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-34062

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the process is for coordinating with local authorities and public bodies through the Scottish Government Resilience Room during emergencies.

During the response to a civil contingencies emergency, the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR) will usually engage with resilience partnerships formed by relevant categorised responder agencies (e.g. local authorities and other public bodies relevant to the response). SGORR engages with these resilience partnerships via liaison officers and/or through direct engagement with responders. Members of the Civil Contingencies Division Civil Contingencies Liaison Team and/or SGORR may deploy as Scottish Government Liaison Officers (SGLOs) to the partnerships, supporting the two-way flow of information and situational awareness so that emerging issues and trends are quickly identified and handled as appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-34061

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how often exercises or drills are conducted to test the effectiveness of the Scottish Government Resilience Room’s crisis response capabilities.

The Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR) takes part in a number of exercises every year to test its response protocols and overall effectiveness, train its staff and ensure a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities with partners. These exercises range from Tier 1 exercises (organised by UK Government and simulating a UK-level response) to SGORR-internal training exercises. The number of exercises SGORR participates in varies from year to year. To date in 2025, SGORR has completed six SGORR training exercises, and is currently planning to participate in a Tier 1 exercise later this year.

Question reference: S6W-34360

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact in Scotland, what its position is on the finding of the UK Government consultation, Review of the ban on the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings, that hotels, hostels and boarding houses presented an “equivalent, or greater, sleeping risk” and as such should be captured within a ban on combustible façade material.

Question reference: S6W-34355

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many funding packages, whether loans or grants, have been provided by the Scottish National Investment Bank to supply chain businesses involved in supporting ScotWind projects.

The Scottish National Investment Bank is operationally independent of the Scottish Government, it invests on a purely commercial basis and does not distribute grants of any kind.

Full details of the Bank’s portfolio can be found on its website and this provides a breakdown of the Bank’s investments by primary mission and also provides further details on each investment such as listing any co-investors and a summary of what the investment will achieve:

Scottish National Investment Bank Investment Portfolio

Question reference: S6W-34359

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) publish the phase 1 research and (b) commit to publishing the phase 2 research carried out by the Building Research Establishment in support of the consultation document, Scottish Building Regulations: Proposed review of fire safety topics including Cameron House Hotel recommendations: Fire safety risks in traditional buildings used as hotels, review of current provision on fire suppression, combustible cladding and other issues.

Question reference: S6W-34064

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the effectiveness of the Scottish Government Resilience Room’s (SGoRR) responses to emergencies is evaluated, and what improvements have been implemented in the past 10 years as a result.

The Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR), like any other part of Scotland’s resilience system, conducts regular debriefs following activations, gathers feedback from stakeholders on its effectiveness, and works with partners to identify notable practice. This regular identification and implementation of lessons ensures the continuous improvement of the SGORR function. Numerous improvements have been implemented in the past 10 years, including a comprehensive review of standard operating procedures, the updating of technology, and initiatives to secure more strategic, regular engagement with partners, e.g. a meeting series held during the winter season to review collective preparedness for winter hazards.

Question reference: S6W-34145

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of any delays in the prosecution of speeding cases and the factors contributing to these.

The average length of time between the date of alleged commission of a criminal offence and the date of a final court verdict increased considerably as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions brought in to try to limit the spread of coronavirus.

This affected the prosecution of all types of offences, including speeding offences. Scottish Government investment has helped aid the recovery of the summary courts from the effects of the pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-34074

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported findings of the True North survey that 53% of respondents in Scotland support the Clean Power 2030 target but only 35% believe that it is achievable.

Question reference: S6T-02340

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking, in light of reports by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine that the number of people waiting in A&E for over 12 hours is almost 100 times higher than in 2011.

Question reference: S6T-02350

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scottish Water continues to pay bonuses to its executives, when public sector pay policy reportedly prohibits this.