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: S6W-04446

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maggie Chapman on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration has been given to the length of time taken to process motions and questions submitted by MSPs.

Since the start of Session 6, the Chamber Desk has seen an upturn in the number of questions and motions submitted. In particular, the number of Urgent Questions being lodged has increased significantly. These factors have had an impact on the previous pattern of work undertaken by the Chamber Desk and have resulted in a longer turnaround time than Members will previously have been used to. When Urgent Questions are lodged, they are given priority due to the timeframe for such questions to be taken if selected and only selected questions are published. To respond to these changes in demand and pattern of work, additional staffing resources have been deployed to the Chamber Desk. Due to the specialist nature of the services provided by the Chamber Desk, the impact of these additional resources will not be immediately realised as staff require to undertake training and familiarisation with the role. Where any Members have lodged motions that are particularly time-sensitive and that they wish to be prioritised they should indicate this by email to the Chamber Desk and, where possible, early attention can be given to processing those items.

Question reference: S6O-00462

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what targeted support it is providing to communities to help deal with antisocial behaviour.

Question reference: S6O-00338

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported Crown Office findings that there has been a 9% increase in reported charges with a "domestic abuse identifier" during the COVID-19 pandemic, what action it is taking to support victims of domestic violence.

Question reference: S6O-00324

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support opportunities for the cultural sector to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic this winter.

Question reference: S6W-03692

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 October 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that it is using every opportunity to use government funding to promote fair work and pay people the real living wage.

We have consistently pushed the boundaries in our procurement activity to achieve payment of the real Living Wage to those employed in public contracts, and have provided extensive guidance and support to public bodies on this issue.

We are making payment of the real Living Wage a condition of winning Scottish Government contracts and we will engage widely to encourage this practice across the public sector in Scotland.

We acknowledge the valuable work that others such as the Fair Work Convention and the Poverty Alliance have undertaken in this area.

The Scottish Government will bring this matter to parliament on return from parliamentary recess.

Question reference: S6W-03154

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 1 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is providing to the 450 employees of the company, People’s Energy, in light of it having ceased trading, and what support is being provided to any of the company's vulnerable customers who may be at risk of fuel poverty.

Question reference: S6O-00172

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Covid recovery secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action to support the hospitality sector to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6O-00074

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what further guidance and support it will provide to community groups to help them meet the goal of net zero emissions.

Question reference: S6W-00049

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide help, guidance and support to the Riverside Medical Centre in Musselburgh, to assist it in providing an acceptable standard of health service to its patients.

Whilst Scottish Ministers set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, responsibility for service delivery rests locally with Health Boards and GP practices. Practices are contracted to provide general medical services by their local health board and not the Scottish Government. As such, Scottish Ministers are unable to intervene in the service and appointment arrangements of individual practices, but they do expect satisfactory systems to be in place for the benefit of all patients.

East Lothian HSCP have been working closely with the practice and have given support to increase the number of GP appointments available to patients of the practice. The HSCP are also delivering a range of self-referral services that offer patients same-day access to specialist clinical, mental health and MSK physiotherapist support.

The practice have recruited a number of members of staff including call handlers, a Specialist Paramedic, a Clinical Manager/Nurse Practitioner and a further Nurse Practitioner. An additional GP has joined the practice, with another due to join in the summer.

Question reference: S5W-35648

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reconsider using mass vaccination venues as the main premises for administering the COVID-19 vaccine to people with learning disabilities and autism, and whether it will consider offering the vaccine to these groups through their GPs, in light of this offering a more familiar environment for people who may experience sensory overload.

Individuals who require adjustments for themselves or someone they care for should contact their Health Board and GP, so that specialists are made aware of their specific needs and can make adjustments best suited to the patient.

Appointments may be moved to a clinic if this would be a more comfortable setting, and the individual may be accompanied by their carer.

Information on how to facilitate these conversations are available on at NHS inform , in accessible formats.

If people are unable to attend their Covid-19 vaccination programme. They can rebook their appoint via the NHS Website:

Rearrange or opt-out of your vaccination appointment | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot)