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-02199

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding actions to tackle mental health problems amongst farmers and crofters.

Question reference: S6O-02202

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the delivery of the Rural Crime Strategy.

Question reference: S6O-02214

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis of the potential cost to the public purse of introducing a minimum income guarantee.

Question reference: S6O-02218

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle child poverty in the Greenock and Inverclyde constituency.

Question reference: S6O-02211

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure the long-term sustainability of general practice.

Question reference: S6W-17437

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to (a) ban and (b) restrict the breeding of the Scottish Fold cat.

The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to ban the breeding of the Scottish Fold cat. The breeding of this particular breed is however restricted under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (the 2021 regulations).

The 2021 Regulations include a licence condition (section 8(4), schedule 2) which states that "no cat may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype, conformation, behaviour or state of health, that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or the health or welfare of its offspring". Given the well documented conformational health issues with this breed, the licensing authority is likely to refuse any application for a licence or a request to vary a licence where the intention is to breed the Scottish Fold. Comprehensive guidance produced for local authorities and cat breeders also makes it clear that persons seeking to breed the Scottish Fold are unlikely to be granted a licence to do so.

Question reference: S6W-17375

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the prevalence of cryptosporidium in source water, and whether it can provide a list of where it has been detected.

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite which is found in the gut of warm blooded animals and enters the water environment from faecal matter.

Scottish Water is required to assess the risk of Cryptosporidium in the water sources it uses for drinking water supplies and to design and operate water treatment processes that will remove the parasite or render it harmless. Scottish Water is also required to monitor drinking water supplies for cryptosporidium. The Drinking Water Quality Regulator provides a commentary on treated water detections in her Annual Report. Page 4 of the 2021 report covers Cryptosporidium annual-report-public-supplies-2021.pdf (dwqr.scot)

Question reference: S6W-17354

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will initiate an independent review into the architecture of political integrity and transparency in Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of political integrity and transparency, and takes these issues seriously. We review and update guidance when necessary. Since 2016 Scotland has been a member of the Open Government Partnership, a global partnership with civil society that works to make governments more inclusive, responsive, and accountable. As part of this work, we will consider the options for a review of political integrity and transparency in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-17119

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many places have been available on the National Clinical Skills for Pharmacists Programme in each year since it was established.

Time period covered	Clinical skills places offered
November 2020 – October 2021	551 places
November 2021 – December 2021	126 places
January 2022 – December 2022	1457 places
January 2023 – March 2023	433 places
April 2023 – December 2023	1364 places to be offered

From November 2020 to October 2021 a total of 551 delegate places of clinical skills training for pharmacists were delivered. 126 delegate places of clinical skills training for pharmacists were delivered from November 2021 to end of December 2021 and a further 1457 delegate places of clinical skills training for pharmacists were delivered between January and December 2022.

For January – March 2023, 433 clinical skills training places have been offered with a further 1364 places to be offered up to 31 December 2023.

Question reference: S6W-17188

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential prevalence of modern slavery in Scotland's waste management sector.

The Scottish Government condemns all forms of human trafficking or exploitation.

The Scottish Government has not assessed the potential prevalence of modern slavery in Scotland's waste management sector. Police Scotland monitor trafficking and exploitation trends in Scotland and the wider UK closely in order to tackle serious and organised crime effectively, including the potential for trafficking in the waste management sector.

The Scottish Government has provided grants to the Scottish Waste Industry Training, Competency, Health and Safety (SWITCH) Forum. As part of this grant funding, SWITCH has organised monthly webinars covering a range of issues, including modern slavery in the waste industry. The SWITCH webinars are available here: Webinars – SWITCH (switchforum.org.uk) .