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-31475

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the additional cost will be to local authorities in Scotland as a result of the UK Government’s Budget decision to increase employer national insurance contributions.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has estimated that for the directly employed public sector local authority workforce, additional costs to local authorities from the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions may be £265 million in the financial year 2025-26. This estimate is published and available online at this web address: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-insurance-contributions-public-sector-costs/

Question reference: S6W-31477

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the additional cost will be to Police Scotland as a result of the UK Government’s Budget decision to increase employer national insurance contributions.

Scottish Government has estimated that for the directly employed public sector workforce in Police Scotland, additional costs to Police Scotland from the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions may be £25 million in the financial year 2025-2026. This estimate is published and available online at this web address: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-insurance-contributions-public-sector-costs/

Question reference: S6W-31476

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the additional cost will be to each NHS board in Scotland as a result of the UK Government’s Budget decision to increase employer national insurance contributions.

Scottish Government has estimated that for the directly employed public sector workforce in NHS boards, additional costs to NHS boards from the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions may be £191 million in the financial year 2025-26. The information requested for the costs for each NHS board is not held centrally. However the combined estimate for all NHS boards is published and available online at this web address: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-insurance-contributions-public-sector-costs/

Question reference: S6O-04009

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that critical rural food production economic activity is viable, sustainable and attractive to the next generation of farmers, crofters and fishers.

Question reference: S6W-28936

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recently reported decision by the UK Government to retract the £800 million of support for the University of Edinburgh exascale supercomputer, and whether it has had any recent discussions with the UK Government regarding this matter.

This is a matter between the University and UK Government, and general UK Government budgeting is continuing to be reviewed. However, the Scottish Government recognises the University’s unique track record and further potential as the UK’s foremost supercomputing centre, and we will continue to work to influence UK Government public finance discussions to positively benefit our economy and key sectors, including computing and AI.

Question reference: S6W-30402

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 29 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its position that prostitution is a form of violence against women and girls, as stated in its Equally Safe strategy, what work it is doing to eradicate violence against women and girls in every sector of society.

The Scottish Government is progressing Equally Safe, Scotland's strategy to prevent and address all forms of violence against women and girls, specifically violence, abuse, and exploitation directed at them because of their gender.

The Equally Safe Delivery Plan underpins the wider strategy and outlines collaborative working between key partners across the public and third sectors. It sets out a wide range of deliverables and actions that reach across many areas, including education, health, and justice to ensure the aims of the Equally Safe strategy are achieved.

Question reference: S6W-30528

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 22 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report, Prostitution and violence against women and girls - Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Reem Alsalem, whether it will commit to supporting the Nordic Model in the current parliamentary session, in order to tackle violence against women and girls and any commercial sexual exploitation of prostitution.

I met with the UN Special Rapporteur earlier this year and we welcome publication of the Report’s findings.

Our Strategic Approach to challenge and deter demand for prostitution and improve support for those with experience was published in February 2024. It recognises that prostitution cannot be considered in isolation, and sets out the Scottish Government’s collective approach, working with stakeholders across the wider public and third sector.

In common with the Nordic Model, the Strategy seeks to enable women to safely, and sustainably, exit from prostitution.

While we continue work with partners to develop a wider improved support pathway, we are now in a position to make progress with an initial phase of this work. Collaborating with Police Scotland, we will look to challenge demand and improve support for women with experience of commercial sexual exploitation.

I met with key stakeholders earlier this month to outline this collaboration, which includes:

A secondment from the Scottish Government’s Violence against Women and Girls team to ensure that strategic connections to wider relevant Scottish Government initiatives are made.
Supporting the further development of Operation Begonia (already operational in Aberdeen) to lead to a national and consistent policing approach.
Funding Police Scotland to gather intelligence to understand the full extent of demand for commercial sexual exploitation across Scotland, helping to better reach victims and strengthen the response to tackling perpetrators

This is a key stage in implementing our Strategic Approach, ensuring that we increase the opportunities for women to access support whilst at the same time ever limiting the opportunities for those carrying out exploitation.

Question reference: S6W-30229

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the statutory duty on local authorities to implement deer management plans, and the reported increased importance of recording deer numbers to meet the target of an additional 50,000 culled deer annually, for what reason data is available for only five out of 32 local authorities, and whether it will provide funding to local authorities to ensure that accurate deer management plans can be produced to facilitate the recording of deer numbers.

NatureScot only receives cull return data from the five local authorities that manage deer on their land. The remaining local authorities do not undertake deer culls, and therefore do not provide cull returns.

Naturescot has funded local authorities approximately £37,000 over the last seven years to produce deer management plans and deer statements alongside providing expert advice and guidance. NatureScot will continue to work with local authorities to support their deer management efforts.

Question reference: S6W-30231

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered recruiting additional staff to support the completion of deer culling by Christmas 2024, in light of the reported preference of cullers to complete culling within this timeframe and the availability of highly trained recreational deerstalkers to facilitate this.

Approximately 80% of deer culling in Scotland is carried out by the private sector and in these circumstances stalkers are not employed to do so by the Scottish Government, its bodies or agencies

Where deer are culled on publicly owned land this is done by trained stalkers which can include: agency staff, for example those employed by Forestry and Land Scotland; contractors; and recreational stalkers.

It is for those managing the land to decide how and when to shoot deer in line with their responsibilities and their Deer Management Plan, with support from NatureScot

I would also refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-30224 on 8 October 2024 which sets out methods being trialled to support and incentivise individuals to cull more deer in some parts of 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: S6W-30228

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has implemented any measures to ensure that any additional meat resulting from increased deer culling is not wasted, including distributing it through schools or other community initiatives.

As deer management increases over the next few years, in line with our aim to increase the Scottish deer cull by 25%, we want to maximise the benefits deer management can bring.

We have seen peaks and increased venison numbers in the past that our established network of processors has been able to accommodate, and we are working with the sector to ensure that there is no barrier to venison processing in future years.

We have previously provided £80,000 through the Covid-19 Recovery Fund to support three new deer larders in Scotland. With regard to mitigating venison waste, we will consider all proposals for venison distribution to ensure as much as possible makes its way into the food chain safely. This is an important aspect of the revised Scottish Venison strategy launched last year and closer engagement with the wholesale sector is underway.

Officials will be meeting shortly with Scottish Venison and Scotland Food and Drink to consider the specific issue of public sector procurement of wild venison.