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-42019

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many controlled parking zones have been introduced by each local authority in each year since 1999, also broken down by how many parking permits have been sold for these each year, and how much has been raised by these sales.

Question reference: S6W-42023

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many school days have been lost due to industrial action in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-42022

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what new funding will be given to the Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023–2033.

Question reference: S6O-05206

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of police officers in Edinburgh and the Lothians, in light of the growth in the population of south east Scotland and any additional policing duties in the capital.

Question reference: S6W-41751

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many buildings with cladding have had the Single Building Assessment completed.

Question reference: S6W-41756

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional credits for college courses have been delivered as part of the just transition in each year since 2019, broken down by college.

Supporting Scotland’s workforce to develop the skills needed for the transition to Net Zero is a key priority for this Government, with colleges playing a pivotal role.

To enable delivery, the Scottish Funding Council allocates an annual credit threshold to each college based on established pattern of provision. Colleges use this funding to offer learning opportunities that reflect regional priorities and align with their own business plans. The SFC have also introduced a Curriculum Transformation Framework to allow colleges to use credits flexibly to support skills priorities in their areas. The Scottish Government doesn’t hold information on credit distributions.

Alongside this, this Government funds a range of initiatives to strengthen the college sector’s capacity to deliver the skills required for a Just Transition. For example, the Energy Skills Partnership, the National Energy Skills Accelerator (NESA), and the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Academy – supported through SFC funding – strengthening connections between colleges and industry, enabling colleges to embed cutting-edge green skills into their curricula and respond quickly to emerging workforce needs.

We are also investing directly in skills development though targeted programmes for a just transition to Net Zero. For example, the Just Transition Fund for the North east and Moray has provided £4.5 million for the Energy Transition Skills Hub in Aberdeen, which will equip North East Scotland workforce for the demands of the energy transition.

Question reference: S6W-41752

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many buildings with cladding have had remedial works carried out as a result of the Single Building Assessment.

Question reference: S6W-41757

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many times its Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team has been deployed to support businesses in each year since 2009.

The Scottish Government provides support to individuals facing redundancy through our initiative Partnership Action for Continuing Employment, PACE. By providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time individuals affected by redundancy are out of work and it supports both individuals and employers.

PACE records are available from 2010, and figures requested are in the following table.

Reporting year	Employers supported
2024-2025	294
2023-2024	309
2022-2023	287
2021-2022	290
2020-2021	1080
2019-2020	539
2018-2019	453
2017-2018	333
2016-2017	406
2015-2016	392
2014-2015	392
2013-2014	445
2012-2013	523
2011-2012	600
2010-2011	333
Total	6676

Question reference: S6W-41579

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 12 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many veterans have declared themselves homeless in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-41577

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to develop a national prostate cancer screening programme.

The Scottish Government, along with all other UK nations, relies on advice about screening programmes from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group. The UK NSC does not currently recommend prostate screening, and therefore there are no plans at present to introduce a national prostate cancer screening programme.

In its November 2020 review, the committee concluded that the available evidence did not support the introduction of prostate cancer screening, primarily due to the absence of a sufficiently accurate test and single effective treatment for early-stage cases. The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence. Should screening be recommended as a result, the organisations that oversee screening will advise Scottish Ministers on how to take that recommendation forward.

In the meantime, following a roundtable discussion with Sir Chris Hoy in August this year, the First Minister has commissioned the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland to chair a clinician-led short life working group to explore how we can support those with prostate cancer in Scotland.

It remains important that men and those with a prostate should speak to their GP if they are concerned they have possible symptoms. There is a list of symptoms available on the NHS website: Prostate cancer - About Prostate Cancer | NHS inform