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-15740

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated specifically to support the delivery of welfare advice in each of the last five financial years.

The Scottish Government has invested a total of £14,751,739 since 2018 to support the delivery of specific Welfare Advice Services in Scotland. The amount for each year is as follows:

Year	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Amount	£3.1 m	£2.32m	£2.9m	£3 m	£3.3 m

In addition to supporting the provision of specific welfare advice services, the Scottish Government has also invested over £8m since 2018 in the Money Talk Team service provided by Citizens Advice Scotland and their network of bureaux to provide a range of advice including a combination of income maximisation, welfare benefits and specialist debt advice.

Question reference: S6W-15612

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the response to the members' business debate on motion S6M-03777 (MND Scotland Report, No Time to Lose: Addressing the Housing Needs of People with MND) by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government on 21 June 2022 (Official Report, c. 85) that she planned to have a discussion with COSLA, what the outcome was of any such discussion.

I met with Councillor Maureen Chalmers, the COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing on 22 March. We had a productive meeting and discussed how good practice in providing rapid help for people living with MND can be shared across local authorities. I will also follow up directly with MND Scotland with a meeting currently being arranged. Additionally, I can confirm that MND Scotland is a member of our recently formed Accessible Housing and Independent Living Stakeholder group. The group had their first meeting at the end of 2022, giving constructive feedback to our Housing for Varying Needs review. My officials are arranging further meetings of this group to seek views and opinions on housing and independent living issues including the adaptations review and the new Scottish Accessible Homes Standard.

Question reference: S6W-15582

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much of the £10 million fund to install Changing Places toilets has been distributed to date, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets during this parliamentary term, in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country and to support mobile Changing Places Toilets to allow people easier access to events and outdoor venues.

We have already published a Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide to support communities to develop their initial plans and funding will be provided during this parliamentary term.

Question reference: S6W-15924

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 in relation to introducing guidelines that require owners to control their pets in public spaces.

The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 provided powers for local authorities to respond to incidents of dog owners allowing their dogs to be out of control in public places by imposing Dog Control Notices (DCNs).

The Scottish Government updated operational guidance for the 2010 Act in December 2020. This reflected the first decade of use of the 2010 Act and built on best practice to assist local authorities in discharging their responsibilities. This guidance is available at: Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010: guidance - updated - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A further review of this aspect of the 2010 Act is not planned at this time.

The Scottish Government has also introduced a national DCN database which is helping independent enforcement agencies (local authorities and Police Scotland) access information on dog owners who allow their dogs to be out of control.

The Scottish Government carried out a marketing campaign on dog control with the Scottish SPCA in 2021. This campaign has since been re-run on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on a number of occasions and directs the public to information about ‘The law on controlling your dog’ on the mygov.scot website at: Controlling your dog in public - mygov.scot

This website makes clear that dog owners are responsible for the actions of their dog, and the sets out potential penalties for failing to control dogs.

Local authorities can also consider byelaw making powers to address a specific problem.

Question reference: S6W-15836

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether its new strategy for palliative and end of life care will specifically include bereavement support needs to reflect the entire experience of dying and death.

Scottish Government’s Palliative and End of Life Strategy is being developed with an overarching aim that everyone in Scotland receives well-coordinated, timely and high-quality palliative care, care around death and bereavement support based on their needs and preferences including support for families and carers.

We will develop a strategy that reflects what matters to people experiencing serious illness, dying and bereavement. We are reviewing the information and evidence we have about people’s experiences of palliative and end of life care, and bereavement, in order to inform our strategy going forward.

Question reference: S6W-15884

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions a Litter Abatement Order has been issued in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-15819

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many looked after young people have been placed in unregulated accommodation in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-15792

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the confirmation of both the scope of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill and of the national service specification for secure transport, jointly developed with COSLA, what plans it has to (a) regulate and (b) improve monitoring of the use of restraint in children, including those in care, by secure transportation providers.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with COSLA to develop solutions for secure transport - to advance our commitment to the UNCRC and the requirements within The Promise. A sub-group of the National Secure Care Group has been set up to develop solutions to these issues.

The service specification for secure transport is still in development. Multi-agency discussions are ongoing about how that will be used in local authority commissioning arrangements.

We will consider the implications of changing the legislative and regulatory framework to make it possible to bring scrutiny of secure transport arrangements within the remit of the Care Inspectorate.

Question reference: S6W-15967

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what purpose it awarded the £26 million of additional funding for colleges.

Question reference: S6W-15944

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what research it is undertaking into the potential normalisation of violence in sexual activity.

The Scottish Government has and continues to undertake, and commission, a significant amount of research in our efforts to deliver the key objectives within Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls. We also learn from research undertaken elsewhere.

At this point we have not commissioned anything specific on the potential normalisation of violence in sexual activity, however, in 2020 the Scottish Government published findings from the 2018 Scottish Social Attitudes survey on the attitudes of adults to sexual violence, domestic abuse, sexual harassment and commercial sexual exploitation: Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2019: attitudes to violence against women - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

In addition, we included the same set of questions in the Young People in Scotland 2021 survey to examine attitudes among school pupils. We are currently working on the report and expect to publish later this spring. The report will compare against 2014 attitudes (when the module was last run): Young People's Attitudes To Violence Against Women Report On Findings From The Young People In Scotland Survey 2014 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government also asked young people about relationships and sexual wellbeing in the Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021- 2022 Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021- 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

I also refer the member to the answer to S6W-15943 on 21 March 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .