1 March and 31 December 2025 as a result of new GPS ankle tags.

Individual decisions on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) release are a matter for the Scottish Prison Service. GPS monitoring will initially be available for eligible individuals who have been deemed suitable for release on HDC after the completion of an individualised risk assessment. GPS will only be used within HDC, where the HDC risk assessment suggests that GPS use will be necessary and proportionate.

It is not possible to predict with certainty how many of those released on HDC will have a GPS condition of licence. For planning purposes we have assumed there may be around 20 people on GPS monitored HDC during the initial phase.

The Scottish Government will evaluate GPS to determine the next steps for the development of the monitoring service and any future areas where GPS may be used.

Question reference: S6W-34178

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps each emergency service is taking to reduce the number of emergency calls that are recorded as being hung up or terminated prematurely, and what information it has regarding the outcome of this action.

Question reference: S6W-34872

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many cybersecurity breaches it has experienced in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-34641

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners released under any early release programmes in each of the last five years were recalled to custody.

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

When a prisoner is liberated from custody under emergency release arrangements such as the 2020 COVID 19 Early Release Scheme and the 2024 Emergency Early Release Regulations, they have no outstanding warrants, as such they are released back into the community with no conditions or restrictions having served their time. Therefore, they cannot be recalled back into custody, as there are no conditions attached to their release.

In the last 5 years, no prisoners have been recalled to custody following their release under either the 2020 COVID 19 Early Release Scheme or the 2024 Emergency Early Release Regulations.

Question reference: S6W-34524

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how important the third sector is to its priority of eradicating child poverty, and what impact (a) inflation has had and (b) the UK Government’s decision to raise employer national insurance contributions will have on that sector’s ability to achieve this goal.

Eradicating child poverty in Scotland is a national mission and this Government’s top priority.

The third sector is a key partner in this work. The Scottish Government greatly values the important role of Scotland’s third sector in providing support for children and families across Scotland – empowering people and enabling communities to thrive – and as a critical friend to both local and national government, helping to guide the action needed.

The latest wave of the longitudinal survey we support through SCVO shows that many third sector organisations are feeling the pressure of rising costs and inflation. Overall, 94% of organisations reported facing challenges, up from 92% in summer 2024.

It is not right that these organisations should be disadvantaged by UK Government policy changes. The Scottish Government has called upon the UKG to take an ‘actual costs’ approach to compensation for increased costs as a result of the increase in employer’s national insurance costs.

In the absence of full funding we will be very restricted in the extent to which we can respond.

We recognise this may mean continued challenges for our third sector partners. We are aiming to assist the sector by improving notification of continued funding to third sector organisations and increasing the number of two year grants we can offer as part of our commitment to Fairer Funding.

Question reference: S6W-34179

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis each emergency service takes into the reason for calls being recorded as hung up or terminated early, including the potential impact on response times and outcomes.

Question reference: S6W-34280

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how Food Standards Scotland monitors the use of additives and preservatives in processed foods.

Additives (including preservatives, colourings, sweeteners, emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickening and gelling agents and antioxidants) must be assessed for safety by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) before they can be used in food production in the UK. A food additive is only approved if; it has been tested and proved to be safe for its intended use; there is a justifiable technological need to use it; and its use does not mislead the consumer. A list of currently authorised food additives can be found here:

Approved additives and E numbers | Food Standards Agency

Manufacturers have a legal obligation to ensure additives are used in accordance with regulations and to provide information about any used in the foods they produce additives (what they do and their name or E number) in the list of ingredients on the packaging.

FSS and FSA undertake regular reviews on the science relating to food additives to inform the need for updating our safety assessments, and work closely with enforcement authorities to ensure that the legal requirements are enforced effectively; with appropriate action taken where problems are identified.

Enforcement authorities (including LA food law officers) will verify compliance with regard to the use of food additives as part of their inspections of food manufacturers. Where appropriate this will involve testing samples of product to ensure the levels do not breach regulatory limits. Further to this, FSS will also target products in its national food sampling programmes where there is intelligence on the potential mis-use of certain additives to inform the targeting of enforcement action or guidance that may be required to strengthen compliance.

Question reference: S6W-34146

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of prosecutions for speeding offences on trunk roads have resulted in (a) fines, (b) driving bans and (c) other penalties being imposed in each year since 2018, broken down by trunk road.

(a)Number of people receiving fines for speeding offences on trunk roads, where main crime, in Scottish Courts, by court location (LA), 2018-19 to 2022-23.

	2018-19	2022-23
TRUNK ROADS (S) TEMP RESTRICT TRAFFIC & OVERTAKING 30,40,50MPH (S) ORDER 1992	-	1
TRUNK ROADS (S) TEMP RESTRICT TRAFFIC & OVERTAKING 30,40,50MPH (S) ORDER 1994	1	1
TRUNK ROADS IN SCOT (TEMP PROHIBITIONS & TEMP SPEED RESTRICTIONS) ORDER 1996	-	2
All	1	4

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.

Some speeding offences that occurred on trunk roads may have been prosecuted under more general speeding offence charges.

Please note: data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are affected by the pandemic, subsequent court closures, reduced court capacity due to physical distancing measures and delays to cases where key participants were forced to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19, and may not be considered indicative of long term trends.

(b) No individuals received a court-imposed driving ban under legislation specifically for speeding offences on trunk roads (where main crime) between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

(c) No individuals were convicted and sentenced to 'other penalties' under legislation related to speeding on trunk roads (where main crime) between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-35130

Current Status: Withdrawn