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

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Question reference: S6W-14604

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how schools can access free safety gloves, clothing and litter pickers to help keep children safe when participating in litter picks.

The Scottish Government expects local authorities to exercise their statutory responsibilities and deliver a safe environment for all school users.

Generally, local authorities in Scotland will offer schools basic litter picking equipment such as litter pickers and safety gloves. We are also aware that some schools may hold their own litter picking equipment that may have been provided by a variety of sources, for example from a local business or other donor.

Schools can also access litter picking equipment through charity initiatives such as Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Community Clean Up Hubs, which are located across Scotland. Guidance on organising and undertaking a safe litter pick can be found on the organisation’s website.

Question reference: S6W-14569

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what modifications it has made to the PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 standards to take account of Scottish climate, housing stock and energy efficiency requirements.

Question reference: S6W-15226

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to attract investment from the Lockheed Martin Corporation, in light of reports that Lockheed Martin is seeking to develop a satellite manufacturing facility in the UK.

The Scottish Government has identified space as a priority in our Inward Investment Plan and the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

We are committed to delivering the joint Scottish Space Strategy, developed in partnership with industry and academia, which sets out our ambition to grow the space sector in Scotland by capturing £4 billion of the global space market and 20,000 jobs by 2030.

We actively engage with the industry, both directly with individual companies and through our economic development agencies and collectively through Space Scotland as the industry body.

The SDI Inward Investment team is engaging with Lockheed Martin to learn more about the company’s plans to develop a satellite manufacturing facility in the UK and illustrate the advantages of locating a manufacturing site into Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14419

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of in-hospital patients, who have an episode of hypoglycaemia, have a timely resolution of this.

Question reference: S6W-15164

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports of upskirting were received by Police Scotland in the most recent year for which data is available, broken down by the number that (a) were investigated, (b) resulted in prosecution and (c) resulted in conviction.

The amendment to Section 9 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 provided for offences of 'upskirting' to be prosecuted under subsections (4A) and (4B). The Scottish Government does not hold information on investigations (question (a)). The answer to questions (b) and (c) is provided in the following table.

Please note that the latest available data is for the financial year 2020-21. Data for 2021-22 are expected in Summer 2023 following publication of the 'Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2021-22' statistical bulletin.

Table 1. People prosecuted and convicted in Scottish courts under Section 9(4A) and (4B) of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, where main charge, 2011-12 to 2020-21.

Financial year	People prosecuted	People convicted
2011-12	2	2
2012-13	2	2
2013-14	4	4
2014-15	1	1
2015-16	4	4
2016-17	3	3
2017-18	3	3
2018-19	4	4
2019-20	4	4
2020-21	5	4

Data for 2020-21 are affected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and may not be reflective of long term trend.

Source: Criminal Proceedings database

Question reference: S6W-15242

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Analysis of the Call for Evidence responses to the Violence Against Women and Girls Funding Review that many responses considered that first-response services, such as forensic services, urgent healthcare treatment, emotional support and other crisis support services, should be available on-site at refuges.

The Scottish Government established the independent review to develop a new funding model to ensure victims have access to high-quality, accessible specialist support. The call for written evidence is one part of the overall review process which includes around 80 engagement sessions with stakeholders.

The Call for Evidence report refers to respondents’ views that wide geographic coverage is needed for a range of services, including refuge. The necessity to take a holistic approach to the provision of services supporting people experiencing violence against women and girls, with a combination of different services working together in a coordinated way, was also flagged.

The Funding Review, as per its remit, will seek to provide recommendations on “the development of a Scotland-wide framework which establishes a definition of the minimum level of specialist service provision” and Ministers will consider it’s recommendations in due course.

Question reference: S6W-15358

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many people have defaulted on payment of social care charges in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

This information is not held centrally. Local authorities and integrated health & social care partnerships are responsible for commissioning services for people in their area.

It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including any public funding for care homes, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Question reference: S6T-01218

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it can provide to the investigation into the capsizing of the tugboat, MV Biter, on the River Clyde on 24 February.

Question reference: S6T-01200

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the Deposit Return Scheme will launch.

Question reference: S6F-01869

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2023

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on what discussions she has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills in relation to bullying and harassment in schools.