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-03705

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what impact its national mission to tackle child poverty is having in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency.

Question reference: S6W-29131

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the conclusions of its review of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Question reference: S6W-29133

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates that it will meet the target of delivering 110,000 homes by 2032, as set out in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Question reference: S6W-29022

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason young carers below the age of 11 do not have access to the Young Carers Package or an analogous scheme, and what support is in place instead.

As set out in our National Carers Strategy, the Scottish Government recognises the importance of young carers being identified so that they can be supported in achieving their educational and wider goals.

Under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships are responsible for supporting young carers of all ages. Much of this support is delivered on their behalf by local third sector young carer projects and carer centres, and can include counselling, peer support groups and short break opportunities.

Young carers can also benefit from Scottish Government funded voluntary sector short breaks delivered through four national schemes – ‘Better Breaks’, ‘Creative Breaks’, ‘Time to Live’ and ‘Take a Break Scotland’.

In respect of the Young Carers Package, this is delivered on our behalf by Young Scot through their wider platform for children and young people. Young Scot Membership accounts are limited to young people age 12+, and the content of the package is designed for those aged between 12 and 18.

11 year old young carers can access a limited offline version of the package by completing a short form. Through this they will receive a £50 Love 2 Shop voucher which they can use to access a range of retailers. This is designed to provide a taste of what the package is like and encourage young carers to sign up to the full package once they turn 12.

We would encourage all young carers (including those under 11) and their families to contact their local young carer service, and to also speak with their schools about additional support they can offer.

We fund an Education Officer at Carers Trust Scotland, who works with Education Scotland, the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Scottish Qualification Authority to help ensure education staff are aware of young carers and are able to support them appropriately. This has included producing a free and accredited e-module for all education staff to help them better understand how they can identify and support young carers.

Additionally, school nurses also have young carers as one of their 10 priorities. Once a young carer is referred to a school nurse with concerns, the school nurse may complete a GIRFEC wellbeing assessment, support referrals onto specialist services when needed and support with transitions.

Question reference: S6W-29435

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government by what date National Records for Scotland will next publish a report on alcohol-specific deaths.

Question reference: S6W-29264

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to create a permanent national "fund to leave" for women experiencing domestic abuse.

The Scottish Government received the final evaluation of the fund to leave pilot from Scottish Women’s Aid in August. This has fed into a wider assessment of the pilot looking at how it delivered against its objectives; how it improved outcomes for women and/or prevented their homelessness; and what lessons were learned during the pilot. The assessment is nearing completion and we will then be in a position to set out next steps.

Question reference: S6W-29227

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many developments have been approved in the first phase of its review of permitted development rights, broken down by local authority area.

In most cases, permitted development rights (PDR) allow certain developments to be carried out without reference to the planning authority – provided the relevant PDR conditions are complied with. Therefore, such developments do not require an application for planning permission to be submitted to and approved by a planning authority and, accordingly, data is not available on those developments carried out under PDR.

However, a small number of PDR are subject to a process known as “prior notification/prior approval”. The planning authority’s determination is limited to the particular matters specified in the relevant PDR class – for example, siting, design or appearance. Although there is no statutory requirement to do so, planning authorities should keep records of prior notification/prior approval cases.

Data on prior notification/approvals form part of the statistics that are submitted by planning authorities and form the basis of the Scottish Government’s Official Statistics available on https://www.gov.scot/collections/planning-statistics/. Most recent figures are available https://www.gov.scot/publications/planning-applications-statistics-2022-23-annual-quarterly-october-2022-march-2023/documents/

The information is broken down into certain development types. However, the figures are not broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-29262

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reform the public sector equality duty by producing regulations that aim to improve outcomes for people with protected characteristics.

The Scottish Government is taking forward a phased approach to improvement, which will include efforts to enhance the regulatory regime in Scotland, within the limits of devolved competence. We intend on progressing key initiatives, including our approach to inclusive communications, pay gap reporting, and utilising ministerial powers under Regulation 11. We are also considering insights from commissioned international research to inform our policies.

However, after careful consideration, we will not pursue regulatory changes for inclusive communications at this time. I have updated stakeholders on this work in a communication on 14 August, 2024, reinforcing our commitment to equitable outcomes across the public sector.

Question reference: S6W-29174

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the actionable steps outlined in the Zero Waste Scotland report, Scotland’s Circular Economy Practices Ecosystem: Barriers to businesses being more circular.

I welcome this report from Zero Waste Scotland, alongside its ongoing circular economy business support service. It is vital that we understand and tackle the barriers Scottish businesses face in adopting more circular operating models, ensuring we value materials and keep them in use for as long as possible. This is key for our efforts to address the climate emergency and nature crises, and create opportunities for investment and economic growth.

The report reinforces the key findings and actions proposed in our draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, published earlier this year. This includes work to identify ways to expand business models that prolong product lifespan, complementing our focus on producer stewardship for priority products. The sustainable, circular choices are still not the easy choices for different parts of society, including businesses, and large-scale, and rapid system change is required to ensure a more rapid transition to net zero and a fully circular economy in Scotland.

Supporting businesses to become more circular is a key part of this transition. As we finalise the Route Map for publication later this year, and develop our first statutory Circular Economy Strategy, the Scottish Government will carefully consider the report’s findings and insights.

Question reference: S6W-29191

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers considered the option of undertaking an independent review of the Community Right to Buy, and, if so, what the reasons were for deciding against this option.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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