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-36491

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, what steps it is taking to prevent the eviction of households with children due to rent arrears.

Scotland has some of the strongest legal protections from eviction in the UK. Pre-action requirements/protocols for tenants facing eviction for rent arrears are in place in both the social and private rented sectors. This ensures that social landlords have exhausted all attempts to resolve rent arrears with the tenant before taking action to evict and that tenants in rent arrears in the private rented sector are provided with information and sign-posted to support to sustain their tenancy, wherever possible.

In 2025-26 we are making over £97m available to local authorities to spend on Discretionary Housing Payments, an increase of nearly £7m over 2024-25. This includes £79.7m to fully mitigate the bedroom tax, helping over 94,000 households in Scotland sustain their tenancies, 14,000 of which are families with over 20,500 children and over £9.4m to mitigate the UK Government’s benefit cap as fully as possible within devolved powers, supporting around 3,000 families, with almost 10,000 children.

We have also committed to further rented sector reform and the Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024 includes provisions to further strengthen eviction protections in both the private and social rented sectors by placing a duty on the Court and Tribunal to always consider whether there should be a delay to the enforcement of an eviction order granted on rent arrears grounds based on the circumstances of the individual case.

In addition, to help improve housing outcomes for domestic abuse victims and their children, the Bill also introduces a duty on social landlords to fully consider domestic abuse and to support individuals, where domestic abuse is causing financial arrears, in a specialised manner before any legal action to recover possession of a property on rent arrears grounds can begin.

Question reference: S6O-04547

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its international development work is supporting the humanitarian response in Palestine.

Question reference: S6O-04457

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported claims that policing of pro-Palestinian rallies and demonstrations has been disproportionate and heavy-handed.

Question reference: S6O-04415

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding what support can be provided to migrant workers in the agricultural sector in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-34352

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on how many people with no recourse to public funds have received Best Start Foods payments.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods applications and payments. Information on the number of awards made to people with no recourse to public funds is not held within the system used to process applications and therefore not available for publication.

The latest Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods Payment official statistics publication can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods statistics to 31December 2024.

Question reference: S6O-04346

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its work on international development and support for humanitarian aid is being used to ensure the safety and security of those who are fleeing war and persecution.

Question reference: S6O-04264

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its draft Budget 2025-26 will help enable individuals and communities to access justice.

Question reference: S6O-04243

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how its draft Budget 2025-26 will contribute towards promoting anti-racism campaigns and initiatives.

Question reference: S6O-04198

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how its draft Budget 2025-26 will support local authorities to better serve rural communities, such as those in Aberdeenshire and Angus council areas in the North East Scotland region.

Question reference: S6F-03691

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the effectiveness of the National Planning Framework 4 principles in creating sustainable places across Scotland that enhance human and environmental wellbeing.