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-36652

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the human rights checks that are carried out by Scottish Enterprise when determining whether to issue a grant, including the guidance that is issued to the agency's staff when completing these.

Question reference: S6W-36665

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the system of traffic regulation orders.

The Scottish Government reviewed the effectiveness of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process in 2021, engaging with key stakeholders including all local authorities. The review found that, overall, local authorities were satisfied with the system but highlighted areas for improvement, particularly in relation to Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) and Redetermination Orders.

As a result of this assessment, legislative changes were introduced to streamline ETROs, enabling implementation with 7 days’ notice and a 6-month consultation period. Guidance was also issued to clarify that Redetermination Orders may not be required where a TRO sufficiently regulates access.

In addition, Transport Scotland is considering further work to support the digitisation of TROs, with a view to improving accessibility and administrative efficiency.

Question reference: S6W-36608

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication in January 2025 of the paper, Scottish Government Response to the Report by the Independent Expert Group for the Unlocking the Value of Data Programme, whether it will provide an update on the progress with the Proof of Concept project.

Since the publication of the Scottish Government’s response to the final report by the Independent Expert Group for the Unlocking the Value of Data programme, in January 2025, an Industry Data Access Steering Group has been established to oversee the development of an operational framework, as outlined in the Scottish Government response.

This project supports the aim of the Unlocking the Value of Data programme to realise greater value from public sector personal data when used with, or by, the private sector, for public benefit. The framework will facilitate private sector access to public sector data, in collaboration with the Scottish Safe Havens Network and through citizen and stakeholder engagement. This project aims to promote transparency, efficiency, and alignment with public expectations, ensuring the safe, secure and ethical use of public sector data by private organisations.

Question reference: S6W-36382

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many children and young people have received a private diagnosis for autism in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not collect this data.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People, published in September 2021, which specifies service standards that all children’s services should follow, to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland.

The Scottish Government have also established the National Autism Implementation Team, in partnership with Queen Margaret University, to support Health and Social Care Partnerships to consider best practice and support improvement through the redesign of autism diagnostic services.

The National Implementation Team is supporting NHS Boards to examine diagnostic pathways for autism and establish regional experts to assist with improving tiered autism specialisms across health boards.

Question reference: S6W-36534

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the calls to designate the North Sea energy transition a “national mission”, and what contribution it plans to make to that effort.

Question reference: S6W-36426

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the timeline is for the establishment of the online health visiting learning site outlined at Action 1.1 of Scotland's Health Visiting Action Plan 2025 - 2035.

Question reference: S6W-36358

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to improve access to abortion services, whether it will provide a surgical service for women seeking an abortion in their second trimester of pregnancy and, if so, when it will do so.

As a priority, the Scottish Government is working with Health Boards and other key stakeholders to ensure that all patients can access abortion services up to the legal gestational limit within Scotland. A new Task and Finish Group is now being set up by the NHS Scotland Planning and Delivery Board to agree the best way to implement a service(s) for patients seeking an abortion between 20-24 weeks.

The Task and Finish Group will recommend to the Planning and Delivery Board the best option(s) for that service. As part of this work, they will consider whether any service(s) provided should offer surgical or medical abortions.

The Scottish Government is also taking forward work to improve surgical abortion provision across Scotland and remains committed to providing funding to support staff training to allow Health Boards to provide later stage abortions.

Question reference: S6W-36453

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed the current law around lasting powers of attorney.

Lasting Powers of Attorney is an English term which refers to two separate legal documents – one for property and financial affairs, and one for health and welfare. In Scotland, the equivalent arrangement is called a Power of Attorney (PoA), which can combine continuing (financial) and welfare powers into a single document.

Last year the Scottish Government published a consultation seeking views on proposed changes to the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. The consultation opened on 25 July 2024 and closed on 17 October 2024. Part 2 of the consultation related to changes to continuing and welfare powers of attorney. The Scottish Government published analysis of consultation responses on 25 January 2025.

Question reference: S6T-02486

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure greater access to affordable early years provision, in light of reports of the rising cost of childcare for families with children under the age of three.

Question reference: S6T-02484

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the interim update from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on the practical implications of the recent UK Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers.