Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-04197

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the state of local government finance.

Question reference: S6T-02268

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in tackling child sexual abuse, in light of reported calls for a full UK national inquiry into child sexual abuse by grooming gangs.

Question reference: S6W-31877

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 12 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to develop debt recovery policies that recognise the impact of domestic and economic abuse and prevent victims from being pursued for coerced debt in their name, as a result of abuse.

We are committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls, including economic abuse, which as a tactic of coercive control and abuse can have lifelong impacts on victims.

It is the responsibility of individual public bodies to develop debt-recovery policies. However, the Scottish Government and COLSA recognise that there are opportunities to improve collection practices in Council Tax. The ‘Joint Working Group on Council Tax Reform’, which is co-chaired by COSLA, is undertaking work to encourage better practices in debt collection. This includes ensuring that councils are furnished with the information they need to improve practices, and identify those in need of support.

In addition, Social Security Scotland is committed to delivering a debt management service that is responsive to clients’ needs while protecting the public purse. This includes an approach for vulnerable clients that includes training debt officers to identify and sensitively handle potential hardship and vulnerable clients, as well as signposting them to support and advocacy groups.

Through our Delivering Equally Safe fund, we are providing approximately £600,000 over three-and-a-half years to GEMAP for their Financially Included project. This focuses on improving responses to economic abuse across the money advice and gender-based violence sectors through development and delivery of training and toolkit resources and provision of financial advice. Additionally, Financially Included use their learning to raise awareness of economic abuse and the economic impact of all forms of male violence against women and girls.

Question reference: S6W-31875

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 12 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness and understanding of economic abuse, specifically in relation to women with abusive partners.

We are committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls, including economic abuse, which as a tactic of coercive control and abuse can have lifelong impacts on victims.

Through our Delivering Equally Safe fund, we are providing approximately £600,000 over three and a half years to GEMAP, for their Financially Included project. This focuses on improving responses to economic abuse across the money advice and gender-based violence sectors, through development and delivery of training and resources. Additionally Financially Included use their learning to raise awareness of economic abuse and the economic impact of all forms of male violence against women and girls.

Question reference: S6W-31878

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend the Scottish Women's Aid Fund to Leave to victim-survivors of financial abuse.

Question reference: S6W-31876

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to roll out specialist, trauma-informed money advice and support for victim-survivors of financial abuse.

We are committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls, including financial abuse, which, as a tactic of coercive control and abuse, can have lifelong impacts on victims.

Through our Delivering Equally Safe fund, we are providing approximately £600,000 over three-and-a-half years to GEMAP for their Financially Included project. This focuses on improving responses to economic abuse across the money advice and gender-based violence sectors through development and delivery of training and toolkit resources and provision of financial advice.

Alongside this, in 2024-25, the Scottish Government has allocated over £12 million for the provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice. We fund a range of mainly national advice providers including Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange Debt Charity and Advice Direct Scotland.

We recognise that a variety of solutions and delivery mechanisms are needed to effectively respond to the many different and sometimes distressing circumstances that people find themselves in.

We have responded to this need by continuing to support a multichannel funding programme providing face-to-face, online and telephone advice, ensuring that all individuals or households, whatever their situation, can access support in the way that best suits their needs.

At this time, therefore, we are do not plan to establish a new programme of specialist services but would urge anyone needing support, whatever their situation, to contact a free advice provider as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-31362

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with its Tax Advisory Group regarding the possible introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers, as set out in its 2024-25 Budget.

Since July 2023, the Tax Advisory Group have focussed on supporting the development the Tax Strategy, and have discussed it at all four of their meetings in 2024. The Group did not discuss the possible introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers, and the group does not have a role in decision making as part of the Scottish budget process. The Group’s terms of reference and minutes of their meetings are published on the Scottish Government’s website (Tax Advisory Group - gov.scot).

Question reference: S6W-31366

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the possible introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers, as set out in its 2024-25 Budget, whether any supplement would come on top, or instead of, any higher property rate that might be levied on a retail property.

Question reference: S6W-31378

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the possible introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers, as set out in its 2024-25 Budget, whether it plans to hold a formal consultation process on the introduction of the levy.

Question reference: S6W-31365

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the possible introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers, as set out in its 2024-25 Budget, whether it has carried out an analysis of the previous iteration of the supplement, which was in place from 2012 to 2015.

Chamber and committees