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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S7W-04445

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has discussed with COSLA the potential for local authorities to voluntarily designate an elected member as a so-called Survivor Champion to raise awareness of safeguarding concerns and barriers to accessing trauma support, particularly in rural communities.

Question reference: S7W-04446

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding the involvement of survivor-led organisations in training on child sexual exploitation, and what arrangements are in place for survivors to raise directly with senior police officers concerns regarding systemic safeguarding failures.

Question reference: S7W-04439

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking, following the findings of the independent national review published in September 2026, to improve the consistency of information sharing between Police Scotland, local authorities and other relevant agencies in cases of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation, particularly where risks or allegations cross local authority boundaries.

Question reference: S7W-04437

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review its best practice guidance on taxi and private hire car licensing to assess the extent to which existing driver training requirements adequately address child sexual exploitation and so-called county lines awareness, including the potential for survivor-led organisations to contribute to such training.

Question reference: S7W-04444

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking, following the findings of the independent national review published in September 2026, to review the effectiveness of safeguarding training for education and social work staff in addressing grooming and group-based child sexual and criminal exploitation, including how the experiences of survivors inform such training.

Question reference: S7W-04438

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any variations in referral and eligibility criteria for specialist psychological therapies for survivors of childhood sexual abuse across NHS boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships, including whether financial pressures have affected access to these services.

Question reference: S7W-04449

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the availability of emergency accommodation and specialist trauma support for people affected by group-based sexual exploitation where the abuse has occurred outside a domestic relationship, including any gaps in provision for people living in rural communities.

Question reference: S7W-04457

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what targeted support it has provided to East Ayrshire to address drug-related deaths since 2021.

Question reference: S7W-04431

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the extent to which adopting the same rates for Air Departure Tax as Air Passenger Duty could affect Scotland's competitiveness compared to other European destinations.

Question reference: S7W-04452

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have used their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to vary business rates, broken down by financial year, and how many are seeking to do so.