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 40595 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6F-03724

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03722

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03730

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2025

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government plans to make creating sexually explicit “deepfake” images and videos a crime.

Question reference: S6F-03723

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-33237

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what communication strategies and campaigns it has deployed to highlight the importance of people attending dental appointments and the negative impact on NHS practices if scheduled check-ups and treatments are missed without any notification to the surgery.

To accompany the launch of changes to the dental payment system from November 2023, Scottish Government ran a marketing campaign via commercial radio, social media and surgery posters to highlight the changes to patients and direct them to NHS Inform for more information on a range of oral health matters.

NHS Inform is Scotland’s national health information service and supports people in making informed decisions on all aspects of their health. Information on oral health and dental care includes typical scenarios which patients can expect in attending the dentist, including the importance of regular attendance. In addition to this national resource, each individual dental practice is required to display its policy for late cancellations and non-attendance at scheduled appointments.

Question reference: S6W-33239

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify whether the payment that dental practices receive for carrying out NHS dentistry services is reduced to 20% of the relevant fee for patients who have not attended an appointment for three years or longer, and, if so, for what reason it was determined that this funding formula was appropriate, and whether there are any plans to review this.

Capitation payments are paid monthly per patient to NHS dentists to help ensure that patients remain registered. Where a patient does not attend for examination or treatment for a period of greater than 3 years the monthly payment for that patient falls to 20% of the full rate.

This arrangement incentives dentists to re-engage with patients who have not attended for some time to better manage their oral health. There is no intention to review this arrangement.

Question reference: S6W-33224

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32391 by Gillian Martin on 8 January 2025, what plans it has to conduct any of the analytical methods outlined, and how it will ensure accurate monitoring of potential continued supply and usage of the single-use plastic items prohibited for supply under the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

Question reference: S6W-33238

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 20 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify whether NHS dentists need to submit a claim form to Practitioner Services within three months of a patient completing treatment in order to receive payment, and, if so, for what reason such a requirement and timeframe were introduced, and whether there are any plans to review this.

Question reference: S6W-32922

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Christine Grahame (on behalf of the SPCB) on 20 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it plans to review its social media presence on X.

Given the pace of change and developments in the digital landscape, the SPCB reviews its communications channels on an ongoing basis. Considerations include extent of reach and levels of effective audience engagement, ethical considerations linked to impartiality, and effective use of resources. Content strategies and how channels are managed are reviewed and adapted regularly. Given the need for us to provide impartial services, decisions on whether the Corporate Body remains active on a channel or not are informed by data and evidence. While recent changes to X and developments are being monitored, the Parliament does not have immediate plans to stop using it. Our combined following on this channel is over 245,000, and we still therefore consider it to be a viable channel for us in terms of our ability to reach a mass audience quickly and to raise awareness of the work of the Parliament.

As well as X, the Parliament has a presence on a range of other digital channels including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. It also has a presence on Threads and is planning to run a 6-month pilot on Bluesky. Bluesky is a relatively new social media channel that looks and feels very much like X but is based on a very different operating model. During the pilot we will be increasing our understanding of this emerging platform and exploring its potential for public engagement. At the same time, we will also be monitoring how the more recent changes introduced at Meta might impact on how we use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Question reference: S6W-32978

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 20 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what role the Energy Consents Unit plays in balancing national energy policy objectives with the interests of rural communities, and how this is reflected in its assessment processes.

The Energy Consents Unit administers applications made to Scottish Ministers for determination in relation to energy infrastructure. In reaching their decision, the Scottish Ministers will determine applications in accordance with legislative requirements and relevant policy. The application process allows rural communities to provide views on the development, which are taken into consideration when final decisions are made.