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: S6W-27952

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has modelled the potential impact on public revenue in Scotland of reducing the VAT registration threshold to £30,000, which would be the same level as projected for 2027 under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment, from the current £90,000 threshold.

VAT is a reserved area and the powers to set the VAT Registration Threshold sit with the UK Government.

The Scottish Government has not modelled the impact on public revenue in Scotland of a reduction of the VAT Registration Threshold to £30,000.

We encourage the UK Government to engage with devolved administrations and stakeholders to ensure that changes which affect all parts of the UK are fully considered as part of the assessment of impacts.

Question reference: S6W-27901

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 11 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will support the protection of children against online abuse, in light of the finding of a recent study by Childlight that 7% of men in the UK were likely to have engaged in online behaviour that could be classed as online child sexual abuse.

Keeping children and young people safe from online sexual abuse and exploitation is of the utmost importance to the Scottish Government.

We welcome the work of Childlight to harness worldwide data to help inform tangible action to protect children. We recognise that these problems are global and require global solutions.

In Scotland, we are working closely with partners to deliver a co-ordinated multi-agency response to preventing child sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms.

We are establishing a new strategic group to provide national leadership and further improve our shared response in Scotland to child sexual abuse and exploitation, including online abuse. This group will first meet in the summer.

Through the Scottish Government’s membership of Police Scotland’s Multi-Agency Group on Preventing Online Child Sexual Abuse, we monitor emerging online threats and agree a shared approach to using technological advancements to tackle abuse, improve data-gathering, improve support for victims and survivors and promote key activities delivered by our partners.

We recognise that prevention is key to protecting children online and we are taking a range of actions to increase awareness of online child sexual abuse and exploitation and improve support to victims.

In 2023-24 we provided around £570,000 to third sector organisations involved in child safeguarding and prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including online abuse. We have also updated our National Child Protection Guidance to support practitioners to develop effective, evidence-based responses to child sexual abuse and exploitation. In 2022 and 2023, we ran a national public awareness campaign to support parents are carers to keep their children safer online.

While regulation of the internet remains a reserved matter, we have successfully engaged with the UK Government on its Online Safety Act, to strengthen protections for children. We will continue to engage with both the UK Government and Ofcom to ensure that the Act does all that it can to protect children online. With the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, I will be meeting Ofcom to discuss implementation of this important legislation and to ensure that children in Scotland are kept safe online.

Question reference: S6W-27820

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the processing of accessing care records for care experienced people.

The Digitisation of records is an operational responsibility of individual Health Boards GP practices and Local Authorities, and their partner organisations commissioned to deliver care. At a national level and building on the existing use of electronic record systems, we are focussed on allowing records to be stored, linked, and shared securely.

Our national work recognises, however, that we need to improve the way this works for people across Scotland in a nationally consistent manner. As set out in our integrated health & social care record and a digital front door so that we can introduce a national approach to improving the process for accessing care records for care experienced people, and those around them.

Question reference: S6T-02044

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of reports that Scottish universities' budgets have been impacted by £100 million due to a 20% drop in applications from international students in the last academic year as a result of new UK Government immigration rules.

Question reference: S6T-02037

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether bowel cancer screening is being carried out to detect cancer at the earliest possible stage or whether it is being determined by NHS capacity for colonoscopies and treatment.

Question reference: S6F-03233

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that hundreds of rapes and sexual assaults that had been reported by sex workers were not acted upon.

Question reference: S6F-03229

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the First Minister what progress the Scottish Government has made in reducing drug-related harm, in light of the latest quarterly statistics showing a 17% increase in suspected drug deaths.

Question reference: S6F-03223

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03239

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its policy for economic development in Scotland of the findings of the Resolution Foundation’s recent report on the UK’s economic and trade performance.

Question reference: S6F-03222

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.