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-16640

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 plans on introducing a requirement for (a) Police Scotland, (b) the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and (c) the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to record the sex of people charged with or convicted of rape or attempted rape.

We have no plans to introduce such a requirement. It is a matter for those relevant public bodies collecting information on sex to establish the best approach in their individual institutional settings. In the case of those committing crime, this approach will rightly be shaped by how Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service operationalise both the wider legal context (where for example an arrested person is not legally required to answer questions on their sex or gender) and any associated guidance on collecting data about sex and gender.

The information Police Scotland record on the sex of people, which flows through to partners as any criminal proceedings are taken forward, has no impact on how cases are investigated or prosecuted. It will be based on how people present, unless an alternative gender is disclosed. In respect of the offences of rape and attempted rape, the law requires that there is penetration or attempted penetration of the complainer’s mouth, vagina or anus by the perpetrator’s penis, which includes a surgically constructed penis.

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-17128

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

To ask the Scottish Government what the average amount claimed was through the Young Patients Family Fund in 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-17425

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities do not currently have Empty Homes Officers; how long these positions have been vacant for, and whether it will provide an update on whether it still plans for Empty Homes Officer support to be available across all of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-17072

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with (a) COSLA and (b) local authorities to discuss the roll-out of universal free school meals to P6 and P7 pupils.

Question reference: S6W-16790

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how its domestic abuse policies are informed by research from the Scottish Sentencing Council.

Several recently published research reports support our understanding of the experiences of those affected by domestic abuse, including 'The sentencing of offences involving domestic abuse’, a literature review published by the Scottish Sentencing Council in June 2022, which can be found at https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/media/2231/20220624-domestic-abuse-final-report-as-published.pdf .

These will play a key role as we further develop and assess our policy approach to tackling domestic abuse. Both the research into the implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 which can be viewed at https://www.gov.scot/publications/domestic-abuse-scotland-act-2018-interim-reporting-requirement/ and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of ‘Constabulary for Scotland’s Thematic Review of Domestic Abuse which can be viewed at https://www.hmics.scot/publications/hmics-thematic-inspection-domestic-abuse-phase-1 found that challenges exist in preventing domestic abuse and protecting those who are vulnerable from its harmful effects.

We will continue to take relevant research and information into account as we work with partners to prevent and address domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-17180

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to encouraging local authorities to issue public bonds to attract investment for net zero projects.

Local authorities are independent democratically elected bodies with their own powers and responsibilities. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority how it manages its day-to-day business and decision making processes. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to and outcomes for their local communities, including decisions on borrowing to attract investment for net zero projects. Any borrowing by local authorities, whether it’s through the public works loans board or through the issuance of bonds, is for local authorities to determine affordability themselves, subject to the conditions of their prudential borrowing regime.

Question reference: S6W-16945

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent assessment is of expanding the use of non-invasive liver scans in (a) primary and (b) community care to improve early detection of liver disease.

The Scottish Government does not assess clinical diagnostic interventions.

However, non-invasive liver scans, including transient elastography devices such as FibroScan, are recommended by NICE in primary care settings and are currently used in several NHS Boards throughout Scotland to assess liver disease.

Currently, there is limited evidence on the efficacy of these scans in a community care context. Trials to test the expanded use of non-invasive liver scans are ongoing in both primary care and for populations at higher risk of liver disease in community care.

Question reference: S6W-16836

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an estimate of how many veterans have used the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership’s qualifications and skills mapping tool since its launch in February 2022.

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Partnership's military skills discovery tool formally launched in March 2023 after the completion of work to expand the number of military job roles within the tool as the result of feedback and testing with service leavers. As such there are limited statistics on the number of users to date, but SCQF Partnership are working with Skills Development Scotland, who host the tool on their My World of Work website, to develop usage statistics and to use them to drive future development of the tool.

Question reference: S6W-16508

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure continued efficient implementation of the 1+2 languages policy, in light of the reduction in funding allocated in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government continues to support language learning in schools. We are maintaining grant funding to key delivery partners, such as Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, to support schools and local authorities to deliver high-quality language learning.

Local authority funding in support of implementing the 1+2 approach was originally planned to cease after 2020-21. However, it was extended for a further two years in recognition of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was provided to help local authorities consolidate their progress and prepare strategies to ensure language learning continues to be a normal part of the curriculum.

The implementation of the 1+2 approach has led to language learning from P1 to S3 becoming a normalised part of the Broad General Education. Our surveys of local authorities show that 98% of primary schools and 100% of secondary schools now report offering language learning within the terms of the policy.