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-28694

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that small towns and villages receive proportional investment in their amenities as their populations grow.

A needs based distribution methodology based on factors, including population, is used to distribute the funding available for Local Government at a council level and is agreed with COSLA on behalf of all 32 local authorities each year.

As independent corporate bodies, it is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

As part of the Population Balance pillar of the Scottish Government's Population Strategy, we are working with COSLA and a range of local authorities facing population growth to understand approaches to addressing this distinct challenge. It is intended that this will be considered at a future meeting of the Ministerial Population Taskforce.

Question reference: S6W-28239

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support consumers to purchase electric vehicles and reduce emissions on the roads.

Since 2011 the Scottish Government has supported individuals and businesses across Scotland transition to electric vehicles by providing £223 million of interest free loans through the Low Carbon Transport loan, this scheme delivered on behalf of Scottish Ministers by Energy Saving Trust (EST) has funded over 8,300 loans and has saved an estimated 230,000 tCO2e.

Transport Scotland officials are currently finalising details of the fund prior to the loan relaunching. Energy Saving Trust, who administer the loan on behalf of Scottish Ministers, will provide up to date information regarding the loan and interested parties can register their interest on their website here - Used Electric Vehicle Loan - Energy Saving Trust .

Question reference: S6W-27568

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 9 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill will meet its reported obligations to comply with access to justice requirements under Article 9(4) of the Aarhus Convention before the deadline of 1 October 2024.

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill, which is currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament, will introduce a number of reforms which are intended to improve access to justice, one of the three pillars outlined in the Aarhus Convention.

The Bill will introduce a modern set of regulatory objectives which promote greater access to affordable legal services for consumers. It will also introduce direct regulation of legal businesses, remove restrictions on charities to allow them to directly employ solicitors, simplify the complaints process and introduce a register of regulated legal service providers. These reforms are designed to improve access to justice in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-28190

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to extending the cutting and filing of toenails through the NHS to those with (a) arthritis and (b) other conditions that make personal footcare difficult.

Question reference: S6W-27569

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to amending Regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 to (a) broaden the scope of legal aid to include community groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and (b) ensure that legal aid is available in public interest litigation on environmental matters, in order to comply with access to justice requirements under Article 9(4) of the Aarhus Convention, before the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee’s deadline of 1 October 2024.

The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention. We also remain committed to retaining a demand-led and sustainable system of legal aid, with legal aid funding to remain available to support individuals with the most need. Legal aid can be made available, at present, to individuals whose litigation engages matters of wider public interest, provided it can be demonstrated to the Scottish Legal Aid Board that the outcome of the case will have a direct tangible benefit to them. Our “Vision for Justice in Scotland: three year delivery plan” contains an action to engage with key stakeholders to inform and shape future legislative proposals in relation to the reform of legal aid. Discussions on legal aid reform will take place this year and will include environmental stakeholders.

Question reference: S6W-27621

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to reform legislation on adults with incapacity, as recommended by the Scottish mental health law review.

In our response to the Scottish Mental Health Law Review, published in June 2023, we committed to establishing a Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme. We are due to publish the first Delivery Plan under this Programme shortly. Our main priority for early law reform centres on the updating of the Adults with Incapacity Act. Work has already begun to consider options for addressing long-standing gaps in Adults with Incapacity law, to ensure stronger rights, protections and safeguards.

Question reference: S6W-27908

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken to identify any additional capacity requirements for the implementation of the new model of neonatal care.

In 2017, the Scottish Government published ‘The Best Start : A Five-Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland’, and the report and recommendations were accepted by Ministers. The Best Start outlined a new model of neonatal service provision that suggests that care for the smallest and sickest babies should be consolidated to deliver the best possible outcomes.

An important part of planning for the implementation stage of the model of care is the modelling of demand and capacity requirements.

The Scottish Government contracted healthcare planning support, RSM UK Consulting LLP, to undertake detailed modelling and capacity planning work, to inform local implementation plans.

The approach to this work has included data collection and modelling alongside engagement with both operational and strategic stakeholders, to validate data, generate and test planning assumptions.

Activity and capacity data was collected from each of the eight units included within the model scope, as well as Public Health Scotland (PHS) and, Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) / Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

The report outlines this modelling approach, inputs, and interpretation of the outputs to support the future of NICU services. This aligns with the Best Start recommendations and focuses on the three regional NICU sites chosen for adoption in Scotland. To further support local implementation plans, this report also outlines a series of considerations for implementation that can be taken forward beyond the commission.

The report will be published on 29 May 2024 and can be accessed at New Model of Neonatal Care – RSM UK Consulting - Report

Question reference: S6O-03511

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that local authorities are able to provide full-time schooling for children with complex additional support needs.

Question reference: S6O-03477

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for children requiring neurodevelopmental assessment.

Question reference: S6O-03438

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to raising the school starting age and implementing a universal kindergarten stage.