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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S7W-01867

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the workload of officers investigating rape and other serious sexual offences; what its position is on whether current staffing levels are sufficient to ensure timely, thorough and trauma-informed investigations, and what plans it has to publish guidance regarding officer workload to support the effective management of such cases.

The Scottish Government encourages all victims and survivors to report sexual crimes, including those that may have happened some time ago.

Operational policing decisions and workload considerations are for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority - not to Scottish Ministers. It would not be appropriate for Scottish Ministers to provide guidance in relation to officer workload.

However, violence against women and girls is a key strand and tenet of Police Scotland’s 2030 vision and three-year business plan.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital roles that police officers play in keeping communities safe. This year, we have increased police funding to over £1.7 billion, an increase of £81.5 million on the 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) budget, to deliver on its priorities including frontline service delivery.

Question reference: S7W-01840

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 31 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people seeking to use Monifieth Beach do not experience a repeat of the recent health warnings and instructions to stay out of the sea due to high levels of E coli.

Designated bathing waters are routinely sampled by SEPA during the bathing season and inspections on Scottish Water assets are also carried out pre-bathing and during bathing season (1 June 2026 to 15 September 2026) to ensure compliance.

The Monifieth bathing water is classified as “Excellent”. However, short-term fluctuations in water quality can occur at all bathing waters for a variety of reasons, for example following heavy rain due to a range of pollution sources. Where advice against bathing is issued SEPA investigates to identify and take action to mitigate where possible any sources of pollution.

Question reference: S7W-00861

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much Transport Scotland has spent on (a) rail feasibility studies, (b) options appraisals, (c) business cases and (d) other related development work in (i) Aberdeen, (ii) Aberdeenshire, (iii) Angus, (iv) Dundee, (v) Edinburgh and (vi) Glasgow in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S7W-00859

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of total rail enhancement expenditure by Transport Scotland has been allocated to projects located in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Aberdeenshire, (c) Angus, (d) Dundee City, (e) Edinburgh and (f) Glasgow each year since 2007.

Information in that format and to that extent is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Providing the information would put a significant pressure on civil service staff and would require securing information from third parties, as well as extensive manual analysis. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

I refer the Member to the Parliamentary Questions Guidance.

The Member may find the following publications helpful:

CP5 delivery plan - 2018/19 update;

CP6 Delivery Plan Update – Scotland's Railway;

Scotland-CP7-Delivery-Plan-Year-2-update.pdf

The Scottish Ministers’ High Level Output Specification (HLOS)

Scotland CP7 delivery plan

Question reference: S7W-00860

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much Transport Scotland has spent on (a) rail infrastructure enhancements, (b) new stations, (c) line reopenings, (d) electrification projects and (e) associated feasibility studies and business cases in each year since 2007, broken down by (i) project and (ii) local authority area.

I refer the Member to the answers to the Parliamentary Question S7W-00859 on 16 June 2026.

There is a number of publications, which would be of assistance to the Member, including Transport Scotland annual accounts, which are published on its website: Publications | Transport Scotland. Alongside other publications i.e.: Electrification programme | Transport Scotland; CP6 Delivery Plan Update – Scotland's Railway; scotland-s-railway-control-period-6-2019-2024.pdf; Evaluation of rail projects | Transport Scotland ; Baseline Data Collection and Analysis - Evaluation of the Levenmouth Rail Link Reopening | Transport Scotland; Infrastructure investment - Government finance - gov.scot;

A National Mission with Local Impact: Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-22 to 2025-26 - gov.scot; Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026 - gov.scot; Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 | Transport Scotland

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.

Question reference: S7O-00013

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to address reported concerns that implementing recent Equalities and Human Rights Commission guidance on single sex spaces will put at increased risk both transgender people and cisgender people who present in gender non-conforming ways.

Question reference: S6W-44379

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the ability of charities to fulfil their charitable duties in the face of any hostility towards their work.

We fully appreciate the concerns being raised by the third sector about the rise in confrontational behaviour towards charity staff and volunteers. Officials in volunteering and in safer communities policy are working together with Police Scotland, local authorities and the third sector to identify and provide guidance and support.

While we are committed to upholding the rights to peaceful public assembly and freedom of expression, instances of hate, violence, or intimidation towards others will not be tolerated. We fully support Police Scotland to take appropriate action in response to criminal behaviour against charities and other voluntary organisations.

Question reference: S6W-44378

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) regarding the publication of guidance equivalent to the Charity Commission for England and Wales’ publication, How charities can respond to the current hostile environment.

Question reference: S6W-44176

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any payments made by the Republic of Ireland's Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme will be disregarded for the purpose of awarding means-tested entitlements, such as help with care charges and Scottish Welfare Fund payments, in line with current practice for similar payments, such as from the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme.

The Scottish Government welcomes the commitment made by the UK Government on 13 March 2026 to disregard payments under the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme. Correspondingly, reflecting our position that compensation payments can be disregarded where appropriate in the consideration of means-tested entitlements, work can progress in Scotland to consider specific disregards in respect of the Scheme.

Question reference: S6O-05707

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any excess deaths associated with long waiting times in A&E departments, including the action it is taking to reduce preventable mortality.