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-32611

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that spending on international offices is (a) transparent and (b) accountable to taxpayers.

Question reference: S6W-32477

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems’ paper, Alcohol (In)justice: Position on people with an alcohol use disorder in the justice system.

The Scottish Government is currently working on a National Treatment Specification for Alcohol and Drug Treatment in Scotland.

This document will be informed by numerous sources including the forthcoming UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment and the recently published Public Health Scotland review into Alcohol Brief Interventions as well as key independent reports such as Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problem’s (SHAAP) paper on alcohol use disorder in the justice system.

Officials will work closely with colleagues within the Scottish Prison Service to ensure that the National Treatment Specification fully reflects the importance of the justice system including those resident in the prison estate as an integral part of Scotland’s alcohol treatment provision.

Question reference: S6W-32118

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to establish a Peace Institute in Scotland and its ongoing work funded through its international development fund, whether it (a) has supported and (b) plans to support peacebuilding initiatives in Colombia.

In May 2024, the Scottish Government issued a request for proposals for a supplier to support the delivery of the Scottish Peace Programme, including establishment of a Scottish Peace Platform and the 1325 Women in Conflict Fellowships. In developing a Peace platform the Scottish Government will be able to better assess the potential for further investment in a Peace institute, in line with the full recommendations of the research report on establishing a Peace Institute. More information is published on the Scottish Government website.

There are no plans at this time for the Scottish Peace Platform to focus on peacebuilding initiatives in Columbia specifically. However we have hosted nine peacebuilders from Colombia on the Women in Conflict Fellowship and the Scottish Human Rights Defenders programmes.

Question reference: S6W-32559

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32000 by Shona Robison on 18 December 2024, after taking account of the expected in-year transfers and budget revisions considered in its answer, what difference it expects there to be between level 1 funding for each portfolio as stated in its draft Budget 2025-26 and the final actual funding for these portfolios.

As with all previous years, level 1 funding for each portfolio will be adjusted following the Autumn and Spring Budget Revision to reflect changes in funding and expenditure plans such as in-year transfers between portfolios.

The transfers identified in Table 4.12 of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget would reduce Education and Skills portfolio budget by £689.6 million, reduce the Justice and Home Affairs budget by £1.0 million, reduce the Health and Social Care portfolio budget by £593.0 million, reduce the Social Justice portfolio budget by £179.7 million and increase the Finance and Local Government portfolio budget by £1,463.3 million compared with the published 2025-26 budget position.

Any new funding commitments or changes to existing funding will also be adjusted at Autumn or Spring Budget Revision, following approval through the formal financial governance process which requires agreed recommendations from the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Officers’ Settlement and Distribution Group and political agreement from Scottish Ministers and COSLA political Leaders.

Table A.07 in the 2025-26 Scottish Budget shows an adjusted 2024-25 resource position removing the impact at portfolio level of the recurring transfers actioned at ABR, to allow a like-for-like comparison against the 2025-26 initial allocations. The table shows the year-on-year movement at portfolio level in cash and real terms on a comparable basis.

Question reference: S6W-32600

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has consulted with (a) unions and (b) industry stakeholders regarding the reported delayed timeline for the decarbonisation of the railway network.

Question reference: S6W-32574

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that public subsidies to ScotRail are delivering value for money for taxpayers.

Question reference: S6W-32599

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how any delays to the decarbonisation of the railway network will affect passenger fares over the next decade.

Question reference: S6W-32767

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the proposals to reduce ScotRail ticket office opening hours at a number of stations, whether it will list the full range of fares, products and services that will no longer be available at these stations during the times that the ticket offices are proposed to be closed.

Question reference: S6W-32772

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff have been employed in chronic pain services in each NHS board in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-32596

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the reported decision to delay the decarbonisation of the railway network will impact Scotland’s wider climate targets for 2045.