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-05317

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address misinformation in relation to refugees and asylum seekers and to promote community cohesion.

Question reference: S6O-05280

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gives to the gendered impact of debt in its child poverty and social security policies.

Question reference: S6O-05203

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether patient complaints and feedback about the care they have received from NHS boards are used to inform inspections undertaken by Health Improvement Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05173

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 will be fully implemented.

Question reference: S6O-05030

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what representations NGOs have made to it regarding its work to support humanitarian assistance in Palestine.

Question reference: S6F-04281

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 September 2025

To ask the First Minister, in light of reports of the rising rate of poverty for families with a baby under one and new evidence from Save the Children that increasing Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods payments could significantly reduce the child poverty rate for this priority group, whether the Scottish Government will consider increasing these payments.

Question reference: S6O-04900

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to support sustainable farming and food production that is based on improving biodiversity.

Question reference: S6W-39503

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report, Forensic Science in England and Wales: Pulling Out of the Graveyard Spiral, published on 9 June 2025 by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Miscarriages of Justice, which highlighted shortcomings with forensic science capabilities in England and Wales that could make miscarriages of justice more likely, what assurances the Scottish Government can give that any operational deficiencies highlighted in the report do not exist in Scotland, and what plans it has to highlight the operational efficiency of Scotland's forensic science service.

The Westminster Commission on Forensic Science, set up by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Miscarriages of Justice in 2022, visited the Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services Division (SPA-FSD) in early 2025. Subsequently, the Commission published its report which highlighted Scotland’s different model of forensic delivery in comparison with the police and privatised market driven model in England and Wales. The Scottish model of delivery is cited in the report as publicly governed, multi-disciplinary and scientifically rigorous in comparison with the position in England and Wales.

On 20th November 2024, the Director of SPA-FSD and the Chair of the SPA alongside scientific experts attended the Scottish Parliament to showcase the work of SPA-FSD to MSPs. This included demonstrating Scotland’s world leading services, how they are deployed to scenes of crime in Scotland and how the captured evidence provides vital intelligence to Police Scotland in the investigation of crime. Given that the Scottish Government has no role in operational policing, it is for the SPA to highlight good practice in the provision of forensic services for the investigation and prosecution of crime in Scotland. The SPA Board regularly receives reports on SPA-FSD’s performance and standards.

Question reference: S6W-39569

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, when bail conditions for a perpetrator of domestic abuse are considered, what regard is given to the views of the victim; how any views and information provided by the victim are collected, and what the rights of the victim are with regard to access to information on the bail conditions of the perpetrator.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) provide a Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service in criminal court cases. When COPFS first consider a new criminal case, they refer to VIA any victims who should receive extra support. This includes victims of domestic abuse. If the victim wishes VIA support, VIA will proactively notify the victim of court hearing dates and bail decisions, including bail conditions of the accused person.

When the court is deciding whether to grant bail, the prosecutor and the defence are given the opportunity to make submissions to the court on the question of bail. In doing so, the prosecutor can make the court aware of any safety concerns which they consider arise based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case. This is particularly relevant under the new bail test, which came into effect on 14 May 2025, and which centres public safety, including safety of the complainer from a risk of harm, in bail decision making.

Where held, COPFS will consider the views of the victim with regard to bail and bail conditions, in forming their overall submission on bail. This may include information obtained from the victim by the police in the initial police report, information from specialist support services or information from VIA engagement with the victim directly.

Domestic abuse involves very complex dynamics where it can be important that information about concerns that may lead to a partner or ex-partner being placed on remand or subject to stringent bail conditions is not attributed to information provided by the victim. This may make victims reluctant and fearful to engage in a case.

It is for this important reason that the prosecutor, who acts independently in the public interest, is best placed to provide victim safety information to the court, including the seeking of further conditions of bail.

Ultimately, the question of bail and bail conditions is a matter for the independent court informed by the information they are provided with.

Question reference: S6W-39567

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 1 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many times an individual, who was arrested for domestic abuse offences and then released from police custody with conditions or an undertaking, breached those conditions or that undertaking, in 2023-24.

Statistics on people prosecuted and convicted in Scottish courts, by main charge, are published as Criminal Proceedings in Scotland. The most recent data held by Criminal Proceedings in Scotland is for the year 2022-23. However, Criminal Proceedings in Scotland do not hold data on individuals arrested therefore we cannot determine if a condition or undertaking was breached from an original domestic abuse offence.