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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 46716 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-23924

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many households are currently dependent on private water supplies, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-23868

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the reported 84% of retail workers who say that working on New Year’s Day affects their ability to spend time with family.

Fair work means secure employment with fair pay and conditions, where workers are heard and represented, treated with respect and have opportunities to progress.

Our vision, shared with the Fair Work Convention, is for Scotland to be a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025, where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and society. We deeply value the ongoing collaboration with USDAW and their stakeholders, and we view our continued engagement through the Retail Industrial Leadership Group and Fair Work Working Group as essential in ensuring we reach our ambition for fair work.

While employment law remains reserved to the UK Government, we will use our Fair Work policy to promote fairer work practices across the labour market in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-24163

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many members of Historic Scotland there were at the end of each month in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-24084

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in its refreshed Equally Safe strategy of December 2023 to "eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls" (VAWG), what specific action it will propose to eliminate the various forms of VAWG identified in the strategy, in particular "commercial sexual exploitation, including prostitution".

The Scottish Government will publish a Framework that effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution, and to support those with experience of it, early this year. The Framework takes a holistic approach, recognising the links to wider forms of commercial sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls - aligning with the refresh of our Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy and Equally Safe.

In parallel, and to support this approach, the Framework’s implementation will be supported by the creation of a new multi-agency stakeholder group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation. More details will be made available once the group has been established.

Question reference: S6W-23845

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how the additional measures that are available to Rent Service Scotland under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 will allow tenants to contest any rent increases and help ensure that they are able to afford to live in their home.

Once the rent cap, under Part 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, is expired rent increases which may be proposed by landlords will proceed under the framework set out in the 2016 Act. Where tenants consider the proposed increase to be unreasonable, the emergency Act provides Scottish Ministers with the ability to temporarily modify how rent increases referred by a tenant are adjudicated. Any proposed modification would be subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament, and the intention of any changes to the adjudication process would be to smooth the transition out of the rent cap and protect tenants from steep rent increases.

It is proposed that, when the emergency rent cap is removed, the rent adjudication process would be amended to require a rent adjudication determination to be based on the lowest of three comparators:

1. open market rent;

2. the new rent proposed by the landlord; and

3. a maximum ‘reasonable’ increase for that tenancy, to be defined by reference to a new ‘taper’ that supports a transition away from the rent cap

Application of such an approach means that market rents would continue to be taken account of in rent adjudication whilst allowing for moderation where the move back to current market rent in a single rent increase would be a significant increase for a tenant.

We are currently consulting with stakeholders on the proposed approach to modifying the rent adjudication process.

Question reference: S6W-23847

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has undertaken to consider the potential effect of the expiry of restrictions on evictions, in relation to (a) eviction rates and (b) any increase in (i) staffing costs, (ii) staff workload and (iii) requirements for temporary accommodation, should there be an increase in the number of (A) homeless presentations and (B) applications to the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service for evictions proceedings.

The Scottish Government publishes Homelessness in Scotland statistics on an annual basis, which provides trends for key aspects of homelessness in Scotland including homelessness applications, assessments, the use of temporary accommodation and outcomes. The latest statistics for 2022-23 can be found here: Homelessness in Scotland: 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

We continually monitor and report on applications and grounds for evictions to assess the impact of the moratorium, and we will continue to monitor this data as we transition out of the emergency measures. Scottish Government officials are also in regular contact with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service on costs relating to private rented sector cases.

We are also consulting with stakeholders on the proposed approach to modifying the rent adjudication process, to prevent unintended consequences when the emergency measures come to an end.

Question reference: S6O-02988

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the City of Edinburgh Council to discuss its housing emergency declaration.

Question reference: S6O-02987

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to attract and retain staff in colleges.

Question reference: S6O-02982

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-02983

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguarding training NHS boards are required to provide to non-clinical staff who are handling interactions with members of the public.