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-03583

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether any of its contracted catering companies source produce or products from occupied land in Gaza or the West Bank.

Question reference: S6O-03585

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will review the process for admitting visitors to the public gallery in the chamber.

Question reference: S6W-27739

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken an analysis to establish any reasons for students withdrawing from college courses between weeks five and 12 of their courses.

The Scottish Government hasn’t carried out analysis to establish reasons for students withdrawing from college, by week of course.

Information on college withdrawals is collected by the Scottish Funding Council. Some data on the reason for withdrawing is included in the technical annex of the College Performance Indicators publication, though this isn’t broken down to week of course. College Performance Indicators 2022-23 - Scottish Funding Council (sfc.ac.uk)

Question reference: S6W-27767

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available to install Changing Places toilets in (a) the current financial year to date and (b) each of the last five financial years.

Question reference: S6W-27740

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27228 by Angela Constance on 17 May 2024, whether it will provide the information requested regarding the details of any communications that it has had with the (a) Lord President of the Court of Session and (b) Judicial Office for Scotland regarding a public inquiry into criminal prosecutions relating to the takeover of Rangers FC, since the Scottish Government announced in February 2021 that it was committed to such an inquiry, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer.

Question reference: S6W-27784

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its proposals for a human rights incorporation bill, when it plans to (a) publish an initial draft of the legislation and (b) introduce any bill to the Parliament, and whether it will provide an update on whether it anticipates that a bill on this issue will be passed during the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6W-27710

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that all mental health hospitals and the State Hospital, Carstairs, have supplies of Samaritans freepost envelopes available to patients.

The Scottish Government is working closely with Samaritans Scotland, as one of our key partners driving the delivery of the suicide prevention Creating Hope Together strategy, to better understand help seeking behaviour and increase signposting to local and national support. We recognise that there may be benefits for some mental health patients in accessing Samaritans’ listening services alongside NHS care.

At present, Samaritans provide pre-printed freepost envelopes in prison settings as part of their broader work to support people in prisons. However, while there is no specific scheme to provide pre-marked envelopes within hospitals, any individual can write to them for free by marking an envelope “FREEPOST SAMARITANS LETTERS”.

Samaritans can also be contacted 24/7 by phone for free on 116 123 and by email at [email protected]. They aim to respond to all emails within 24 hours.

We will continue to work alongside Samaritans Scotland to support any plans to further promote and expand access to its listening services within the NHS estate.

Question reference: S6W-27742

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of college mergers in 2014 on costs, including on staffing.

The Scottish Government has not made any specific assessments in this regard, the Scottish Funding Council published a report on the impact of the programme of college mergers in Scotland in 2012-13 and 2013-14, available on their website here: https://www.sfc.ac.uk/college_mergers_overarching_report-pdf/?_rt=NXwxfG1lcmdlcnwxNzE2NTQ0NDkw&_rt_nonce=8e88beaf84 .

The Scottish Government and SFC are very conscious of the challenge colleges face. We are working collaboratively as part of the Colleges: Tripartite Alignment Group and the tripartite group provides strategic direction on the pressures and opportunities facing colleges and I take a strong interest in its work as I ensure we do all we can to support colleges. Further detail on the work of this group is available here: Colleges: Tripartite Alignment Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6W-27920

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will publish the next paper in the Building a New Scotland series; what the topic of the paper will be, and what consultation has taken place in advance of it being published.

The Permanent Secretary wrote to the First Minister on 27 May outlining the impact of the UK general election guidance on the Scottish Government’s planned business. In this letter, in line with normal practice, the Permanent Secretary advised on the deferral of strategic policies due to be published in the pre-election period. This includes the publication of the Building a New Scotland papers, which will be paused during the pre-election period. The Scottish Government is continuing to develop material to ensure people have the information they need to make an informed choice about Scotland’s future and will resume publication following the General Election.

Question reference: S6W-27879

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it will undertake with (a) the Department for Work and Pensions and (b) Social Security Scotland during the roll-out of, and process of case transfer to, Carer Support Payment, to increase the level of help and advice available to unpaid carers in Scotland who may have been left in debt due to overpayments of Carer's Allowance.

The Scottish Government has urged the DWP to carefully consider people’s individual circumstances before any recovery of Carer’s Allowance overpayments from carers. It is our established policy that no-one should be placed into hardship as a result of overpayment recovery. Social Security Scotland have in place processes to prevent and identify overpayments as quickly as possible, and will consider an individual’s financial and personal circumstances as far as they are known before recovery is attempted. Social Security Scotland will discuss the best way forward for individuals and anyone affected will be able to seek support and advice before agreeing any repayment plan. Any deductions are set at manageable levels and individuals can seek a redetermination and appeal where a new determination has been made. Discussions are ongoing with the DWP as to potential arrangements for the recovery of any Carer’s Allowance overpayments for carers in Scotland that remain once case transfer is complete and the current Agency Agreement comes to an end.