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-32009

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional revenue will be raised by the proposal in its 2025-26 draft Budget to increase the intermediate property rate in 2025-26, broken down by industry sector.

Table 1 shows the estimated net additional income arising from an inflationary increase to the Intermediate Property Rate to 55.4p, compared to a freeze at 54.5, by property class. The net estimates include adjustments for reliefs, as well as in-year adjustments such as reductions due to proposals or appeals and write-offs.

The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. “Property class” is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, but may not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000, and may not sum due to rounding.

Table 1: Estimated net additional income arising from the inflationary increase to the Intermediate Property Rate (£)

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2024, local authorities’ billing information as at 1 June 2024

Property class	Estimated net additional income
Shops	1,300,000
Public houses and restaurants	300,000
Offices	1,000,000
Hotels	200,000
Industrial subjects	1,500,000
Leisure, entertainment, caravans, etc.	200,000
Garages and petrol stations	100,000
Cultural	<50,000
Sporting subjects	<50,000
Education and training	400,000
Public service subjects	200,000
Communications	<50,000
Quarries, mines, etc.	<50,000
Petrochemical	<50,000
Religious	<50,000
Health and medical	100,000
Other	100,000
Care facilities	100,000
Advertising	<50,000
Statutory undertaking	100,000
All	5,700,000

Question reference: S6W-31983

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25287 by Lorna Slater on 22 February 2024, whether it will provide an update on what engagement it has had with the UK Government Office for the Internal Market (OIM) regarding its proposals to ban single-use items using powers under the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 does not grant Scottish Ministers the power to ban single-use items. Section 10 of that Act does provide Scottish Ministers with the power to make regulations to require suppliers of single-use items to charge for specified single use items.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the OIM and has discussed measures already taken to restrict supply or manufacture single-use items, and will continue to do so in relation to any future policy. However, the OIM has no formal role in approving legislation and the Scottish Government is under no obligation to seek advice on policy development or draft legislation from the OIM.

The Internal Market Act was imposed on the Scottish Parliament without its consent, and radically undermines its powers. Every party in the chamber, barring the Scottish Conservatives, voted for its repeal in October 2023. The new UK Government must now work with the Scottish Government to undo the damage the Act does, and ensure the full restoration of the Parliament’s powers.

Question reference: S6W-31975

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many panel members for children’s hearings there have been in each of the last three calendar years.

Question reference: S6W-31977

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many panel members for children’s hearings have resigned before their three-year term has been completed in each of the last three calendar years.

Question reference: S6T-02250

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reported delay in the publication of the A96 Corridor Review document, three months after it was understood to be provided to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, is acceptable.

Question reference: S6T-02254

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Information Commissioner letter to it expressing "disappointment’" in the way that it complied with Decision 193/2024, regarding legal advice that it received.

Question reference: S6T-02253

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of nurses, in light of recent reports that the number of students accepted onto nursing courses remains below its targets.

Question reference: S6F-03654

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking in response to the reported announcement that NHS Scotland's IT software supplier, INPS, has entered administration, in light of concerns that this could leave GPs without the digital infrastructure to maintain electronic health records.

Question reference: S6F-03648

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will encourage the public not to buy puppies or dogs during the festive period, in light of the reported possibility that these may be the product of irresponsible breeders, including illegal puppy farms.

Question reference: S6F-03643

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.