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: S6F-02995

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to expedite the restoration of the Glasgow School of Art, in light of it being nearly a decade since the first fire.

Question reference: S6F-02973

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02972

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02987

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

To ask the First Minister, further to the regulations relating to XL Bully-type dogs coming into force, to whom a dog owner can apply for advice on whether their dog fits the conformation of the XL Bully-type, in light of reports that a substantial number of dog owners in England are now applying to deregister their dogs having established retrospectively that their pet does not conform to the Defra definition of an XL Bully-type dog.

Question reference: S6W-26082

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 25 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the UK Government's alcohol duty freeze in the Spring Statement on (a) public health harm, (b) alcohol deaths and (c) hospitalisations due to alcohol consumption in Scotland.

Powers to set alcohol duty are reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty, and clearly considers potential effects and impacts of decisions.

The Scottish Government recently laid regulations to continue and to increase the minimum unit price of alcohol to 65 pence per unit. Modelling published by Sheffield University in September 2023 looked at the potential impact of changes in the minimum unit price level on alcohol consumption and health effects, and also considered the relationship between different rates of alcohol duty and the impact of MUP. This modelling formed an important part of the range of information considered in developing our MUP proposals.

The Scottish Government will continue to review the data relating to alcohol, including on consumption, sales and alcohol related harm, in considering its approach to tackling alcohol harm in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-25557

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the licensing conditions for wrasse harvesting and its evidence base for carrying out an appropriate assessment of wrasse fisheries management in special areas of conservation, in which months of the year the gonads of the (a) goldsinny, (b) rock cook, (c) corkwing, (d) ballan and (e) cuckoo species of wrasse (i) are most developed and (ii) spawn.

Under the Habitats Regulations there is a requirement to carry out an appropriate assessment where an activity is capable of affecting a designated feature of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Wrasse are not a protected feature in any Scottish SAC.

At the introduction of the licence variation ,The Scottish Government was not required to carry out an Appropriate Assessment (AA) for the wrasse fishery under the Habitats Regulations, as wrasse are not protected features in any of Scotland’s Special Areas of Conservation. The licence condition brought control to a fishery that previously had no management measures. There is an association between wrasse and rocky reef, however an appropriate assessment would only be required if evidence showed pots had a significant impact on the reefs. We will continue to work with NatureScot and if evidence shows an AA is necessary, one will be undertaken. Therefore, at this present time, the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. Additional data collected through the licence condition to fish for wrasse will be published in the coming months.

Question reference: S6W-26019

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many (a) students have received and (b) music tutors have provided free music tuition, in each year since 2021.

The most recent Instrumental Music Survey published by the Improvement Service in December 2023 holds this information. Page 9 provides figures on students receiving free instrumental music tuition and Page 18 provides the number of music tutors. For ease of reference, this has been set out in the following tables.

Number of instrumental music pupils

2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
41,594	56,138	61,715

Total Instructor Numbers

Year	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
FTE	617.5	620.1	625.463

Question reference: S6W-26186

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 25 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when capital funding for the Community Bus Fund will be made available to local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-25558

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the licensing conditions for wrasse harvesting and its evidence base for carrying out an appropriate assessment of wrasse fisheries management in special areas of conservation, in relation to the (a) goldsinny, (b) rock cook, (c) corkwing, (d) ballan and (e) cuckoo species of wrasse, what length the (i) male and (ii) female fish are on their (A) first, (B) second, (C) third, (D) fourth and (E) subsequent breeding season(s).

Question reference: S6W-26081

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 25 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will adopt the recommendations in the report, Consideration of the effectiveness of the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan, which was published by Environmental Standards Scotland in February 2024.

The Scottish Government welcomes the report by the Environmental Standards Scotland published in February 2024. As outlined in their report, the previous 2018 Climate Change Plan received recommendations from committees of the Scottish Parliament and the Climate Change Committee. The Scottish Government responded to these recommendations in March 2021, accepting 66 of the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations, with a commitment to delivering many of these through the practical implementation of the Climate Change Plan update, with the next Climate Change Plan also identified as the mechanism to address any other recommendations.

This remains the mechanism and, as such, Scotland’s next Climate Change Plan will set out our approach to delivering on Scotland’s net zero ambitions up to 2040 and provide information on the costs and benefits of all policies contained within the Plan. Work is ongoing to ensure the next Climate Change Plan provides a credible and robust pathway to deliver Scotland’s ambitions and the recommendations outlined by ESS in their report are being considered as part of that process. We will, of course, consult widely on the new Plan, including with ESS.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

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