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-23244

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government where it anticipates oil extracted from the North Sea will be refined if this process ceases at the Petroineos site in Grangemouth.

As outlined in the Scottish Government’s Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, oil extracted from the North Sea is predominantly exported to international markets. The Scottish Government anticipates that this arrangement will continue and North Sea oil will continue to be refined in a number of international locations.

On 3 March 2023, the Scottish Government published the outputs of an independence analysis of Scotland’s Energy System, which provides a detailed overview of the oil and gas sector in Scotland. A link to this publication can be found here .

Question reference: S6W-23651

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its consideration regarding the legal age of marriage.

Members will be aware that we have been gathering views and evidence from a range of stakeholders around the minimum age of marriage and considering next steps following the recent concluding observation of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child that we prohibit all marriages of under 18s in Scotland.

Whilst very few 16- and 17-year-olds marry or register a civil partnership in Scotland each year (in 2022 out of over 30,000 marriages, only 18 involved a party or parties under 18), we are cognisant of the concluding observations. Therefore I have now decided that the Scottish Government should consult formally in this area in 2024.

Reaching a view on reform of the age of marriage is a potentially cross-cutting area given the other rights that we permit 16- and 17-year-olds to exercise whether with or without additional protections. Consequently, we need to carefully consider the full implications of any change in the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership and whether any change may be needed to the existing criminal law on forced marriage.

I also intend to include a number of other areas of family and succession law as part of this consultation.

We will consult on the Scottish Law Commission’s draft Bill to reform the law on a cohabitant’s financial rights against their former partner when they separate.

We committed in the Family Justice Modernisation Strategy in 2018 to consulting on whether the simplified forms-based divorce and dissolution procedure should include cases where a couple have children under 16 and they are not in dispute about their welfare, and this will also be included in the consultation.

Following on from a previous consultation on succession law and from views raised during the passage of the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill, our consultation will also explore a cohabitant’s entitlement to financial provision from their deceased partner’s estate where that partner has died without a will.

In addition, we have not yet implemented a provision in the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 on creating qualifying requirements for religious and belief bodies with celebrants who solemnise marriage and register civil partnerships. The aims of this provision include ensuring the continuing dignity and solemnity of ceremonies and tackling forced marriages and civil partnerships. We are planning therefore to also consult formally on the options here.

We will aim to publish the consultation on this substantial range of issues by summer 2024.

Question reference: S6W-23642

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on SEPA’s proposed sea lice framework to manage interactions between sea lice from finfish farms and wild salmonids.

I can advise Parliament that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has today published its response to its recent consultation on ‘Managing interactions between sea lice from finfish farms and wild salmonids in Scotland’ .

Our Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture values the role of aquaculture in producing world-renowned healthy and quality seafood, whilst recognising that its delivery and development must be sustainable.

SEPA’s finalised sea lice framework follows an extensive period of consultation. The framework will support sustainable development of fish farming worth over £1 billion to our economy, ensuring our communities continue to realise the benefits of aquaculture, by guiding development to the least-sensitive locations and protecting the environment, whilst making the development process more efficient and effective.

The framework will be implemented in phases and will adopt a proportionate, evidenced and risk-based approach to management. From February 2024, the framework will be used to assess all new and expanding fish farm developments.

Question reference: S6W-23441

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the diversity of landownership, and what its position is on how diverse Scotland’s landownership is.

The Scottish Government has no single metric for measuring the diversity of land ownership. Our approach is to examine the evidence of patterns of ownership structures in the context of the different concerns that may be raised, in relation to land ownership and control.

Diversity may be measured at national, regional or local scale, and/or may seek to assess the extent, value or type of land owned (or controlled) by public, private or third sector organisations respectively. Within the private sector, the extent/value/type of land owned can be linked to the number and/or types of owners (individuals, trusts, companies/shareholders, overseas investors, unlisted companies, pension funds, etc.) A company, trust or pension fund could be a single entity, but benefit a number of individuals.

The expansion of community ownership is a key priority for us and we monitor the progress made by the community ownership sector in terms of acquiring land and land assets, see Community Ownership in Scotland 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Our position on the current picture with regard to diversity of land ownership in Scotland is set out in the second and third principles of our Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement:

2. There should be a more diverse pattern of land ownership and tenure, with more opportunities for citizens to own, lease and have access to land.

3. More local communities should have the opportunity to own, lease or use buildings and land which can contribute to their community's wellbeing and future development.

Finally, we set out in our consultation on the forthcoming Land Reform Bill, Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation , our commitment “to making reforms that will contribute to the diversification of ownership of land in Scotland.”

Question reference: S6W-22990

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent fireworks-related disorder in Edinburgh, and reports that many of the fireworks that were recovered may not have been purchased locally, what work has been undertaken to prevent imported fireworks from being sold in Scotland.

Border security and the movement of goods is a reserved matter for the UK government; however, the Scottish Government provides grant funding to the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) to support law enforcement activity undertaken by local authorities against the sale of illicit fireworks in Scotland. This work extends to work concerning imported fireworks at ports and fast parcel outlets in cooperation with Border Force, as well as online sales from outwith Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23397

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set up a committee to examine the reported rising excess death rate in Scotland, in light of data from the National Records of Scotland showing that 3,255 excess deaths have taken place in 2023 so far.

A Mortality Special Interest Group (SIG) currently exists with a remit to monitor and analyse mortality trends in Scotland. This is a collaborative group chaired by Public Health Scotland (PHS) and includes representation from key organisations including the Scottish Government, National Records of Scotland and representation from Directors of Public Health.

More information on the Mortality SIG can be found on the PHS website .

There are currently no plans for the Scottish Government to set up any further committees or groups on excess deaths.

Question reference: S6W-23192

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what data improvements are planned for Scotland's Material Flow Accounts.

Question reference: S6O-02888

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the current options available to record the relationship status of a deceased person are sufficient for the purposes of this information being accurately represented on death certificates.

Question reference: S6O-02891

Asked by: James Dornan, MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how the proposals outlined in its latest Building a New Scotland paper, Social Security in an independent Scotland, would support Scotland’s social security system.

Question reference: S6O-02890

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that rural populations have convenient and appropriate access to care homes.