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-27141

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26663 by Tom Arthur on 30 April 2024, whether any public bodies under the direct jurisdiction of the Scottish Ministers currently use physical record keeping as their only means of information storage.

Question reference: S6W-27182

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent plastic pollution in seas and waterways.

The Scottish Government is taking action to prevent and support the removal of plastic pollution in seas and waterways through measures detailed in the Marine Litter Strategy and the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy.

The refreshed Marine Litter Strategy aims to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment, as well as to help tackle existing litter, in order to achieve ecological, economic and social benefits. The Strategy’s action plan focuses on the most problematic types of marine litter including fishing and aquaculture gear, sewage-related debris, and plastic pellets, and will drive forward our work up to 2027 co-ordinating the efforts of our stakeholders and partners, working at a national and international level to help tackle this global problem.

The Marine Litter Strategy covers a wide range of actions. We are working with the UK Government and Devolved Governments to put an end to pollution caused by wet wipes containing plastic, and we announced our intention to ban the sale and supply of these items on 22 April 2024, with legislation to be in force by mid-2026. We are also working to improve the management of end-of-life fishing and aquaculture gear to reduce litter and improve recycling rates, contributing to our circular economy. In addition, we are developing international solutions to prevent plastic pellet pollution, which can be found on our beaches and risk the health of our marine wildlife.

Litter has to be tackled from source, and in June 2023 we published a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy for Scotland, which includes litter which may be washed from the land into waterways and the sea. This six-year Strategy aims to prevent litter and flytipping through influencing behaviour, improving the delivery of services, and strengthening enforcement. Published with an accompanying action plan, it sets out how we will achieve our vision of a Scotland not blighted by litter and flytipping.

The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy includes a variety of preventative measures. Fixed penalty notices for flytipping offences have been increased from £200 to £500 as of 1 January 2024. This is intended to act as a deterrent to flytipping and is one of the key actions for Scottish Government in the Strategy’s Year One Action Plan. In addition to fixed penalty notices, flytippers can also be issued a civil penalty by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). These include fixed monetary penalties of £600, and variable monetary penalties up to £40,000.

Question reference: S6W-27184

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced in Scotland.

In January 2024, Scottish Government published our draft Circular Economy & Waste Route Map which sets out a range of priority actions to deliver sustainable use of our resources and progress a circular economy in Scotland by 2030, including measures to drive responsible consumption, production and re-use.

As part of this wider work, the Scottish Government is committed to matching or exceeding the standards set out by the EU Directive on single-use plastics where we are able to do so and in a manner that contributes towards maintaining and advancing standards.

From 1 June 2022 Scotland became the first part of the UK to implement a ban on some of the most problematic single-use plastic products through the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. In addition, the Scottish Government has committed to introduce a minimum charge on single-use disposable beverage cups, ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes by 1 April 2025 and ban wet wipes containing plastic.

Question reference: S6W-27147

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will address the reported £16 million funding deficit facing the hospice sector, in light of the recent funding announcement for hospices in Wales to help maintain services and meet staffing costs.

Question reference: S6W-27340

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy on 18 April 2024, whether it will outline the timetable for the development of the Just Transition Plan for Mossmorran.

As outlined, the Scottish Government will develop a Just Transition Plan for the Mossmorran industrial complex following delivery of the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan. Work will commence in early 2025 and as such, detailed timetable is not yet available, however we would anticipate taking a sequential approach, working to develop data driven baseline, an outline vision for 2045, a corresponding action plan and monitoring framework. The Scottish Government intends to publish the Just Transition Plan for Mossmorran by the end of the parliament.

Question reference: S6W-27221

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24477 by Joe FitzPatrick on 18 January 2024, for what reason the Scottish Ministers have yet to reach a decision on the proposal for this urban regeneration project in Glasgow, and whether they will now approve it without further delay.

Question reference: S6W-27145

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress has been made towards the new national funding framework for hospice funding.

Question reference: S6O-03478

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-03482

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the call from the NASUWT teachers' union for a system of strategies to be put in place for dangerous and disruptive behaviour, including consequences for pupils.

Question reference: S6O-03483

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can intervene, in light of concerns following NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's decision to permanently reduce Inverclyde's GP out-of-hours service, reportedly leaving Inverclyde Royal Hospital as the only GP out-of-hours site in the NHS board area not to operate a full seven days a week and overnight service.