Chamber and committees

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.

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Question reference: S7W-01583

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what powers Police Scotland has to search vehicles, and how often these powers have been used in each of the last five financial years.

Police Scotland has a range of statutory powers to search vehicles where these are provided for in legislation, including where an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that a vehicle contains controlled drugs, offensive weapons, knives, firearms, stolen property or other items specified in legislation. Relevant powers are contained in a range of enactments, including the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, the Firearms Act 1968 and the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

In certain limited circumstances, legislation also provides powers to search vehicles without individual reasonable suspicion, for example where a senior officer has authorised searches in a specific locality to help prevent serious violence.

Police Scotland is operationally independent, and decisions regarding the use of vehicle search powers in individual cases are a matter for the Chief Constable.

The Scottish Government does not hold data relating to vehicle searches conducted by Police Scotland, this is held by Police Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-01881

Asked by: Martyn Day, MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for the delivery of equitable 24/7 national access to thrombectomy services.

Question reference: S7W-01778

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) 16- to 17-, (ii) 18- to 20-, (iii) 21- to 23- and (iv) 24-year-olds are classified as not being in employment, education or training (NEET).

Question reference: S7W-01866

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that victims and survivors of rape and other serious sexual offences can have confidence that their cases will be investigated promptly, thoroughly and with appropriate specialist support, particularly in light of reported increasing numbers of such crimes.

Question reference: S7W-01883

Asked by: Martyn Day, MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards delivering equitable national 24/7 access to thrombectomy services, and what milestones it expects to meet in 2026-27.

Question reference: S7W-01868

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that a number of individual officers might be responsible for investigating in excess of 200 rape cases alongside other serious offences, (a) whether it has sought information from Police Scotland regarding this and, if so, what information it has received and (b) what assessment it has made of the impact that high investigative caseloads might have on the confidence of victims and survivors in reporting offences.

Question reference: S7W-01777

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many 18- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) are not in receipt of out-of-work benefits, including what reasons they give for their NEET status.

Question reference: S7W-01870

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly removed the £5,000 p/a pay supplement to civil servants working in the Digital Data and Technology Framework, resulting in real terms pay reductions of nine to 14%.

Question reference: S7W-01876

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more people to appoint a power of attorney, in light of research from Age Scotland suggesting that more than one million over-50s in Scotland do not have this.

Question reference: S7W-01888

Asked by: Julie MacDougall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the rate of working age employment across Scottish cities, replicating the success of Edinburgh, which reportedly has a 83.2% rate of working age employment, the highest of any UK city.