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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-03665

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

To ask the First Minister what consideration the Scottish Government has given to what the potential impact might be on Deaf and Deafblind people of the termination of its contract with Contact Scotland BSL.

Question reference: S6F-03641

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-31966

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30029 by Gillian Martin on 30 September 2024, whether any of the listed flood prevention schemes have since been completed.

Question reference: S6W-31967

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding what support should be provided to people with dyslexia when appearing before the judiciary.

Access to inclusive communication is a fundamentally important matter for people using public services, many of whom have diverse communication needs, and that is why the Scottish Government is investing in new guidance and tools to strengthen the public sector’s approach.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) is an independent public body and has a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to protect the rights of people living with disabilities. SCTS recognises the need and responsibility that the public sector in Scotland has to provide accessible services to its users. The specific support provided to people with dyslexia is an operational matter for the SCTS board.

Question reference: S6W-31521

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the recent chemical spill incident in the Cameron Street area of Coatbridge, whether it can provide details of what remedial action has been taken by SEPA to limit the possible spread of the contaminant and the resultant impact.

Question reference: S6W-31522

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the recent chemical spill incident in the Cameron Street area of Coatbridge, whether it can provide details of what information has been collected by SEPA to identify the chemicals involved and their source.

Question reference: S6W-31520

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of what steps SEPA has taken to communicate with the local community in relation to the recent chemical spill incident in the Cameron Street area of Coatbridge.

Question reference: S6W-31948

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its response to freedom of information request FOI/202400436576, which shows that it was notified of 16 cyber attacks on public bodies in 2024, whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to improve its cyber resilience.

Good cyber resilience is essential for delivering secure digital public services. Staying ahead of cyber criminals is an ongoing battle; as technologies evolve, so do their tactics. Public sector organisations are responsible for their own cyber resilience and security arrangements, and must continually adapt to these emerging threats. However, the Scottish Government does provide assistance to the public sector to strengthen their cyber resilience posture and address areas for improvement.

Through the implementation of The Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland and the Public Sector Cyber Resilience Framework, supported by the new central function of the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre, the Scottish Government works with the public sector to help them to put in place robust security standards, controls and governance, maintain and regularly test incident response plans, train staff and learn lessons from past incidents.

Specifically, the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre plays a key role in coordinating effective multi-agency response to incidents which impact on the public sector. In September 2024, the Scottish Government published the SC3 Strategic Plan which sets out the strategic objectives for the next three years. SC3 is working with the sector to progress towards these objectives:

1. Create a data-driven operation that can track and evaluate actionable security metrics for every public sector organisation in Scotland.

2. Ensure that public sector organisations remain informed regarding current and emerging risks and threats so that they are equipped and prepared to manage them.

3. Reduce the prevalence and remediation timescales of exposed and exploitable vulnerabilities across the public sector.

4. Increase the level of preparedness for cyber incidents across the public sector, such that all organisations have current and well tested response plans and that major national cyber incident response processes are robust and effective.

5. Ensure that appropriate standards and good practices for cyber and information security are defined, reviewed, adopted, and adhered to across the public sector.

Question reference: S6W-31933

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S6W-18745 by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023, whether it can provide a list of meetings of the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024, and a summary of what was discussed at each meeting.

The Scottish Hospice Leadership Group is comprised of the Chief Executives of most of the independent Scottish hospices and their key partners.

The group is not a Scottish Government body, however Scottish Government officials attend their meetings on a regular basis to discuss matters of mutual interest.

The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health last met the Chair of the group on 18 September 2024 to discuss working towards establishing a longer term sustainable funding model.

Question reference: S6W-31923

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve access to special care dental care for people with complex needs, including disabled people, older people and people with underlying health conditions.