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-28297

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the national housing emergency, whether it plans to review the planning and consenting system, in order to increase the scale and pace of development across all tenures.

The planning system in Scotland has undergone significant reform in recent years with the introduction of new legislation, policy and guidance. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 made changes to development planning and consenting regimes to strengthen decision making and enable the delivery of high-quality development. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was published in February 2023, following extensive public and Parliamentary consultation and scrutiny. NPF4 Policy 16, Quality Homes, takes an all tenure approach to supporting more quality homes, emphasising delivery and the plan-led approach.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Planner and I published a letter to stakeholders on 27 June 2024, providing further clarification on implementation of NPF4 and policy 16 Quality Homes, and emphasising the need for positive and constructive collaboration across sectors to support delivery.

Following our recent public consultation on Investing in Planning, we are working with partners to progress a range of actions to increase the capacity and improve the performance of planning services. Key actions will be set out in due course.

Question reference: S6W-28169

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to amend the Forced Marriage etc. (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011 to make explicit the obligations of public authorities to act should any individual experiencing forced marriage contact them for support.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to amend the Forced Marriage etc. (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011. Forced Marriage is illegal in Scotland and there are protections under civil and criminal law for any victims or potential victims.

Section 11 of the Forced Marriage etc. (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011 imposes a duty on Scottish Ministers to give guidance on the effect of Part 1 that Act. Section 11(3) states that a person exercising public functions to whom guidance is given under section 11 must have regard to it in the exercise of those functions.

The statutory Forced Marriage Guidance, which is currently being refreshed, outlines the responsibilities of relevant public authorities for developing and maintaining local procedures and practices to enable their practitioners to handle cases of forced marriage effectively. The guidance makes clear that staff may have limited opportunity to speak to a potential victim and as such, must be aware of their responsibilities when they come across forced marriage cases.

Question reference: S6W-28168

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to amend the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 to include alleged perpetrators who are outside of the immediate family.

Any form of violence against women and girls is abhorrent and we recognise that minority ethnic women can experience culturally specific forms of abuse and violence, including from perpetrators outside of their immediate family.

We have established a network of experts to support and inform our work to address violence against BME women and girls, including consideration of any further action that may be required. This group will ensure the voices and needs of BME women are heard, and the specific issues they face, such as extended family abuse and honour-based abuse, are effectively tackled.

Question reference: S6W-28167

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise public awareness about the issue of forced marriage.

We are currently refreshing the Scottish Government’s Forced Marriage Statutory Guidance. To support the launch of the refreshed guidance, we are producing resources for professionals and the general public to raise awareness about forced marriage. We are working with key partners and sector experts to ensure these resources are effective and widely disseminated across public bodies.

Forced marriage disproportionally impacts minority ethnic communities, which is why we continue to work with our newly established network of experts to inform our work to address violence against BME women and girls, including work to tackle forced marriage.

It is vital that survivors have access to support services which is why we fund Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline. Additionally, through our Delivering Equally Safe fund, we support organisations such as Shakti Women’s Aid, AMINA, Saheliya, Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid and the Multi-Cultural Family Base to undertake vital work to tackle forced marriage.

Question reference: S6W-28121

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to organisations and charities that support people with epilepsy, in each financial year since 2019-20.

Question reference: S6W-28053

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to bring forward an updated homelessness action plan.

There are no plans to develop an updated homelessness action plan. There is widespread support for Scotland’s long term plan for housing set out in Housing to 2040, and collective agreement that the Ending Homelessness Together action plan is the right long term strategy to tackle homelessness in Scotland. An annual report on progress towards ending homelessness is shared with the Scottish Parliament each autumn.

The Scottish Government recognises these are exceptionally challenging times, which is why we declared a national housing emergency on 15 May 2024. I will make a statement to parliament on the Scottish Government’s response to the housing emergency on Thursday 20 June. This is the starting point of the work that we see is needed to agree priorities and identify actions we can take that will have the greatest impact and help those most in need.

Partnership working at all levels – UK Government, Scottish Government and local government – as well as with our housing sector partners is needed to deliver a housing system that meets the needs of the people of Scotland. We will build on the solid foundations of the work already underway and continue taking forward action in response to the recommendations made by the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group's task and finish groups on key homelessness issues. We will continue to do everything we can within devolved powers to address levels of homelessness and improve the supply of social and affordable housing.

Question reference: S6W-28054

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many students currently enrolled in higher education institutions identify as homeless.

Question reference: S6W-28055

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of computer science teachers in secondary schools.

While local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teachers, the Scottish Government is committed to maximising the number of jobs available in a range of subjects, including computing science.

The Teaching Bursary Scheme offers a £20,000 payment to career changers who are looking to undertake graduate teacher training in hard-to-fill STEM subjects, including computing science.

In addition, the Strategic Board for Teacher Education is considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, together with work to improving the promotion of teaching as a valued career.

We are also offering local authorities £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers more widely.

Question reference: S6O-03611

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle poverty in black and minority ethnic households.

Question reference: S6W-27793

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ruth Charteris on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27444 by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024, when it anticipates that it will complete the work to ensure that statutory aggravations are applied where appropriate.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

Financial Year	Total
2019-2020	£100,000
2020-2021	£225,574
2021-2022	£64,172.83
2022-2023	£127,191.57
2023-2024	£162,688