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: S7W-02252

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that schools, nurseries, colleges and universities in the North East are suitably prepared to respond to suspected or confirmed cases of measles when pupils and students return following the summer break, including in relation to guidance, contact tracing, communications with families and additional vaccination capacity.

Question reference: S7W-02261

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its proposed mandatory price cap on essential food items, what its response is to the reported concern raised by the Scottish Retail Consortium that a food price cap policy in Hungary led to shortages of some food products, an increase in abuse towards shop workers and food domestically produced losing out to imports.

Question reference: S7W-02262

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements it plans to put in place to monitor and evaluate the performance and effectiveness of More Homes Scotland, including any plans for independent scrutiny of its impact on housing supply, affordability and homelessness.

Question reference: S7W-02248

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the uptake of the second dose of the MMR vaccine by age five, what assessment it has made of the latest Public Health Scotland data, which indicates uptake rates of 85.0% in Dundee City and 87.1% in Aberdeen City in the year ending 31 March 2026, compared with 89.7% across Scotland and the World Health Organization’s recommended level of at least 95%, and what targeted action it is taking in these areas in response to this data.

Question reference: S7W-02250

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding MMR or MMRV catch-up vaccination, how many invitations have been issued since 1 January 2026 by (a) NHS Tayside and (b) NHS Grampian, how many of those invited have subsequently attended an appointment and received a vaccination, and what targets have been set to increase uptake in each of these NHS board areas.

Question reference: S7W-02251

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with NHS Tayside and NHS Grampian to publish targeted plans for improving MMR and MMRV vaccination uptake in Dundee City and Aberdeen City, including consideration of direct reminders, evening and weekend appointments, drop-in clinics and community or school-based vaccination opportunities, and, if so, what timescales and improvement targets it will set.

Question reference: S7W-01549

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 4 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the time since entering service MV Glen Sannox has operated using (a) liquefied natural gas and (b) diesel; whether this is consistent with the assumptions made in the business case and, if not, for what reason.

Since MV Glen Sannox was delivered to CalMac in November 2024, MGO has been utilised in 20 operating months. As set out in the response to S7W-01548 on 4 August 2026, we cannot therefore compare with the assumptions made in the business case at this time.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S7W-01548

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 4 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how and when it will assess whether MV Glen Sannox's use of liquefied natural gas has achieved the anticipated reduction in carbon emissions of around 20% compared with conventional marine gas oil, which formed part of the justification for the use of that fuel.

CalMac is currently engaged with an external consultancy to provide independent analysis on the use of LNG vs MGO by MV Glen Sannox. This report is due to be finalised by the end of August. Early results confirm the volumes of CO2 produced during dual-fuel use are lower than if MGO is used as a primary fuel source. CalMac records monthly emissions of CO2 across the fleet as per their reporting obligations. However, like-for-like emission comparison between vessels is challenging due to varied vessel designs and cargo carrying capacity.

Question reference: S7W-02123

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average time is for domestic abuse cases to progress from indictment to trial in solemn proceedings in (a) the High Court and (b) the Sheriff Court.

Question reference: S7W-01934

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 4 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking, through guidance, engagement or training, to raise awareness among licensing authorities, taxi and private hire vehicle drivers and operators, and disabled passengers in Scotland, of the duties under sections 164A and 165A of the Equality Act 2010, as inserted by the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 and the associated requirement to (a) carry disabled passengers and their mobility aids, (b) provide such mobility assistance as is reasonably required and (c) assist passengers who need help to identify and find their vehicle or assist them to their destination, and not to make any additional charge for doing so.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the importance of Taxis and Private Hire Car (PHC) vehicles, and wheelchair accessible vehicles in particular, for disabled people.

The Scottish Government’s vision is that all disabled people can travel with the same freedom, choice, dignity and opportunity as other citizens. Scotland’s Accessible Travel Framework is at the heart of achieving that. Alongside this national vision, the Framework provides specific outcomes for accessible travel and a high level action plan to tackle the key issues facing disabled people.

It is important to note that the Scottish Government does not have powers to enforce accessibility requirements on Taxi operators or licensing authorities. This remains reserved to the UK Parliament under the Equality Act 2010.

Nevertheless, the Scottish Government has actively sought opportunities to improve the accessibility of Taxi services where we can, and we would like to see the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles increase.

Taxis and PHCs are licensed in Scotland under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. The aim of the licensing system is to ensure that Taxi and PHC customers have a safe, reliable and accessible service.

While the Scottish Government has responsibility for the overarching legislation, the day to day administration of the licensing regime is devolved to independent licensing authorities – in effect the 32 Scottish local authorities. All licensing authorities have wide discretion to determine appropriate licensing arrangements according to local needs and circumstances and their own legal advice.

While the Scottish Ministers do not have any specific functions in relation to the day to day operation of the Taxi/ PHC licensing regime in any given local authority area, the Scottish Government can provide best practice guidance to inform and assist local licensing authorities in their decision making.

In May 2023 the Scottish Government published updated best practice guidance for local licensing authorities and Taxi and PHC operators on the licensing of Taxis and PHCs and their drivers. (https://www.gov.scot/publications/taxi-private-hire-car-licensing-best-practice-licensing-authorities-taxi-private-hire-car-operators-3rd-edition/).

I would refer you to Chapter 4 of the guidance, which specifically relates to accessibility requirements. That chapter of the best practice guidance contains information on issues such as legal duties for drivers and operators under the Equality Act 2010.

Written in conjunction with Transport Scotland, local authorities and the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) the Scottish Government best practice guidance was produced to ensure the provision of Taxis and PHCs meet the needs of disabled people.