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-03831

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-35189

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with setting out a just transition for the transport sector.

The Scottish Government is committed to managing the risks and capturing the opportunities of the transition for the transport sector. That is why today we are launching a consultation on a draft Transport Just Transition Plan, which sets out a vision for a just transition for the sector.

Transport remains Scotland’s largest source of emissions, so it is critical that we make progress on reducing its emissions in a way that is fair and just. The draft Plan sets out how we will do that and draws out key messages addressed to different groups: people and communities; workers; and businesses and organisations.

It recognises the inequalities that affect people’s use of transport, including the fact that many of our rural communities are especially reliant on car use. It also sets out evidence suggesting that there will be no major sector-wide job losses - though the job mix will change - and it highlights the opportunity that the transition presents to address challenges such as upskilling and improving diversity. For businesses and organisations, the most pressing need for action will be to support the transition of road transport, focused on the transition of Heavy-Duty Vehicles and the financing this will require.

The draft Plan outlines the key actions that the Scottish Government is taking to address the challenges and opportunities of the transition. This includes delivering car use reduction interventions, supporting growth by encouraging demand for zero emission HGVs, and a focus on green transport skills. The Plan highlights our ambition to develop a transport sector that is more sustainable, safe and inclusive, and to create a healthier and fairer Scotland for communities, businesses and workers.

The consultation on the draft Plan is an opportunity to seek views on how we can continue to develop our overall approach – ensuring that communities, workers and businesses have an opportunity to shape our future policy. The responses to this consultation will inform our future approach – including the analysis and policies that will be set out in Scotland’s next Climate Change Plan.

Question reference: S6W-34478

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures and indicators will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the new third sector-led national throughcare service for prisoners released from (a) short-term sentences or (b) remand, and how frequently this performance data will be published.

The measures and indicators which will be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and value for money of the new third sector national throughcare service are in the process of being developed. This work is being done in consultation with the partnership of organisations that will deliver the service (consisting of Sacro, Access to Industry, Action for Children, Apex Scotland, Barnardo’s, Circle, Families Outside and Turning Point Scotland) and Community Justice Scotland, who will be responsible for monitoring the new service on behalf of the Scottish Government.

This includes the consideration of what, if any, data will be made publicly available.

Question reference: S6W-34475

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people each year who have been released from prison (a) from short-term sentences and (b) on remand it expects the new national throughcare service to support.

At present, the existing Public Social Partnerships Shine and New Routes provide support to around 1750 individuals each year. It is anticipated that the level of funding provided to the new service will allow an additional number of people to be supported, including men leaving a period of remand, who will be eligible for throughcare support for the first time.

The number of people supported will depend on the volume of eligible population of prisoners, and an assessment of individuals’ required level and duration of support.

Question reference: S6W-34176

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what protocols each emergency service has in place to follow up on calls that are recorded as having been hung up or terminated before completion.

Question reference: S6W-34480

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been released from prison (a) from short-term sentences and (b) on remand in each of the last five years.

The following table provides the number of people departing prison one or more times in each financial year from remand, with index sentences of one year or less, and with index sentences from greater than one year to four years or less.

Individuals Departing with Remand Status or with Short Index Sentences
Financial Year	Remand	<= 12 months	> 1 <= 4 years
2019-20	5,383	4,539	2,075
2020-21	3,789	2,949	1,945
2021-22	4,028	2,870	1,741
2022-23	4,110	2,724	1,837
2023-24	4,265	3,048	1,794

Data are derived from the accredited national statistics published by the Scottish Government in December 2024 http://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-prison-population-statistics-2023-24/. Individuals departing multiple times with different statuses will appear multiple times in the table above. "Index sentence" indicates the length of the longest single sentence served in a continuous period in custody and does not necessarily reflect the overall sentence an individual has served.

Question reference: S6W-34483

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources and support mechanisms will be put in place in rural and island communities to ensure the effective delivery of the new national throughcare service for prisoners released from (a) short-term sentences or (b) remand.

The new national throughcare service will ensure equitable support provisions across all communities in Scotland.

The partnership delivering the new national throughcare service (consisting of Sacro, Access to Industry, Action for Children, Apex Scotland, Barnardo’s, Circle, Families Outside and Turning Point Scotland) has experience of delivering throughcare in rural and island communities and understands the additional considerations needed to achieve a robust and responsive delivery model.

A proportion of the budget has been set aside to ensure a tailored ‘spot purchase’ approach to support individuals returning to rural and island communities. This model will ensure that wrap-around support is available to individuals as required across island communities, whilst ensuring a level of parity with mainland provision.

The partnership will also work closely with existing services and agencies operating locally to ensure that the right support is in place for every individual returning to a rural or island community.

Question reference: S6W-34473

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure coordination between the new national throughcare service for prisoners released from (a) short-term sentences or (b) remand and existing local authority criminal justice social work services, to avoid duplication and maximise effectiveness.

The launch of the new national throughcare service does not affect the duty on local authorities to provide voluntary throughcare support and will not replace any locally commissioned services or local processes.

The new service will be structured to work collectively with local partners, including justice social work services, to meet the needs of people who request voluntary throughcare support for prisoners released from both short-term sentences and those on remand.

The service will employ dedicated prison-based workers in each establishment who will have a role in supporting effective multi-agency pre-release planning to avoid duplication of service provision.

Question reference: S6W-34959

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing compulsory pay caps for locum doctors in the NHS.

In Scotland, the government does not have the authority to unilaterally implement a salary cap for agency locum doctors working in the NHS. The remuneration of agency locum doctors is determined by the terms and conditions outlined in their individual contracts, which are negotiated between NHS employers and the doctors themselves. Internal NHS Locum Doctors however are employers on NHS Terms and Conditions, at NHS rates of pay.

We recognise that we must seek to secure best value whenever we are delivering services within NHS Scotland, allowing us to maximise the impact that our investment has on the quality and availability of patient care.

Accordingly, we are working with colleagues across NHS Scotland to explore how we can reduce our reliance on agency and have developed best practice guidance to ensure that all locum engagements have the appropriate senior sign-off by an individual working under the delegated authority of the Chief Executive.

Question reference: S6W-34649

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many heat pumps have been installed in Scotland to date, broken down by local authority area; how it monitors the number and location of heat pump installations, and what assessment it has made of progress towards its targets for heat pump installations.

We publish an annual report of progress against our Heat in Buildings strategy. The most recent report was published in October 2024: Heat in Buildings: progress report 2024 - gov.scot. This includes estimates for number of domestic and non-domestic properties with heat pumps, as monitored through the Scottish House Condition Survey(SHCS) and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.

For the Local Authority analysis of the SHCS, we use a three year pooled data set. This is not available for the latest survey data due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the 2020 and 2021 SHCS.

MCS data are publicly available here: The MCS Data Dashboard - MCS.

There is currently no target for heat pump installations in Scotland. While we see heat pumps as a key solution for decarbonising Scotland’s buildings, we also see a role for heat networks and direct electric heating, as well as potentially other technologies, alongside heat pumps.