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-17665

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the support and training provided to GPs to recognise the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and related conditions.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) are responsible for managing all training provided to doctors in Scotland. NES ensure that all doctors receive high quality training in line with curricula that is set by the relevant Medical Royal College so that they are able to demonstrate that they have met all GMC curricular requirements, in order to practise independently as a GP in the UK.

All GP practices receive funding for protected time consisting of one session a month (usually within practice time) to allow GPs to maintain and develop their training and skills, and those of their practice teams. For GPs after their 3-year training, NES provide educational content related to gastroenterological conditions. There are also Practice-Based Small Group Learning modules (PBSGL) covering cancer and gastroenterology cases.

Question reference: S6W-17789

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people under 22 in South Ayrshire have registered for a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and what this is as a percentage of eligible under-22s in that area.As at the end of the day 30 April 2023, there were 10,069 cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme in South Ayrshire. This represents 56.4% of the estimated eligible population in the local authority area.

Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.

Question reference: S6W-17793

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of expanding the use of non-invasive liver scans in community settings to improve earlier detection of liver disease and liver cancer.

Question reference: S6W-17755

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving, as part of the proposed expansion of free school meals, to prioritising sustainably-produced Scottish food in procurement for these programmes, including from farms practising organic or regenerative agriculture, in order to support Scotland’s just transition targets.

We remain committed to the expansion of free school meals in primary and special schools as described in our programme for government. All food and drink, including free school meals, served in local authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out in the Nutritional Standards for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. What produce is used and where it is sourced from is a matter for individual local authorities taking into account local needs, priorities and circumstances as well as their duty to consider sustainable development as they procure food and drink for school menus.

However, the member raises an important matter. I have asked to meet with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs to discuss the points raised by this question in more detail.

Question reference: S6W-16914

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether waste collection companies should be investing in electric vehicles, in light of reports that a competitor, Biffa, has procured 198 petrol and diesel vehicles to provide collection services for the Deposit Return Scheme.

The Scottish Government has provided significant investment to accelerate the shift to zero emission transport and continues to provide a range of support to help businesses and individuals make the switch to electric vehicles. However, Biffa is a private company, and investment decisions in vehicles is a matter for them. It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in such commercial arrangements or provide them with financial advice on its procurement of operating vehicles.

Question reference: S6W-17033

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the headcount of the Cladding Remediation Unit has been in each month since January 2022.

Question reference: S6T-01384

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce violence in schools, in light of reports that three teachers and a 14-year-old pupil have been injured in a disturbance at a Renfrewshire school.

Question reference: S6T-01375

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comments made by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland that the Scottish Government has “absolutely" failed to deliver for children.

Question reference: S6F-02135

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2023

To ask the First Minister for what reason only 4% of Scotland's sewage discharge points are monitored, compared with 91% in England.

Question reference: S6F-02130

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to a recent poll that found that more than a third of people in Scotland would consider relocating if income taxes were increased further.

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Jan-22	10
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Apr-22	15
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Nov-22	18
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Jan-23	20
Feb-23	22
Mar-23	22