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-03355

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether public sector bodies should support pregnant workers and new parents with 52 weeks of maternity leave at full pay.

Question reference: S6F-02974

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on what action the Scottish Government is taking to deliver the New Deal for Tenants.

Question reference: S6O-03287

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the mental wellbeing of asylum seekers accommodated in hotels in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03225

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which referred to the need to improve conditions across the prison estate and improve access to appropriate healthcare for those in detention.

Question reference: S6O-03133

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding the plans required to address the carcinogenic nature of firefighting.

Question reference: S6F-02825

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether successive changes to national taxation policy in Scottish Budgets will support the redistribution of wealth and help sustain vital public services.

Question reference: S6O-03042

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the provision available for children, and those who teach or look after them, who were babies or toddlers during the COVID-19 pandemic and missed out on important socialisation opportunities.

Providing high quality early learning and childcare is critical to supporting children to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, including by supporting them to participate in much needed socialisation and play-based activities.

Scotland is the only part of the UK to offer 1,140 hours a year of funded ELC to all three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds regardless of their parents’ working status - putting children first. We have put quality at the heart of delivery of the expansion of funded early learning and childcare. Latest Care Inspectorate data show that the quality of funded early learning and childcare services remains very high, with over 90% of funded providers found to be good or better in all quality key questions.

We continue to support children’s recovery through our investment in universal national programmes like Bookbug and Play Talk Read which provide books, activity packs for the home and free drop-in sessions across the country to support children’s language, learning and social skills through the provision of play, talking and singing. I also think it is important to highlight that many parents lost out on socialising with their children outwith the home and am proud that through approaches such as Stay and Play, there are opportunities for parents to do so, which will also greatly benefit children. We wish to explore models like this through our childcare expansion, including the Early Adopter Communities and expansion of funded childcare to more two-year-olds.

Question reference: S6O-03015

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its response to the recent Families Outside report, Staying Connected: Care-experienced children and young people with a sibling in prison or secure care.

Question reference: S6W-23739

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the reported decision by S-Mart in Forfar to close due to rising energy costs, in light of its aim to help social enterprise initiatives that support Scotland’s wellbeing economy.

We recognise the strain the UK cost crisis is placing on social enterprises. S-Mart have already made contact with Community Enterprise who co-ordinate a crisis recovery service for social enterprises, designed to help organisations get the right support quickly.

The Scottish Government understands the important role that Social Enterprises have to play in delivering our ambition for a Wellbeing Economy, helping to build a greener, fairer and more equal society.

To support the growth of the social enterprise ecosystem in Scotland we launched our Social Enterprise Strategy in 2016. This sets out a wide-ranging, ambitious and long-term programme to develop the potential of Scotland's social enterprise sector.

Question reference: S6W-23456

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the application for a new gas-fired power plant at Peterhead has been called in by the Scottish Ministers.