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: S6F-01193

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on work to close the attainment gap.

Question reference: S6F-01187

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01186

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01189

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the First Minister what changes have been made since the 2018 report by the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland regarding concerns about the restraint of children in schools.

Question reference: S6T-00768

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent reports, whether it will provide further information regarding existing ScotRail contracts with Abellio.

Question reference: S6T-00764

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that less than a quarter of nursing shifts have enough staff.

Question reference: S6W-08590

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to ease the reported delays within the justice system caused by continuous late-stage evidence disputations by the defence that force proceedings to be persistently rescheduled.

The Scottish Government recognises the adverse impact on victims, witnesses and on the accused of prolonged proceedings, and is supporting justice agencies to improve the management of cases to minimise unnecessary delays. For example, through its investment in the Recover, Renew and Transform Programme, justice agencies are delivering reforms to support early resolution of summary cases at the outset and to focus trial preparation in cases which cannot be resolved. This work builds on the introduction by the judiciary of Pre-Intermediate Diet Meetings (PIDM) in December 2020, a new procedure aimed at reducing the risk of late-stage rescheduling.

Question reference: S6W-08619

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Department for Transport regarding the legalisation and regulation of the use of e-scooters in Scotland.

Transport officials have had one specific meeting on micro-mobility including e-Scooters at which the possibility of legislation and regulation was discussed. This was an information provision session and not a discussion.

The Secretary of State for Transport wrote to me in April 2022 about his proposals for a new framework for micro-mobility in UKG’s forthcoming Transport Bill. In my response I stated that where proposals may encroach on devolved interests, it is expected that UKG should seek the Scottish Parliament’s legislative consent in a timely manner, and respect the outcome of the Scottish Parliament’s decision on consent.

Question reference: S6W-08704

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish an updated Social Security Programme Business Case, and whether the update will include refreshed implementation cost estimates for the benefits.

Question reference: S6W-08620

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it has made for the use of e-scooters on public roads in Scotland, and whether legislation will be required in order to regulate this.

E-scooters are currently illegal to use in any public spaces in Scotland but they are legal to sell and own, resulting in an increasing number in illegal use in Scotland.

E-scooters are covered by the same laws and regulations that apply to all motor vehicles. This means e-scooters need to meet the various requirements of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to use public roads lawfully (e.g. road tax, technical safety standards).

Whilst the use of powered transporters and decisions around their introduction and associated legislative changes are primarily a matter for the UK Government, additional legislation and associated guidance would be required for Scotland.

The Secretary of State for Transport wrote to me in April 2022 about his proposals for a new framework for micro-mobility in UKG’s forthcoming Transport Bill. We will fully participate in that and I expect UKG to seek the Scottish Parliament’s legislative consent in a timely manner, and respect the outcome of the Scottish Parliament’s decision on consent.

I am aware that DfT carried out trails in England to develop e-scooter regulatory framework.

The DfT had not factored into its trial programme the legislative changes that would be required in Scotland to allow trials to take place here. Consequently, the trials which took place in England could not be hosted by Scottish local authorities.

Currently, we have received no data from the trials in England. My officials will continue to push for sight of the data to gain a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of legalising e-scooters.