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-36490

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report in The Scotsman on 29 March 2025, SNP ministers examine measures to help Scots have more children amid "fertility gap", how much it would cost to implement Nordic-style family policies, and how these would be funded.

Question reference: S6W-36489

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report in The Scotsman on 29 March 2025, SNP ministers examine measures to help Scots have more children amid "fertility gap", what its position is on whether the adoption of Nordic-style family policies would have a measurable impact on Scotland’s birth rate.

Question reference: S6W-36808

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address any (a) pest infestations and (b) basic hygiene failures in NHS buildings.

Question reference: S6W-36809

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS hospital sites have been reported for vermin infestations in each of the last five years, and what action was taken.

Question reference: S6W-36714

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding the use of drones as part of the response to antisocial behaviour on off-road bikes.

Operational decisions are rightly a matter for Police Scotland. They use a range of existing powers under road safety and antisocial behaviour legislation to take appropriate action in response to the illegal use of off-road vehicles. This includes various initiatives which take account of local need such as local engagement, increased and targeted patrols at hot spot areas, use of off-road vehicles for pursuit where it is safe to do so. We are aware that drones have been used operationally by Police Scotland and it is their decision when they are utilised.

We continue to consider ways forward in partnership with Police Scotland and Local Authorities for tackling vehicle nuisance and related safety issues.

Question reference: S6W-36211

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review its guidance for public bodies on the collection and publication of data regarding sex, gender identity and trans status to take into account the recommendations of the UK Government review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender (the Sullivan Review).

The Office of the Chief Statistician published guidance for public bodies in Scotland on the collection of data on sex and gender in 2021. This guidance recommends that statistics producers should collect data that best serves the needs of users in their specific context, an approach that aligns with the guidance published by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2024.

The Sullivan Review specifically recommends that the Scottish Government reviews its guidance in light of its recommendations. The Scottish Government has previously committed to reviewing its guidance on collecting data on sex and gender by the end of 2026 as part of the Non-Binary Equality Action Plan.

Ahead of this review, the Office of the Chief Statistician is engaged with wider-UK work on this topic. The Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonisation Team is currently developing harmonised standards for collecting data on sex and gender identity. The Office of the Chief Statistician is contributing to this work, and will consider its outputs as part of its review of the Chief Statistician’s guidance.

Question reference: S6W-36216

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that, whenever sex is recorded, it is made clear whether this refers simply to sex, or to a person's "legal sex" based on a Gender Recognition Certificate.

The Office of the Chief Statistician published guidance for public bodies in Scotland on the collection of data on sex and gender in 2021. This guidance recommends that statistics producers should collect data that best serves the needs of users in their specific context, an approach with aligns with the guidance published by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2024. The Scottish Government guidance provides definitions for terms such as ‘legal sex’ which can be used by users or producers of the data.

The Scottish Government has previously committed to reviewing its guidance on collecting data on sex and gender by the end of 2026 as part of the Non-Binary Equality Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-35891

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the UK Government's consultation, Building the North Sea’s Energy Future, regarding the potential impact in Scotland, whether it has assessed the consultation’s proposals for supporting oil and gas workers in transitioning to new energy sectors; how it plans to engage with stakeholders, including trade unions and local communities, in finalising any policy responses; what assessment it has made of the potential economic and energy security implications of implementing any recommendations arising from this consultation; whether it has had any discussions with the UK Government regarding any reserved or shared competencies relevant to these proposals, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders on energy policy matters, including business and industry, trade unions and communities.

Offshore oil and gas licensing, as well as consenting and the associated fiscal regime, are all matters that are currently reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government is taking the appropriate time to carefully consider the UK Government’s current consultation on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future, and its potential outcomes.

Question reference: S6W-36125

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is encouraging the use of faecal calprotectin tests, which help to improve the diagnosis for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

We expect all healthcare professionals to follow best practice and adhere to current guidelines and standards when providing care and support for people with suspected IBD, including the use of faecal calprotectin tests, to help improve diagnosis for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

A national IBD pathway for NHS Scotland was published in January 2025: inflammatory-bowel-disease-ibd-pathway.pdf. This pathway is intended to be used for primary and secondary care health care professionals who are concerned that a patient may have undiagnosed IBD.

Question reference: S6W-35745

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) birth to two-, (b) three- to five- and (c) six- to 12-year-olds have been supported as part of the Childsmile campaign in each year since 2006, broken down by local authority area.

This information is not held by Scottish Government.

The University of Glasgow (UoG) is responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the Childsmile programme. Since 2013, UoG has published annual national headline reports on the Programme, which includes data on a range of Childsmile activity in multiple settings. The reports can be accessed via the Childsmile website: https://www.childsmile.nhs.scot/professionals/resources/research-publications/

Information on the Programme prior to this may be available from individual NHS Health Boards.