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: S6F-02494

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is making public transport more affordable.

Question reference: S6F-02489

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that dentists are suitably funded to be able to continue taking on NHS patients, in light of reports that some dentists in Edinburgh are ceasing to accept NHS patients altogether.

Question reference: S6F-02473

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02474

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-22564

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on developments regarding access to bus travel.

On 28 October 2023 the Scottish Government announced that £2 million will be made available in next year’s budget to progress free bus travel for people seeking asylum in Scotland. Work will continue to establish the most appropriate way to extend this support, given that in broad terms immigration is reserved to the UK Government.

This announcement is the next step in making sure our transport system, and our country, is fair and accessible to all. In taking these next steps we will consider the impact on people we are seeking to support.

Question reference: S6W-22563

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the provision of support for young people travelling on ferries.

On 28 October 2023 the Scottish Government announced that the ferry scheme for young people is being extended to all island residents under the age of 22.

The scheme offers four free single (two return) ferry journeys a year to the mainland. At present it covers 16-18 year olds and eligible full time volunteers up to the age of 26 who are resident on a Scottish island. More young people will now be able to access ferry vouchers as a result of this change.

Question reference: S6W-22542

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 October 2023

To ask Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme.

I am pleased to announce that the successful Learning Estate Investment Programme Phase 3 projects are as follows:

1. Hazlehead Academy (Aberdeen City)

2. Mull Campus (Argyll and Bute)

3. Lochies ASN School (Clackmannanshire)

4. Lenzie Academy (East Dunbartonshire)

5. Carrongrange ASN School extension (Falkirk)

6. Forres Academy (Moray)

7. Chryston High School extension (North Lanarkshire)

8. Kirkwall ASN Centre (Orkney)

9. Brae Campus (Shetland)

10. Riverside and Letham Primary School (West Lothian)

I am grateful for all the bids that local authorities submitted. This newest phase of investment through our Learning Estate Investment Programme will continue to support local authorities, who maintain statutory responsibility for the school estate, to build modern, state of the art, learning environments.

The decision will mean that every local authority which has submitted a bid through the Learning Estate Investment Programme has now received funding for a project in Phases 1, 2 or 3.

The £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme follows on from the successful £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme, which delivered 117 new or refurbished learning facilities across Scotland.

As a direct result of Scottish Government investment, the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has increased from 61% in April 2007 to 90.7% in April 2023.

We will now take forward further engagement and collaboration with COSLA to explore how we can address the remaining sub-standard condition schools, and schools required due to population growth, which remain a priority for local authorities across the country.

Question reference: S6W-21923

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent research from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which reportedly found that 58% of people surveyed in Scotland think that mental health services receive too little of the healthcare budget.

The survey by the Royal College of Psychiatrists describes some of the issues with current mental health service provision that we are working hard to improve. The recent Audit Scotland report concluded that our new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy "recognises the importance of a whole system approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing and provides a foundation for better joint working ". The Mental Health Strategy Delivery Plan and Workforce Action Plan will be published in the coming weeks, and these will set out the actions we intend to take to address many of the issues across the whole system.

Mental health spending by NHS Boards has doubled in cash terms rising from £651 million in 2006-07 to £1.3 billion in 2021-22. Spend on mental health represents around 8.8% of total NHS expenditure. We have committed that 10% of the total frontline NHS budget should be spent on mental health by the end of this parliamentary session.

NHS Boards will draw funding for mental health services from the overall funds allocated to them by the Scottish Government. I expect NHS Boards to work with their Integration Joint Board and other partners to make local budget decisions which reflect the national mental health priority and ensure the provision of local services which meet the assessed needs of their populations.

Question reference: S6W-22116

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how often the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board meets, and, on average, how long each meeting lasts.

Question reference: S6W-22239

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the publication of the Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2022-23 statistics has reportedly been postponed to March 2024.

Publication of the 2022-23 edition of the Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland statistics has been postponed from November 2023 to March 2024. As outlined within the previous 2021-22 publication, Scottish Government statisticians are undertaking work with Police Scotland to review the methodology for the production of these official statistics, to determine if any future changes in approach could add value. The short postponement of the publication allows us additional time to complete this exercise. We will keep users updated with any new developments via ScotStat and any changes will be highlighted within the next bulletin.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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