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-39761

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures it has in place to identify any employees without an active job description or reporting line.

Question reference: S6W-39595

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when its ministers last met with (a) Shell UK Limited, (b) ExxonMobil, (c) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and (d) the Health and Safety Executive to discuss the Mossmorran complex, and what issues were discussed on each occasion.

Question reference: S6W-39760

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants are currently on its payroll without a recognised job title or role.

Question reference: S6W-39597

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received on which upstream fields supply feedstock directly to the Mossmorran natural gas liquids plant, and how many tonnes each field supplied in financial years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24, (c) 2024-25 and (d) 2025 to date.

Question reference: S6W-39839

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on which public sector organisations, including colleges and universities, have received Sanctuary Awards from City of Sanctuary UK in the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-39842

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is provided to NHS boards regarding charging patients for certain GP letters.

Question reference: S6W-39837

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Transport last met with Rail Action Group, East of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-39689

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many drug-related deaths have occurred in public places in the last year, broken down by local authority.

Information on drug-related deaths in public places is not held centrally.

Accredited statistics on drug-related deaths in Scotland are published annually by National Records of Scotland (NRS). The next publication on 2 September 2025, will cover deaths registered in 2024, disaggregated by local authority. The most recent official figures, relating to deaths registered in 2023, are available via the NRS website: Drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2023 - National Records of Scotland (NRS).

At present, Police Scotland reports quarterly management information that indicates current trends in suspected drug deaths in Scotland that is available disaggregated by Police Division. This is operational data used for short-term monitoring and is not subject to the same level of validation or quality assurance as official statistics. This information is accessible here: Suspected drug deaths in Scotland - gov.scot

Question reference: S6W-39651

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 11 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend its Cladding Remediation Programme Single Open Call beyond 30 September 2025.

The Single Open Call (SOC) has been incredibly successful in identifying buildings at risk within the Single Building Assessment (SBA) specification, with over 600 buildings, as of 30 June 2025, being identified for review. As confirmed in the Cladding Remediation Programme: Next Phase Plan of Action published 7 August 2025, funding from Stage One of the SOC has doubled to £20 million. The additional £10m funding will ensure that all eligible EOIs received by 31 December 2025 will be able to move forward. We strongly encourage all building owners and their representatives to continue to submit their buildings to the SOC ahead of 31 December 2025.

As well as enhancing funding for Stage One, the Cladding Remediation Programme: Next Phase Plan of Action also confirms the launch of Stage 2 of the Single Open Call. This will allow owners, or their representatives, to seek Scottish Government support for any required mitigation and/or essential cladding remediation works identified through the funded Single Building Assessment at Stage One.

Question reference: S6W-39186

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding whether its current trajectory on social security spending is fiscally sustainable, in light of the findings of the recent Scottish Fiscal Commission Fiscal Sustainability Report.

We are proud of the investment that we are making in benefit expenditure. Based on the latest Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts, the Scottish Government anticipates to spend around £8.8 billion on Social Security Assistance by 2029-30.

The additional investment in social security compared to England and Wales represents just over 3 per cent of the Scottish Government’s resource budget by 2029-30. This investment results from conscious policy choices made by Ministers and the Scottish Parliament. Social Security is an investment in the people of Scotland and provides value for money for the public purse. It prioritises eradicating child poverty, creating a fairer Scotland and delivering services and support that tackle the roots of inequality.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s June 2025 forecasts do not include the impact of the UK Government’s recent welfare announcements, which are expected to increase the Social Security Block Grant Adjustment funding provided and therefore reduce the additional investment that the Scottish Government needs to make. The amount of additional funding will not be confirmed until the Office for Budget Responsibility produce its next set of forecasts for the UK Autumn Statement.

The Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan and Medium-Term Financial Strategy were published in June 2025 and set out the actions we’re taking to improve the sustainability of the public finances over the medium-term.