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-35368

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the number of women who leave the workforce due to experiencing menopause; from which sector, and whether such women seek financial benefits.

The health and wellbeing of women at work is a key element of the Scottish Government’s approach to Fair Work, including supporting women experiencing symptoms of menopause.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of women who leave the workforce due to experiencing menopause. However, UK research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development - Menopause in the workplace: Employee experiences - published in 2023, that of the over 1,500 women experiencing symptoms of menopause surveyed, 17% were considering leaving due to a lack of support in relation to their symptoms. Also, research from 2022 by the Fawcett Society on Menopause in the workplace in the UK indicated that one in ten women who worked during the menopause left their jobs due to their symptoms.

We are taking action towards supporting those experiencing symptoms of menopause in the workplace - please refer to recently answered question reference S6W-35367 on 12 March 2025 for further information.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-35480

Asked by: Elena Whitham, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish National Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of estates applying for a section 16AA licence to shoot grouse in the 2024-25 season has registered the grouse moor only, rather than the whole landholding.

Question reference: S6W-35528

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update the ScotRail Peak Fares Removal Pilot Final Evaluation Report to cover the whole of the trial period.

Transport Scotland is currently analysing data to the beginning of March and expects to publish results shortly. This will cover the whole period of the pilot and beyond. As detailed in the answer to S6W-35525 on 24 March 2025, daily journeys have increased (on average) since the pilot ended and the analysis is exploring this further.

Question reference: S6W-35479

Asked by: Elena Whitham, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish National Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what advice (a) it and/or (b) NatureScot has received regarding the enforceability of the grouse shoot licence condition pertaining to raptor crimes on land outside the area licensed for killing or taking grouse, and whether it will publish this.

Question reference: S6W-35525

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what changes there have been to (a) rail passenger numbers and (b) the patterns of useage of rail services following the end of the removal of the peak fares pilot, including by passengers from lower income households.

Question reference: S6W-34986

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what each NHS boards’ policy is regarding compliance with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which mandate that employers provide adequate and appropriate welfare facilities for staff, including suitable changing rooms where employees are required to change into special work clothing, and whether each board ensures that separate facilities are provided for men and women, or that shared facilities are used by only one sex at a time.

Question reference: S6W-36022

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-36015

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-35824

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the implementation of each of the 55 recommendations in the report, Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland, which was published on 25 August 2023, broken down by what (a) action it has taken in each case and (b) date each will be fully implemented, and what the reasons are for any delays.

A significant amount of work has been undertaken to date, to progress the implementation of the 55 recommendations made as part of the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland, involving a wide range of stakeholders across the public and third sector. We continue to work with the NHS, Third Sector and private providers to identify and cost an appropriate model of community care for any future service reform and ensure that the voices of those with lived experience inform this work.

A report outlining how each of the 55 recommendations set out in the Independent Review have been closed or transitioned, and the rationale for that, will be provided to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee imminently and will be made available on both the Committee website and https://www.all-ears.nhs.scot/

Question reference: S6W-36145

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jim Fairlie on 21 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on publication of the UK Pesticides National Actional Plan.

The UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP) was published on 21 March 2025.

The NAP is a UK-wide document which sets out the shared ambition of the Scottish Government, Defra, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. It aims to minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment, while ensuring that our land managers in the agriculture, horticulture and amenity sector have effective tools to manage pests and pesticide resistance.

Supporting uptake of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is central to the actions set out in the NAP. This includes targeting use of conventional chemical pesticides to when environmentally and economically justified. It also includes equipping pesticide users with the knowledge and support needed to adopt a range of sustainable crop protection practices, including innovative precision application technologies, to continue to reduce the use of conventional chemical pesticides whilst retaining the ability to address the crop protection challenges arising from climate change. The NAP also commits to improving and supporting compliance with regulations to ensure that pesticides are used safely.

Measuring progress is a key commitment of the NAP and as such sets the first domestic reduction target for pesticides in the UK, with an aim of reducing a suite of representative pesticide load indicators by 10% by 2030. The target is designed to measure progress against reducing environmental pressure from pesticides, rather than representing a simple usage reduction target. This reduces the potential for unintended consequences, which could risk the removal of important tools for farmers, growers and other land managers. The NAP sets a target for the arable sector, using data from the existing pesticide usage surveys, but also acknowledges that we want to improve our understanding of the nature of pesticide use in the amenity and amateur sectors in future.

We welcome publication of this plan, which commits us to measuring our progress over the next five years, and we look forward to working with stakeholders during the implementation of these actions.

The plan can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-pesticides-national-action-plan-2025.