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: S7W-02853

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to bringing forward an alcohol harm prevention plan, including action to restrict marketing and availability of alcohol.

The Scottish Government published the ‘Preventing Harm, Promoting Recovery: Scotland's Alcohol & Drugs Strategic Plan’ in March 2026, which commits the Scottish Government to a long-term public health approach to reducing alcohol and drug-related harm, including the publication of an Alcohol Harm Prevention Action Plan setting out the next steps for addressing alcohol-related harm in Scotland.

Work is currently underway to develop that Plan, which will set out the next phase of action to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harm. As part of this work, we will continue to assess the evidence on measures that could help reduce alcohol-related harm.

No decisions have yet been taken on specific measures, and further details will be published in due course through the Alcohol Harm Prevention Action Plan.

Question reference: S7W-02918

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to introduce the legal right to a healthy environment.

Question reference: S7O-00267

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the climate action secretary has had with the transport secretary regarding how climate action policies are supporting the development of integrated public transport and active travel networks that connect rural communities with major urban centres, including Glasgow.

Question reference: S7W-02992

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve awareness of gynaecological cancers, including the signs and symptoms of womb, ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal cancers, and to encourage people to seek medical advice at an early stage.

Our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme takes a whole-systems approach to early detection and encompasses primary care, diagnostics, public education, data, innovation and screening.

Detect Cancer Earlier’s Be The Early Bird campaign launched in March 2023 aiming to reduce fear of cancer and empower those with possible symptoms to act early.

Our Get Checked Early website includes an interactive symptom checker including for genealogical symptoms.

In parallel to campaign activity, a DCE roadshow visits communities across Scotland to reinforce key messages – this has resulted in over 28,000 engagements with the target audience to date.

This has been supported by partnership activities throughout January and February 2026, targeting customers and staff at Iceland and Home Bargains. Partnership content with the Open Goal podcast was also streamed to extend the reach of DCE messaging.

Question reference: S7W-02851

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that every resident in (a) Glasgow and (b) South Lanarkshire has a safe, secure and affordable home.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, secure and affordable home. We are supporting this through investment in affordable housing, action to improve the quality and energy efficiency of homes, measures to prevent and alleviate homelessness, and strengthened rights and protections for tenants.

The Scottish Government, through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme has allocated £123.283 to Glasgow City Council and £32.384 million to South Lanarkshire Council. This supports the delivery of affordable homes and helps meet local housing needs.

Question reference: S7W-02852

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce an automatic uprating mechanism for Minimum Unit Pricing.

The Scottish Government committed in the Preventing Harm, Promoting Recovery: Scotland's Alcohol & Drugs Strategic Plan to the publication of the range of actions it will take in line with World Health Organization advice as part of a future Alcohol Harm Prevention Plan. That plan will set out action to prevent alcohol harm in Scotland, building on the impact of policies such as Minimum Unit Pricing.

Whilst no decision has been yet been taken, the Scottish Government has continued to consider the appropriate next steps for minimum unit pricing. This will be set out as part of the Alcohol Harm Prevention plan in due course.

Question reference: S6W-44432

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its statement, Strengthening additional support for learning, published on 12 March 2026, how the recommendation for "workforce alignment" will be implemented in Lanarkshire, in light of reported concerns regarding chronic underfunding and overstretched staffing.

The expert Review carried out by Professional Education Advisor Janie McManus’ said that clearer expectations, stronger pathways to support across education, health and social care, and early interventions should underpin the next steps in delivering Additional Support Needs (ASN) provision in schools.

I welcomed publication of the review and accepted the six recommendations made.

Whilst work on delivering against these recommendations will require sustained partnership across government, local authorities and national bodies, it will be for the incoming government to consider how to take forward the specific approach.

Question reference: S6W-44423

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its review of the effectiveness of section 40 of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014; what data it holds on the number of successful prosecutions under this section for "significant environmental harm" since its inception, and how it plans to address reported concerns from stakeholders that section 40 lacks the "apex" deterrent effect required to prevent mass environmental destruction.

The Scottish Government has not committed to a formal review of the offence at section 40 of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. The information that we hold shows that there have been no successful prosecutions under the section 40 offence of causing significant environmental harm. There are many possible explanations for this lack of prosecutions, including regulatory agencies and prosecutors using other, more specific offences in response to environmental crimes.

Question reference: S6W-44420

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, following the Parliament's agreement of a Financial Resolution for the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill on 19 February 2026, what specific work is being undertaken during the current pause in stage 2 proceedings to ensure that the (a) Scottish Environment Protection Agency and (b) Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is adequately resourced and trained to investigate and prosecute complex corporate environmental crimes.

Since the Parliament’s agreement to the Financial Resolution for the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill, there has been contact at official level between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency about the level of resources that would be needed should the Bill be enacted. There has been no contact on this issue with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service during this period.

Question reference: S6W-44428

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of fly-tipping in (a) South Lanarkshire and (b) Glasgow.

The Scottish Government has not made specific assessments of fly-tipping levels in South Lanarkshire or Glasgow. Responsibility for dealing with fly-tipping depends on the location and nature of the incident. Under the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, local authorities are responsible for the clearance of fly-tipping from relevant public land, while private landowners are responsible for waste on their own land. SEPA may also have a role in regulating and enforcing against illegal waste activity, depending on the circumstance.

At the national level, the Scottish Government published a Fly-tipping Baseline Report in 2024 (National litter and flytipping strategy: baseline report - gov.scot), which provides an overview of the scale and nature of fly-tipping across Scotland, including some local authority data.