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-03558

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when councillors’ pay is expected to rise.

Question reference: S6O-03550

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its priorities are for improving intergovernmental relations with the UK Government.

Question reference: S6W-27712

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26930 by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2024, when its final transport to health delivery plan will be published.

Question reference: S6W-27715

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support GPs and primary care teams to widen access to nature prescriptions.

Connecting people to non-clinical options which can help with their health is an important part of a healthcare professional's toolkit. This is very much in line with the principles of Realistic Medicine, supporting our healthcare professionals to deliver a more personalised approach to care. The resources and services to which people are connected can range from financial, housing and welfare support through to engagement with cultural activity, community cafés, opportunities to be physically active and many others depending on what works for the individual. Connecting people to nature is one option which is available to health professionals where appropriate. There is a great deal of excellent work taking place across the country to deliver relevant initiatives. We are working with partners to understand how we can best support this local activity and develop our policy to ensure that these approaches are supported and valued.

Question reference: S6W-27709

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request that the Scottish Prison Service ensures that all Samaritans envelopes distributed in prisons with out-of-date return addresses are destroyed and that only envelopes with the current up-to-date freepost address, "Freepost Samaritans Letters", are distributed to inmates.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS recognise the importance of those in our care maintaining contact with family and friends coupled with their ability to access support services such as the Samaritans.

Last summer SPS rolled out in cell telephony throughout our estate, which continues to support the positive mental health and wellbeing for those we care for and enables access to the Samaritans free of charge, 24 hours per day.

Any envelopes not marked with the “Freepost Samaritans Letters" address are being removed from use in establishments.

Question reference: S6W-27711

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26930 by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2024, whether it will publish its draft transport to health delivery plan.

Question reference: S6W-27731

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards the creation of an infrastructure levy under the provisions of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019.

We have committed to implementing new infrastructure-levy regulations under the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 by spring 2026. On 3 June a discussion paper was published setting out the research undertaken previously and seeking views on the various options for a levy. The discussion phase will run until 30 September. After that, and subject to the views received in response to the discussion paper, draft regulations will be prepared which will be subject to a formal consultation in early 2025.

Question reference: S6W-27738

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many students have withdrawn from college courses between weeks five and 12 of their courses in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-27737

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the number of students articulating from college to university in the last financial year, and what impact this has had on universities filling their places.

The Scottish Government hasn’t undertaken any analysis of the number of students articulating from college to university in the last financial year.

Latest data covering articulation from college to university is published in the annual Scottish Funding Council (SFC) publication ‘Report on Widening Access’, which relates to those starting university in the 2021-22 academic year.

Report on Widening Access 2021-22 - Scottish Funding Council (sfc.ac.uk)

Data covering the 2022-23 academic year will be published later this year, with 2023-24 data in 2025 and the current academic year (2024-25) being published in 2026.

Question reference: S6W-27714

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26929 by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2024, how it is monitoring progress towards the implementation of sections 120 and 121 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 on the duty to have regard to community benefit in non-emergency patient transport contracts, and what assessment it has made of the impact of this duty on meeting the needs of kidney patients who require dialysis.