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: S6O-03363

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on hospitality and other businesses in Scotland of new post-Brexit import fees on food products, known as the Common User Charge.

Question reference: S6O-03264

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of UK Government policies on its vision for a wellbeing economy in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03224

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support victims and witnesses, particularly in domestic abuse cases.

Question reference: S6O-03211

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-03162

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the finance secretary last met the UK Government and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6O-03125

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what role culture and the arts play in delivering its missions of equality, opportunity and community.

Question reference: S6W-25237

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is, regarding the impact on households in Scotland, to reported data from Outra stating that the UK energy price cap increase has led to a 12.2% rise in fuel poverty.

Our own estimates show that with Ofgem’s price cap set at £1,928 for an average household until March this year, 840,000 of Scottish households are in fuel poverty – 34% of all households. This is a 2% increase – an extra 20,000 households approximately – in the number of fuel poor households from estimates for October to December 2023. These estimates are based on Scotland’s statutory definition of fuel poverty, whereas the Outra figure is likely produced under a different definition.

According to the Scottish fuel poverty definition, a household is in fuel poverty if:

in order to maintain a satisfactory heating regime, total fuel costs necessary for the home are more than 10% of the household's adjusted net income (i.e. after housing costs), and more than 20% in the case of extreme fuel poverty; and
if, after deducting those fuel costs, benefits received for a care need or disability and childcare costs, the household's remaining adjusted net income is insufficient to maintain an acceptable standard of living.

Subsidised support for the majority of consumers ended last year, but thousands of households continue to struggle to balance high energy costs along with unmanageable legacy debt. This is why we continue to call for urgent, targeted support including the introduction of a social tariff mechanism for those who need it the most. It is disappointing that our calls, consistent with those from the industry and third sector, have been ignored.

I urge anybody struggling with their energy bills to contact Advice Direct Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland who will be able to help in the first instance.

Question reference: S6O-03110

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Read Write Count with the First Minister programme.

Question reference: S6W-23736

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 29 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the costs were associated with the (a) production and (b) publication of the paper, Social security in an independent Scotland.

The external costs associated with the production and publication of the paper ‘Social Security in an independent Scotland’ were published in response to question S6W-23643 on 20 December 2023. 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-23767

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 20 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding groups and organisations in the East Kilbride constituency have received from South Lanarkshire's share of the CashBack for Communities fund in (a) the financial year 2022-23 and (b) total since 2008.

Information on the allocation of CashBack for Communities (CashBack) funding and project spend is only formally collected at a local authority level, based on the geographical location of CashBack participants.

Total CashBack spend recorded for South Lanarkshire local authority area for the financial year 2022-23 was £269,129. The CashBack Fund Manager, Inspiring Scotland, has identified that £40,118 of that figure was spent in the East Kilbride constituency.

22 CashBack funded organisations have been recorded as being active in South Lanarkshire at various times since 2008. Total CashBack spend recorded for South Lanarkshire local authority area between 2008 and March 2022 was £3,289,001. Inspiring Scotland estimate that £84,549 of that figure has been spent in the East Kilbride constituency.

Information on project delivery by local authority area are available on the CashBack for Communities website: https://cashbackforcommunities.org/