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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 45689 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-03523

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether Creative Scotland’s funding will be increased during the next financial year.

Question reference: S6O-03522

Asked by: Elena Whitham, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of any impact that Brexit is having on Scotland’s culture sector.

Question reference: S6O-03530

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there are excessive delays in holding fatal accident inquiries.

Question reference: S6W-27708

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to piloting opt-out HIV and blood borne virus testing in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

The Scottish Government has funded pilots of emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing in three areas – NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian and NHS Highland. The funding allocations followed a call for bids which was open to all territorial NHS Boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. It is important that decisions about any further expansion are based on the best available evidence. The Scottish Government will use evaluation data from the three pilot projects, combined with other evidence, to determine whether further roll out would be acceptable, deliverable and cost-effective in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27729

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any restrictions on what any monies received from Low Emission Zone fines can be spent on, and, if so, what these are.

Any monies received from penalty charges in respect of a LEZ scheme can be applied by a local authority only for the purposes of facilitating the achievement of the scheme’s objectives, and thus support at least air quality and/or climate change emission reduction activities, and/or the operational running costs of the scheme. The specifics of how these monies are spent is a matter for the local authority.

Question reference: S6W-27685

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost was of the transfer of operations of ScotRail services from Abellio to public ownership.

Question reference: S6W-27706

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement that Right There has ended its contract with the City of Edinburgh Council, and what assessment it has made of the potential impact on homelessness services within Edinburgh as a result of this decision.

The City of Edinburgh Council is responsible for commissioning homelessness services in its area and assessing the impact of decisions on service provision. The Scottish Government cannot intervene in those decisions. The council has provided assurance that all three supported temporary accommodation facilities will remain operational and disruption to existing residents and staff will be minimised.

Question reference: S6W-27908

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken to identify any additional capacity requirements for the implementation of the new model of neonatal care.

In 2017, the Scottish Government published ‘The Best Start : A Five-Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland’, and the report and recommendations were accepted by Ministers. The Best Start outlined a new model of neonatal service provision that suggests that care for the smallest and sickest babies should be consolidated to deliver the best possible outcomes.

An important part of planning for the implementation stage of the model of care is the modelling of demand and capacity requirements.

The Scottish Government contracted healthcare planning support, RSM UK Consulting LLP, to undertake detailed modelling and capacity planning work, to inform local implementation plans.

The approach to this work has included data collection and modelling alongside engagement with both operational and strategic stakeholders, to validate data, generate and test planning assumptions.

Activity and capacity data was collected from each of the eight units included within the model scope, as well as Public Health Scotland (PHS) and, Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) / Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

The report outlines this modelling approach, inputs, and interpretation of the outputs to support the future of NICU services. This aligns with the Best Start recommendations and focuses on the three regional NICU sites chosen for adoption in Scotland. To further support local implementation plans, this report also outlines a series of considerations for implementation that can be taken forward beyond the commission.

The report will be published on 29 May 2024 and can be accessed at New Model of Neonatal Care – RSM UK Consulting - Report

Question reference: S6W-27661

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Aberdeen Route Upgrade contractors framework agreements have been awarded, and, if not, for what reason, and when they will be.

No contractor has yet been appointed for the Aberdeen – Central Belt Service Improvement Project as the project is still in the design stage. The programme for implementation, and therefore contracting, of the scheme remains under consideration. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26336 on 11 April 2024.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-27668

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the role of new on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging technology, particularly the use of cross-pavement cable gullies for EV charging cables, in expanding the number of EV charge points and infrastructure in Scotland.

The installation of cross-pavement solutions for on-street Electric Vehicle charging has the potential to provide those without off-street parking access to more affordable domestic tariffs, whilst reducing trip hazards posed by loosely trailed cables. The market for cross-pavement charging solutions is at a relatively early stage, however, there are already a variety of solutions that have been trialled by local authorities across the UK, including in local authorities in Scotland. The decision to allow or reject the installation of a cross-pavement solutions on the public highway ultimately rests with local authorities and cross-pavement charging solutions may not be the suitable in all circumstances. Transport Scotland is working closely with the Scottish Road Works Commissioner and Scottish local authorities to better understand the issue and how best to support local authorities as the market develops with actions incorporated within the Vision Implementation Plan.