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: S6O-04502

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 1 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding what support could be provided in Scotland to any Palestinian refugees resettled to the UK.

I have written to the UK Government several times, most recently on 3 February calling for a resettlement route for refugees from Palestine who choose to leave. I have also called for those with family members in the UK to be supported to join them.

We continue to urge the UK government to use its existing UK Resettlement Scheme, and ensure it is aligned with UNHCR to provide those who want to leave with the support they require. Our New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy supports refugees from the day they arrive.

Question reference: S6T-02457

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent NASUWT survey, which recorded that 49% of female teachers in Scotland had reported physical abuse or violence in the last 12 months.

Question reference: S6F-03977

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2025

To ask the First Minister what engagement the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding what assessment has been made of the potential impact of an extension of US tariffs on Scottish businesses that export to the US market.

Question reference: S6F-03996

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether the reported increased annual cost of Scotland's prisons to over £77,000 per prisoner represents good value for public money.

Question reference: S6F-03974

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03982

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reported comments made by the chair of the North Sea Transition Task Force that the North Sea’s future should be a “national mission”.

Question reference: S6F-03975

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03976

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 April 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-35940

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of concerns raised by Young Lives vs Cancer that almost half of patients in Scotland finish their cancer treatment before receiving a decision regarding disability benefit claims due to lengthy waits, what assessment it has made of the adequacy of Social Security Scotland’s disability benefits processing times for children and young people with cancer.

There are a number of factors that impact on how long it takes Social Security Scotland to make a decision on disability benefit applications, including the time taken to gather the supporting information required to make a decision on an application.

Social Security Scotland continues to work with Local Authorities, Health Boards and GP practices across the country to make it faster and easier for them to send supporting information, and is seeing improvements.

The last nine months of official statistics for Child Disability Payment shows Social Security Scotland has made decisions on new applications almost twice as fast as in the previous financial year. The latest official statistics publication can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Child Disability Payment: high level statistics to 31 December 2024.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication shows Social Security Scotland has made faster decisions on applications over the last year, with average processing times decreasing significantly in the last ten months, when compared to the previous financial year. Latest Adult Disability Payment statistics can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Adult Disability Payment statistics to 31 January 2025

Social Security Scotland has a dedicated application route for terminally ill children and young people, and anyone in Scotland diagnosed with a terminal illness by their healthcare professional can apply for disability benefits under Special Rules for Terminal Illness. Published data shows that applications under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness are currently processed within three working days for Child Disability Payment and two working days for Adult Disability Payment.

Question reference: S6W-35947

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, whether it will ensure that homelessness legislation is brought within the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Section 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 makes it unlawful for a public authority to act, or to fail to act, in a way that is incompatible with the UNCRC requirements. The section 6 compatibility duty in that Act applies when a public authority is delivering functions conferred by or under an Act of the Scottish Parliament or common law. All of the free standing provisions in the Housing (Scotland) Bill and those provisions that amend Acts of the Scottish Parliament will be in scope for this compatibility duty. This includes protections for tenants and provisions to help prevent homelessness.

There are some provisions on homelessness that are conferred by Acts of the UK Parliament. As housing is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, it would be possible to bring these provisions into the scope of the section 6 compatibility duty by re-enacting them in Acts of the Scottish Parliament. (The same is true of all devolved measures that are conferred by Acts of the UK Parliament.) However, that would be a time-consuming task that would have a significant impact on the Scottish Parliament’s law-making capacity.

Our hope is that, through engagement with the UK Government, there may be a more straightforward way of extending the reach of the compatibility duty in the UNCRC Act (and other future human rights protections), which would not require the re-enactment of individual Acts of the UK Parliament. Next steps are being considered.