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: S5W-25523

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether a new procurement process will be in place for secure care spaces by 2020-21.

Scotland Excel commission secure care accommodation on behalf of Scotland’s 32 local authorities and Scottish Ministers. The current contracts with the four independent providers expire on 31 March 2020.

Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with Scotland Excel and have been assured that there is a timetable in place to ensure the new contracts are awarded and in place for 1 April 2020.

Question reference: S5W-25433

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that incidents of historic child abuse in football are fully investigated and proportionately penalised.

Any allegations are for Police Scotland to investigate, and sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the court – with life imprisonment the maximum penalty for the most serious offences involving the sexual abuse of children.

The Scottish Government unreservedly condemns the abhorrent crime of sexual abuse, and we are working closely with a range of organisations to ensure all children can enjoy playing football in a safe and secure environment.

Question reference: S5T-01821

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the HMICS report into the Scottish Police Authority, including the finding that it has "no clear vision, strategy or plan in place".

Question reference: S5O-03568

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Social Security Committee’s recommendation that Universal Credit housing element should be paid directly to a landlord by default, with the option for a tenant to opt out.

Question reference: S5T-01787

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Auditor General's comment that “the Scottish Prison Service faces a combination of severe pressures on many fronts; this poses a threat to operational safety, effectiveness and financial sustainability”.

Question reference: S5O-03535

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports students in higher education.

Question reference: S5W-24766

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which bodies it has received correspondence from regarding the proposed workplace parking levy.

The Scottish Government has received correspondence from the following bodies on the topic of the proposed workplace parking levy: COSLA, Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs), the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), City of Edinburgh Council (CEC), Federation of Small Business (FSB) Scotland, Scottish Financial Enterprise (FSE), Food and Drink Federation Scotland (FDFS), Lochinver Holidays, Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA), Glasgow Fort, British Air Line Pilots Association (BALPA), Scottish Police Federation (SPF), Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW), GMB Scotland, RMT, RAC, Marie Curie, and the Poverty and Inequality Commission. Correspondence was also received from the Friends of the Earth (FOE) Scotland which was also signed by: Edinburgh Festival of Cycling; Transport Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University; Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), Scotland; Transform Scotland; Get Glasgow Moving; Go Bike; Living Streets Scotland; Paths for All; Pedal on Parliament; Sustrans Scotland; and WWF Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-24768

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities are using or are seeking to use their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to alter business rates in 2019-20.

The Scottish Government will receive provisional outturn figures from councils on the level of any local reliefs awarded for 2019-20 under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 in the summer of 2020.

Local authorities are not required to notify the Scottish Government of any local relief schemes they intend to put in place in advance of the financial year, that is rightly a matter for each local authority to determine themselves based on their own local circumstances.

The Scottish Government granted local authorities the autonomy to tailor reliefs schemes to meet the needs of their local area through the Community Empowerment Act 2015. The Scottish Government continues to remind local authorities that they are able to use these powers where they may deem it appropriate. Local Authorities are independent bodies, democratically elected and accountable to their local electorate, and the administering of all reliefs under these powers is a matter for them. For our part the 2019-20 Local Government finance settlement which totals £11.2 billion will provide local authorities with a real terms increase in funding of £310 million (2.9%).

Question reference: S5W-24769

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more local authorities to consider using their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to alter non-domestic rates.

Question reference: S5W-24770

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 30 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to receive in receipts from the UK Apprenticeship Levy in 2019-20, and how much it has received in each of the last two years.