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 43237 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-02176

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support responsible and ethical tax collection practices.

Question reference: S6O-02179

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-02165

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-16480

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Inspiring Scotland since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with Inspiring Scotland across multiple policy areas including, but not limited to, the Young Person’s Guarantee, the Promise, children and families, mental health, autism and learning disabilities, rural and island communities, child poverty and procurement.

Levels of engagement are tailored to the requirements of each project and agreed in advance between Scottish Government officials and Inspiring Scotland representatives. Most meetings occur on a monthly basis however, ad-hoc meetings may also occur to discuss arising issues.

These regular meeting focus on matters relating to the development and management of projects we provide funding towards and provide an opportunity for Inspiring Scotland to outline progress made against delivery objectives which are agreed at the beginning of any grant management relationship.

Question reference: S6W-16493

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with The Promise Scotland since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.

Question reference: S6W-16240

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it can request that Circularity Scotland voluntarily responds to any requests for information regarding the company's role in the operation of the Deposit Return Scheme in line with the principles of Freedom of Information legislation.

As a private company, Circularity Scotland Ltd is not obligated to comply with requests under Freedom of Information legislation. Circularity Scotland already engage with requests regarding their role in the Deposit Return Scheme, including providing evidence before the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 28 March 2023, and will be holding a Parliamentary drop-in session 03 May 2023. CSL also engage regularly with Ministers and officials as part of wider DRS assurance structures.

Question reference: S6W-16172

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations in the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission Report on the Welfare of Beavers in Scotland.

The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) Report on the Welfare of Beavers in Scotland made a number of recommendations including:

The urgent need for comprehensive guidance for landowners etc for non-lethal control which does not require licensing;
No licences should be issued in the kit dependency period:
Banning the shooting of beavers in the water would eliminate the problem of poor or difficult marksmanship, which can significantly affect the welfare of beavers;
While translocations are welcome as an alternative to lethal control, where possible, it is important that robust protocols are followed by trained operators, release areas are assessed properly, to ensure that high standards of welfare are maintained during and after the translocations of individuals.

NatureScot responded directly to SAWC on behalf of the Scottish Government, and that response is summarised below:

Mitigation is a key theme of Scotland’s Beaver Strategy with a view to minimising negative impacts. The Strategy includes a range of actions to update guidance, raise awareness, help support and innovate around beaver mitigation techniques. NatureScot currently provides specialist advice to land managers through the Beaver Mitigation Scheme and is actively working on a programme of work on the actions outlined above. The guidance is being reviewed in line with the strategy and advice is available on the NatureScot website.
Currently only exceptional licences may be issued during the kit dependency period (1st April to 16th August). Exceptional circumstances include situations where either serious damage or a threat to public health or public interest is occurring at that time or is imminent and where lethal control is the only means of addressing that issue.
The examples of poor shooting practice pre-date the introduction of accredited controller training developed when European Protected Species (EPS) status was given to beavers and the introduction of minimum calibre and bullet weights. The examples given cannot be assumed to reflect current practice. NatureScot also noted that the Commission did not base these recommendations on any practical field work following beaver becoming EPS and the introduction of a licensing scheme. NatureScot are also looking at the conditioning of licences with requirement to provide carcass for post mortem.
In relation to robust protocols being in place in relation to translocations, there are actions relating to all of these points in Scotland’s Beaver Strategy. NatureScot has produced protocols to accompany the recent release licence issued to RSPB Scotland at Loch Lomond. NatureScot will share and invite comment on these from the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission with a view to agreeing standard protocols going forward.

Further discussions on the recommendations are currently ongoing between NatureScot and SAWC. Any resulting changes to protocols or licensing arrangements will be published on the NatureScot website.

Question reference: S6W-17028

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent assessment is of the allocation of resources to Community Planning Partnerships in each local authority area.

Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) do not hold resources of their own. CPPs’ partner organisations direct and align resources they hold towards collective action in pursuit of priorities agreed by the CPP. These resources can take the form of staff time and expertise, premises and other assets, as well as financial investment.

The statutory purpose of CPPs is to improve outcomes on locally identified priorities; and CPPs are not required to report to Scottish Government on their use of resources. As a result, Scottish Government does not hold information about the value of resources partners deploy in pursuit of CPPs’ priorities.

Question reference: S6W-16370

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many prison officers there were (a) at the end of each financial year since 2016-17 and (b) on the most recent date for which data is available.

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

The numbers of prison officers employed by SPS at the end of each financial year from 2016-17 to 2022-23 are set out in the following table.

Financial year (at year end)	Number of Prison Officers employed by SPS
2016-17	3370
2017-18	3342
2018-19	3294
2019-20	3242
2020-21	3302
2021-22	3381
2022-23	3331

Question reference: S6W-16112

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when any further decisions will be taken regarding how the deposit value of containers that are within the scope of the Deposit Return Scheme should be displayed on shelving when the scheme launches.

Decisions regarding how the deposit will be displayed is a retained power and the responsibility of Trading Standards. The Scottish Government believes that the deposit should not be included in the unit price displayed either on shelves or price-marked packs, rather it should be clear that the deposit is in addition to the item cost.

The Scottish Government is continuing its discussions with the UK Government and other stakeholders in order to ensure that on-shelf displays and price-marked packs have clear information regarding the Deposit Return Scheme to enable consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.