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-35401

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Rent Adjudication (Temporary Modifications) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, what legal consideration it gave in relation to the determination of rent payable for private residential tenancies expiring on 31 March 2025.

Question reference: S6W-35420

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address reports of burnout and low morale among police officers in Scotland.

This is an operational matter for Police Scotland. The Chief Constable stated to the Criminal Justice Committee that the wellbeing of police officers and staff is one of her main priorities. Police Scotland has made a £17 million investment in wellbeing, which includes their 24-7 employee assistance programme that will focus on providing support wherever and whenever it is needed, and enhanced occupational health services to support officers and staff wellbeing.

The Chief Constable has provided reassurance that Police Scotland has a healthy recruitment pipeline, and more recruits have been taken on this (financial) year than at any time since 2013.

Question reference: S6W-35424

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals have accessed addiction recovery services through The Thistle drug consumption facility.

To date, there have been 27 referrals to secondary services including housing, addiction recovery and mental health services. In addition to these referrals, the facility continues to support individuals in accessing appropriate recovery pathways and re-engaging with services they had previously accessed but had since disengaged from.

As The Thistle’s reputation grows and trust is established, Glasgow HSCP anticipate increased engagement with addiction recovery services and will continue to monitor this progress and provide updates accordingly.

Question reference: S6W-35382

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the view of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, in its written submission to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee as part of its stage 1 consideration of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, that every person intending to undertake muirburn should have had some form of learning on the muirburn code and training on the use of fire.

Question reference: S6W-35383

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government who is required to undertake muirburn training in relation to the (a) setting of fire to heath or muir, (b) burning of heath or muir and (c) extinguishing of fire on heath or muir.

Question reference: S6W-35364

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the debate on motion S6M-15875 (Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill) on 17 December 2024, what progress it has made with carrying out a pilot exercise in using the democratic engagement grant for the purpose of automatic registration at education institutions.

The Government is currently working on commencement of the Act. The ability to provide democratic engagement funding is intended to support involvement in elections and improve democratic participation. The Government made clear during the passage of the Bill that it would be necessary as a first step to secure funding.

We are monitoring the automatic registration pilots in Wales so we can factor the results into our planning. All innovations will be:

proposed in consultation with the electoral community,
piloted on a temporary basis and
fully evaluated before being put to Parliament for a decision on whether to make the reforms apply generally and to be made permanent.

I will keep Parliament updated on our plans.

Question reference: S6W-35407

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the gender arthritis gap, where women are reportedly two to three times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis and a third more likely to develop osteoarthritis than men.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that anyone living with arthritis is able to access the best possible care and support. We expect health care professionals and NHS Boards to deliver high quality person-centred care to those living with arthritis in line with best practice guidance. The NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) clinical guidelines on management of arthritis are available on its website and can be found at: Arthritis | Topic | NICE.

We will work collaboratively with other partners, including the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD), to ensure there are appropriate pathways for women with arthritis.

Question reference: S6W-35389

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) oversight is exercised and (b) data collection is undertaken by ministers regarding the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS).

The Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) decisions are clinical decisions taken independently of Ministers and Parliament and remain a matter for Health Boards.

There is a requirement for Health Boards to maintain accurate and up to date information on PACS Tier Two requests and their outcomes. Health Boards are required to capture and share data as retrospective in confidence summary reports with the Scottish Government on a quarterly basis. The data is retained for internal management purposes only and is not formally validated.

Question reference: S6W-35413

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what training is provided to agricultural officers regarding their inspection duties, and whether this includes modules on (a) trauma-informed interviews and (b) working with interpreters.

Question reference: S6W-35430

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been made available to the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations, and what the objectives associated with that funding were, for each of the last five financial years.

Please see the following table outlining the funding made available to the Association of Chief Officers or Scottish Voluntary Organisations and the objectives associated with that funding for each of the last five financial years.

Financial Year	Grant name/amount	Objectives/Outcomes of Grant
20-21	ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £164,773	The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice Support the government and communities in responding to Covid-19, as required.
20-21	Resilient Leadership Study £8,000	To support the study of “Resilient leadership in the third sector in Scotland” To expand intelligence gathering amongst third sector leadership to support this To deploy learning in support of leadership exchange work, the Scottish Leaders Forum and other priorities as agreed.
21-22	ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £219,697	The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice Support the government and communities in Covid-19 recovery and renewal and responding to the end of the EU Exit transition as required.
21-22	Cyber Resilience – Voluntary Sector “Be Better Informed” Project £5,200	Increase access to, and use of, threat intelligence to inform understanding of risk Promote the use of NCSC’s Cyber Information Sharing Platform (CISP) Include information on cyber threat and risk in advice and guidance from third sector advisory and regulatory bodies Promote the range of cyber security standards and regulations available to support clearer choices for the Third sector based on their exposure to risk and their risk appetite.
22-23	ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £219,697	The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice Support the government and communities in Covid-19 recovery and renewal and responding to the end of the EU Exit transition as required.
23-24	ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £228,485	SUPPORT, DEVELOP & INSPIRE voluntary sector leaders at all stages in their journey ADVANCE thinking, ideas and resilience for the future STRENGTHEN connections, organisations, governance, sustainability and partnerships.
23-24	£44,000	The expected outcomes of the Grant are: Implementing the recommendations of ACOSVO EDI survey on Learning and development; Transition and succession planning; and Participating in Delivering Equally Safe at Work The targets/milestones against which progress in achieving objectives/expected outcomes shall be monitored are: Monitoring of progress against outcomes and objectives is expected to be a joint and shared process. We will develop with the Grantee a proportionate approach to monitoring and reporting, via enabling relationships based on partnership, a focus on outcomes, and mutual learning, that takes forward our shared thinking, and can inform future policy.
24-25	ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £228,485	Outcome 1. SUPPORT, DEVELOP & INSPIRE voluntary sector leaders at all stages in their journey Outcome 2. ADVANCE thinking, ideas and resilience for the future Outcome 3. STRENGTHEN connections, organisations, governance, sustainability and partnerships.
24-25	£44,000	The expected outcomes of the Grant are: Implementing the recommendations of ACOSVO EDI survey on Learning and development; Transition and succession planning; and Participating in Delivering Equally Safe at Work The targets/milestones against which progress in achieving objectives/expected outcomes shall be monitored are: Monitoring of progress against outcomes and objectives is expected to be a joint and shared process. We will develop with the Grantee a proportionate approach to monitoring and reporting, via enabling relationships based on partnership, a focus on outcomes, and mutual learning, that takes forward our shared thinking, and can inform future policy.