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: S7O-00069

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Justice last met with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to discuss the future of Hawick Fire Station.

Question reference: S7W-00657

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Scottish National Party manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, whether it will provide a list of the essential food items and products to be included in a basket of up to fifty items.

Question reference: S7W-00658

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Scottish National Party manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what basis it will use to determine the product categories.

Question reference: S7W-00659

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Scottish National Party manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, whether it would require to introduce at least a six-month implementation plan for retailers, in light of this being the case when the most recent increase to the minimum unit pricing of alcohol was implemented.

Question reference: S7W-00195

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that female witnesses involved in serious criminal cases are provided with appropriate protections and support throughout court proceedings, including safeguards relating to single-sex spaces and facilities.

There are various measures in place to ensure that female witnesses involved in serious criminal cases are provided with appropriate protections and support throughout court proceedings.

The Scottish Government recognises that some witnesses may find it difficult to give evidence and may be particularly vulnerable because of their circumstances or the nature of their evidence. The court can take extra steps - called special measures - to help vulnerable witnesses give the best evidence they can. Special measures can include giving evidence from behind a screen or remotely via a TV link to the court, to prevent the witness having to attend the court building. Further information on special measures is available at https://www.mygov.scot/witness/help-support.

The Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced a presumption that children and vulnerable witnesses in the most serious criminal cases should be able to have their evidence pre-recorded instead of testifying in court. Pre-recording evidence reduces the risk of re-traumatisation for witnesses and supports them to give their best possible evidence, earlier in the process and in a victim-centred way.

The Scottish Government is rolling out the legislation in stages, to give the criminal justice system time to prepare and to make sure the right facilities are in place for witnesses - and will extend the presumption to vulnerable adult witnesses in the most serious cases following the roll out to child witnesses. Vulnerable adult witnesses can still apply for their evidence to be taken in this way and accordingly, pre-recorded evidence is currently used a great deal for adult complainers of sexual offences, particularly in the High Court.

Other sources of support include the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Victim Information and Advice (VIA) Service for all vulnerable victims and those involved in the most serious cases. The VIA service can provide information about how the justice process works, and on key court dates and decisions. It will also work with victims to understand if they would benefit from special measures when giving evidence. Furthermore, the Scottish Government provides funding to Victim Support Scotland (VSS) which provides the VSS Court Service. The VSS Court Service supports victims in a range of ways including through court familiarisation visits, virtual court tours, support in court and for writing a victim statement.

Matters regarding the management of the court estate are, of course, for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) and the Lord President. In partnership with justice partners, SCTS is committed to clear standards of service for victims and witnesses (available at https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/media/rvrdro0w/standards-of-service-for-victims-and-witnesses-2025-26.pdf). This includes ensuring that witnesses who require to attend court will be placed in witness rooms designated for prosecution or defence. In addition, toilet facilities within the SCTS buildings are clearly designated as male and female. Accessible toilet facilities are available and may be used by any individual, regardless of gender.

Question reference: S7W-00194

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken any assessment of whether supermarkets may offset a cap on certain food items through price increases elsewhere, and, if so, what conclusions it reached.

Question reference: S7W-00193

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the administrative and enforcement costs associated with introducing a cap on supermarket food prices.

Question reference: S7W-00191

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact of a statutory cap on supermarket food prices on Scottish farmers, food producers and processors, particularly in relation to farmgate prices and supply chain sustainability.

Question reference: S7W-00192

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received legal advice regarding the compatibility of a statutory cap on supermarket food prices with the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, and, if so, whether it will publish the advice it has received.

Question reference: S6W-44350

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued any guidance to local authorities on appropriate levels of screen use for primary school pupils in classroom settings.

Decisions about the delivery of education are devolved to local authorities. As such the Scottish Government has not issued guidance on specific or appropriate levels of device or screen use in classroom settings. It is for councils to decide how and when digital technology is used to support learning, in line with their local education and digital strategies. We have published guidance for parents on screen time for school-aged children via Parent Club.

The term screen use covers a wide range of activities with varying levels of educational value. In schools, digital activity is typically planned, structured and directly linked to learning objectives, and is therefore not directly comparable to recreational or passive screen use outside the classroom. The Parent Club guidance reflects this noting, what they’re watching or doing is just as important as counting the number of minutes.

The Scottish Government would expect content and activities available on school managed devices to be carefully curated by local authorities to support learning and teaching. Devices should be appropriately secured, filtered and monitored, with access to inappropriate or non-educational content restricted, providing pupils with an age appropriate and supervised digital environment.

Digital technologies are one tool among many available to support learning. Teachers are trusted to exercise their professional judgement in deciding when digital approaches add pedagogical ,inclusive or practical value, and when other approaches are more appropriate, as they do with any learning resource.