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-34856

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of plans in England and Wales to implement a phased removal of wet-shave razors from adult male prisons, what plans it has to replicate such a proposal in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-34863

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to trial the “Right Care, Right Person” scheme that has reportedly seen officer capacity increase in Merseyside police, and, if it will not trial this scheme, for what reason.

The Scottish Government has no plans to implement the ‘Right Care, Right Place’ model. Instead we are working with our partners, including Police Scotland, through the Mental Health Unscheduled Care Network to ensure that anyone in need of mental health care and support gets the right care, in the right place, at the right time, regardless of where or what time of day they present – there should be No Wrong Door. Through this work, we have supported Police Scotland with:

Directing calls received by Police Scotland’s C3 Division to the NHS 24 Mental Health Hub where they have identified that the caller is requiring mental health support, thereby avoiding the need to deploy officers; and
accessing 24/7 clinical advice on the best onward care outcomes for the individual when police officers are supporting an individual on scene, thereby avoiding the need to attend A&E unless that is where the individual needs to be cared for.

We continue to build on these developments. On 12 February the Scottish Government published the Framework for Collaboration and the Partnership Delivery Group’s Collaborative Commitments plan, which outline the principles and actions which will contribute to our aim that resources are deployed appropriately and that unnecessary demand on officers is reduced.

Question reference: S6W-34777

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33222 by Gillian Martin on 24 January 2025, what the future funding arrangements are for the Energy Skills Passport, and how many applications the Energy Skills Transition Hub has received to date from offshore oil and gas workers.

The initial, industry-led, phase of the development of the Energy Skills Passport has been supported by £3.7 million of Scottish Government Just Transition funding over financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. This funding has helped to lay the groundwork for a successful Passport, including both cross-sectoral working and the development of a digital solution, leading to the pilot version of the passport launched in January 2025.

We are now looking forward to seeing the Passport develop further, providing more options and pathways for workers to transition between sectors. Success going forward will require the Passport to be fully supported from a range of bodies, including UK Government. The Scottish Government will also remain closely involved as a supportive project partner.

The Energy Transition Skills Hub is supported by £4.5 million in Just Transition Fund capital support. The construction phase of the project is expected to conclude later in 2025.

Question reference: S6W-34776

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment has been made of the uptake of the Fair Work Framework among employers in Scotland’s (a) offshore oil and gas, (b) offshore wind and (c) maritime industry.

In the absence of powers over employment legislation, through our flagship Fair Work First approach, the Scottish Government is applying Fair Work First criteria to public sector grants, other funding, and contracts where relevant and proportionate to do so, driving up minimum standards in fair work practices across the labour market. It is for individual funders and buyers to monitor delivery of Fair Work First criteria through their funding and contracting arrangements.

No specific assessment has been undertaken of the uptake of the Fair Work Framework in Scotland’s (a) offshore oil and gas, (b) offshore wind, and (c) maritime industries.

The Scottish Government has committed to undertake an evaluation of Fair Work First in 2025-26, working with the Fair Work Convention and engaging key stakeholders, including the STUC, to understand how effectively this policy is being delivered and what more can be done to strengthen the approach.

Question reference: S6W-34460

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, what its response is to the UK Government-commissioned review of the quality protocol report, Tyre-derived rubber materials. End of waste criteria for the production and use of tyre-derived rubber materials, which was developed by the Environment Agency and Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), and what consideration it has given to implementing similar measures in Scotland, including the recommendations for the storage of tyre-derived rubber materials and use in unbound applications.

A decision has been made by the Environment Agency to replace some of the Quality Protocols (QP) which only apply in England and Wales, including the QP for Tyre Derived Rubber Materials, with a ‘Resource Framework’. The outcomes of the review of the Tyre Derived Rubber Material QP (published in 2009) are yet to be published therefore we do not know to what extent the Resource Framework will mirror or amend the approach currently set out in the QP.

In Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's (SEPA) approach to end-of-waste is similar to the QPs. SEPA has equivalent end-of-waste positions for many of the materials covered by QPs, including compost, anaerobic digestate and aggregates. They do not currently have a published end-of-waste position for Tyre Derived Rubber Materials but have discussed the possibility with tyre recyclers in the past.

The Environment Agency is currently working with representatives from the tyre recycling industry on the design and contents of the new Resource Framework and SEPA will consider the Framework’s findings, once it is understood what the Framework for this material contains. While awaiting the outcome of the QP review, SEPA remains open to approaches from any business seeking to agree an end-of-waste position.

SEPA’s end-of-waste positions take the approach that the storage of recovered materials remains a regulated waste activity until they are dispatched to their end user. This is to ensure that the recovery of the material is genuine and that the material is not just stockpiled with no actual prospect of an end use.

Question reference: S6W-34453

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will deliver on its commitment to allocate 10% of NHS spend to mental health and 1% to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Latest data published by Public Health Scotland on 25 February 2025 shows total spend on mental health in Scotland has increased by £179.6 million to £1.486 billion in 2023-24. That is 9.03% of total net NHS expenditure, up from 8.53% in 2022-23. Spend on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) has increased by nearly £19.4 million to over £134 million. This is 0.82% of total spend, up from 0.75% in 2022-23.

We remain committed to delivery of the commitment and the latest data shows good progress is being made, however, as we all know, there are continued and unprecedented challenge to the public finances.

That means that achieving the targets in practice will depend on the outcome of future budgets. It is also dependent on the financial decisions taken by NHS Boards, and their partners, on the continued local investment needed to achieve the targets.

We will continue to closely monitor our progress towards both the 10% and 1% over the remainder of the Parliamentary term.

Question reference: S6T-02391

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, In Their Own Words: Children's Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, which was commissioned by Shelter Scotland and shows the impact that a stay in temporary accommodation can have on children's safety, health and education.

Question reference: S6F-03871

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 March 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on how the Scottish Government is working to tackle Islamophobia in Scotland, in light of reports that anti-Muslim hate incidents across the UK reached record levels in 2024.

Question reference: S6F-03867

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 March 2025

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will mark International Women’s Day, and its theme of "Accelerating Action" to reach gender equality.

Question reference: S6F-03870

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 March 2025

To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has to tackle the reported rising number of cases of drug-driving.