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-02064

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the anti-poverty summit that took place on Wednesday 3 May.

Question reference: S6F-02057

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02056

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-16637

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it plans to introduce a domestic abuse register.

Question reference: S6W-16683

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has evaluated the outcomes of the specialist domestic abuse courts in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and, if not, whether it has any plans to do so.

Question reference: S6W-16685

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to roll out domestic abuse courts across Scotland.

The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, which was passed unanimously by this Parliament, provides that it is the responsibility of the Lord President as Head of the independent judiciary and of Sheriffs Principal, to ensure the efficient disposal of business through Scotland’s courts, including sheriff courts.

Where the Lord President, in consultation with the relevant Sheriff Principal, considers that it is appropriate to establish a specialism in domestic abuse cases in a particular sheriffdom, they are able to do so.

There is no requirement for the involvement or approval of the Scottish Ministers or the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-16648

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many mental health community link workers were recruited in each financial year from 2016-17 to 2021-22, broken down by NHS board.

Community Link Workers are generalists who support people with a range of social and economic issues which can include mental health. The Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF) funds Community Link Workers (CLWs) as part of primary care multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs). At March 2022, 249 WTE CLWs had been recruited to support GP practices.

The Scottish Government published information on the number CLWs recruited broken down by Integration Authority, on 21 June 2022.Further information, including the location by Integration Authority, of CLWs by both headcount and whole time equivalent, since 2018, can be accessed at: Supporting documents - Primary care improvement plans: summary of implementation progress - March 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This does not include CLWs recruited through funding other than PCIF funding.

The Scottish Government has already invested significantly to build mental health capacity including our Action 15 commitment to funding 800 additional mental health workers in key settings, including A&Es, GP practices, police station custody suite and prisons – ensuring local provision and support is at the heart of our plans. As at 12 July 2022, an additional 958.9 whole time equivalent (WTE) mental health roles have been filled using Action 15 funding, including 356.1 WTE posts in GP practices and a further 259.9 WTE mental health workers recruited under the Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF). A full performance report can be found here , Mental health workers: quarterly performance reports .

Question reference: S6W-17514

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to mitigate the risk of wildfires, in light of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service reportedly stating that the risk of wildfire in parts of Scotland was “extreme”.

The weather conditions and condition of the vegetation on the hills and moors of Scotland at this time of year lend themselves to fires starting easily and spreading quickly. This is something the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is very aware of, and has been working closely with a number of key partners on this for some time to establish a common understanding on the risk, prevention measures, and response procedures. Through the auspices of the Scottish Wildfire Forum (SWF), which SFRS chairs, a wildfire danger assessment is carried out every 5-7 days by a third party expert, and when the risk of wildfire reaches very high or extreme then the assessment is circulated across a wide network of key contacts, including public sector and private to ensure as wide a coverage as possible. This information is also used to produce a public facing message that is issued by SFRS across various media channels.

As stated in the response to the member to parliamentary question S6W-15750, climate change is identified as a strategic priority in the Scottish Government’s Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2022. The Framework asks SFRS to continue to invest in the provision of specialist resources, technological advancements and forward thinking operational practices to enhance its response to wildfire incidents. It states that SFRS should continue to make use of local assets available to bolster its response during prolonged or widespread incidents such as wildfire.

We are already seeing warming here in Scotland, with more extreme weather events and rising sea levels. As a nation we must continue to adapt to these changes and prepare for the impacts of global climate change which are already locked in. The Scottish Government is responding to the full range of climate risks identified for Scotland through its 2019 Adaptation Programme, which sets out more than 170 policies and proposals to build resilience to the impacts of global climate change as part of our Just Transition to net zero emissions by 2045. We are also preparing our next Programme, in response to the most recent UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, for publication in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-17328

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the latest expected opening dates are for each of the remaining National Treatment Centres, and what the most recent projected costs are for each.

NTC Forth Valley will open in summer 2023 at a projected cost of £12.7 million.

NTC Golden Jubilee Phase 2 - will open in winter 2023 at a projected costs of £82.3 million.

The business cases for the remaining National Treatment Centre in NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Grampian, NHS Tayside, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian, including the new Edinburgh Eye Pavilion, are under development and costs/opening dates will be confirmed when final business cases are submitted.

Question reference: S6W-17241

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Additional Support for Learning Review Action Plan – Update November 2022, what progress has been made towards refreshing the getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) approach, and what new guidance it anticipates will come out of this.

The Scottish Government is working with local government partners on the Additional Support for Learning Project Board to deliver the recommendations of the 2020 additional support for learning review by March 2026. As outlined in our updated action plan , published in November 2022, we committed to revise GIRFEC policy and practice guidance, and to consider a single planning process for children and young people.

The Scottish Government published a series of refreshed GIRFEC policy and practice guidance to provide practitioners and professionals working with children, young people and their families with confidence, clarity and practical support to continue to embed the GIRFEC approach.

We are now considering a single planning process for children and young people. A collaborative and pragmatic approach will be taken in the development of any new planning guidance and subsequent impact on statutory and non-statutory plans.

This work is currently on track and the progress is set out in our second progress report , published in November 2022.

A further progress update is due to be published in May 2024.