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

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 48968 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-13933

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the contract with CEMRE to build two ferries, to serve the Islay route, in Turkey, whether there are any clauses stipulating that Scottish, UK, EU or other European businesses should form part of the supply chain where possible.

Question reference: S6W-13599

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS 24 call handlers who can speak more than one language there have been in each year since 2017.

Question reference: S6W-13938

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many took part in a Scotland's Mental Health First Aid course in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) so far in 2023.

The following table sets out the number of people who participated in Scotland's Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA) course, from 2021 to January 2023.

	2021	2022	2023 (up to 13-1-2023)
Number of courses	15	409	9
Number of Attendees	149	4,270	115

Due to COVID-19 restrictions by the licence holders, there were lower numbers of individuals who registered for the first half of 2021. Face to face courses commenced in November 2021.

SMHFA is one of a number of mental health programmes and resources available to employers to raise awareness and facilitate support for mental health and wellbeing.

Question reference: S6W-13937

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the current number of mental health counsellors in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-13915

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of the new Core Operating Solutions developed for Police Scotland and any difficulties it has encountered in the implementation.

The rollout of transformational IT projects are a matter for Police Scotland. However, as outlined at the Scottish Police Authority’s Audit and Risk Committee on 17 January, the second phase of Core Operating Solutions is being implemented as expected and within the anticipated timescales.

The Scottish Government has invested £11.6 billion in policing since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, with a further £1.45 billion to be invested in 2023-24, an increase of 6.3%.

Question reference: S6W-13892

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has produced a Mental Health Action Plan for the long-term delivery of services and support for veterans.

The Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing Action Plan was published in December 2021 and, through this, three key principles have been identified for future services: equal access to service; clear and timely pathways to correct help; and improving support to providers.

The new Implementation Board will work to implement these principles and ensure that veterans have parity of care, no matter where they are located in Scotland. The Implementation Board is chaired by Dr Charles Winstanley, a veteran with considerable experience in the NHS and in the third sector. The board includes Combat Stress, representatives from NHS Health Boards, Veterans First Point and Veterans Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-13905

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the amount of Chinese investment in the farming industry in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-13899

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05156 by Maree Todd on 10 January 2022, on what date the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain last met.

Question reference: S6W-13918

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide access to cancer screening for firefighters and other public sector workers with higher cancer risks.

Question reference: S6W-13925

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many buildings have had works undertaken by the relevant local authority under the Town and Country (Planning) (Scotland) Act 1997 in each year since 1997, broken down by the local authority and cost of the project.