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-29112

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that lessons from the implementation of the public sector equality duty are taken into account in the development of its proposed Human Rights Bill.

The 2024-25 Programme for Government set out the Scottish Government’s commitment to strengthening the implementation of human rights and advancing proposals around extended rights protection. This includes continuing to work to develop a new Human Rights Bill that will incorporate international treaties into Scots law.

Lessons from the implementation of the public sector equality duty and associated Scottish regulations will continue to shape development of the Human Rights Bill in the period ahead, including reflections on the alignment of existing and upcoming reporting requirements on listed public bodies and work on guidance, toolkits and wider capability and capacity building. The Scottish Government will do this through regular dialogue with duty bearers, sectoral groups of duty bearers, civil society and through close and regular communication between officials.

Question reference: S6W-28675

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has implemented the recommendations of James Hamilton's report on the conduct of former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

The Scottish Government set out in June 2021 our plan for implementing the recommendations of James Hamilton’s report, alongside the recommendations of the reports by Laura Dunlop QC and the Scottish Parliament Committee on the Handling of Harassment Complaints. Implementation was delivered through the Continuous Improvement Programme, which was reported regularly to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee. The final report on the Continuous Improvement Programme was provided in January 2023, and with the agreement of the Committee the programme was then concluded and activities absorbed into ongoing work.

Question reference: S6W-28682

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on coaching (a) former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and (b) civil servants on how to answer questions before the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints.

Question reference: S6O-03715

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to strengthen its Fair Work First Guidance to support and promote the good practice example, referenced in the guidance, of providing a private, healthy and safe environment for breastfeeding mothers to express and store milk.

Question reference: S6O-03714

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Centre for Social Justice report, Where have all the children gone?, which found that there has been a 72% increase in severe school absence rates in the last five years.

Question reference: S6O-03710

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the most recent Recorded Crime in Scotland statistics, which showed a 22% rise in crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 in a single year.

Question reference: S6O-03711

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the renewables economy in the north east of Scotland, including through the retraining of energy workers and enhancing supply chain development.

Question reference: S6O-03713

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to protect the provision of instrumental music tuition in schools.

Question reference: S6O-03712

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the latest achievement rates for Modern Apprenticeships across all frameworks.

Question reference: S6O-03709

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it plans to achieve its net zero and just transition goals.