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-38183

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many P1 to P3 pupils were in class sizes of (a) zero to 18, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30 and (d) 31 or more pupils, in each year since 2022.

Question reference: S6W-38159

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any regional disparities in GP-to-patient ratios, and how this informs workforce planning.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS board working alongside General Practices. The model for General Practice will depend on local population health needs as well as local service planning priorities.

NHS Boards are required to undertake workforce planning to ensure a full range of services are provided, including working with independent contractors in primary care. These plans should align with the National Workforce Strategy.

The Scottish Government is aware of an increasing gap between the GP Registered Population and Scotland’s population as estimated by the census. A working group has been established to look at the disparity between the two in more detail.

Question reference: S6W-37930

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government from which line of the Scottish Budget 2025-26, as passed by the Scottish Parliament, the funds will be sourced to meet the request from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, reportedly of £25 million, to complete the construction of the Glen Rosa vessel, in light of comments made by the Scottish Government's Director-General Economy to the Public Audit Committee on 21 May 2025 that "there is insufficient capital allocated to Ferguson Marine to accommodate that", and, if this is the case, from which other budget line or by which means the funds would be found.

Question reference: S6W-38184

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many retail units are vacant in high streets and town centres across the country.

Question reference: S6W-38160

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional support for learning (a) teachers and (b) pupil support assistants have been employed in each year since 2019, also broken down by local authority.

Statistics on additional support for learning teachers are published in the teacher census supplementary statistics, available on the Scottish Government website here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/

Statistics on pupil support assistants are published in the school support staff statistics, available on the Scottish Government website here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-support-staff-statistics/

Question reference: S6W-37929

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government from which line of the Scottish Budget 2025-26, as passed by the Scottish Parliament, the funds will be sourced to potentially acquire Ardrossan Harbour from Peel Ports, and how much has been set aside for any such transaction.

The potential harbour purchase sits within the ‘Vessels and Piers’ budget for 2025-26, which also includes a number of port improvements and upgrades. As previously stated in Parliament, whilst we await the outcome of the commercial negotiations between CMAL and Peel Ports, we cannot provide further information during this confidential process. I will of course update Parliament once there is progress and an outcome reached.

Question reference: S6W-37923

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Scotland plans to roll-out the new gonorrhoea vaccine, which is being made available to eligible and high risk groups in England from August 2026.

NHS Scotland will introduce a new vaccination programme which offers protection against gonorrhoea from August 2025. This targeted opportunistic programme is specifically aimed at Gay, Bisexual and other Men who have Sex with Men (GBMSM) who are at increased risk of gonorrhoea. Clinicians may also offer vaccination to a small number of individuals at equivalent risk outside of the primary GBMSM cohort who they identify as being at on-going risk.

Question reference: S6W-38190

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many journeys have been taken on ScotRail trains in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6T-02586

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the connectivity of local communities in the west of Scotland, in light of reports that over 400 Stagecoach drivers in Ayr, Arran, Ardrossan and Kilmarnock have begun industrial action until 21 July.

Question reference: S6W-37928

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 6 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to support partners to reduce any widespread disruptive gatherings on coastal communities and beaches during seasonal warm weather and bank holidays, in light of reports of such gatherings resulting in antisocial behaviours, violence and serious incidents.

We want to encourage people to enjoy our beautiful beaches safely and responsibly.

The Scottish Government is working with partners to promote community safety over the summer period.

This month, our grant funded partner Fearless will launch a summer safety campaign to encourage pro-social behaviour and responsible decision-making among children and young people on key issues affecting them. Campaign messaging will be promoted through social media as well as a series of outreach events across Scotland.

We support Police Scotland and partners in making full use of available resources, tools and powers available to them. Partners working locally are best placed to understand and address issues that communities face, including at coastal communities. Taking account of different circumstances and intelligence, preventative, diversionary work may also be undertaken by partners. Police Scotland can enforce the law by using a number of measures, including public disorder and dispersal powers

The Scottish Government also supports a range of targeted prevention and early intervention activity in schools, hospitals and across communities, working with partners to tackle violence. This is in addition to the Cashback for Communities programme, which supports young people most at risk of being involved in antisocial behaviour, offending or reoffending.

Our Water Safety Action Plan includes raising awareness of how to stay safe around water through promoting the Scottish Water Safety Code, which recommends avoiding alcohol or drugs if near water to prevent an increased risk-taking behaviour.