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 43188 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-03863

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting local transport authorities to franchise bus services.

Question reference: S6O-03860

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with COSLA regarding the 2025-26 local government finance settlement.

Question reference: S6W-30653

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the study undertaken by researchers at the University of Dundee's Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, in collaboration with Scottish Prison Service, which found an increase from 1% to 10% in four years of steroid compounds detected within prisons, including in herbal material and vapes.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS continue to work collaboratively with its partners and stakeholders to utilise new technologies such as DeDrone, X-ray body scanners and Rapiscan machines, to detect, deter and prevent illicit substances from entering our establishments. We recognise the profound impact that illicit articles entering our prisons have and we will continue to seek prosecution where possible.

We do also recognise the continued need to support to those in our care who misuse substances and those who are on their recovery journey.

Question reference: S6W-30396

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support registered social landlords to maintain their wider remit investment in prevention services for people with wider care and support needs, such as welfare rights, tenancy sustainment and housing support.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the role of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in prevention and the importance of tenancy sustainment and housing support. That is why we are supporting this work in a variety of ways.

The Scottish Government continues to provide funding to help RSLs deliver adaptations for older and disabled people. The Adaptations Programme budget for 2024-25 is £8.245 million. Individual funding awards have now been issued to RSLs to support the delivery of housing adaptations for disabled tenants. My officials are in contact with RSLs directly to support them through this process.

Through our Investing in Communities Fund, we are providing £3,671,900 between 2023-26 to 16 RSLs to support the delivery of projects that include activities such as family support, food insecurity support, training and skills development and financial capability support.

Welfare and Debt advice services are critical for supporting communities across Scotland. That is why in 2024-25 the Scottish Government has allocated £12 million to support welfare, debt and income maximisation advice services. This investment includes support for the Advice in Accessible Settings Fund, which delivers advice within or alongside a range of other services. This year the fund is supporting a wide range of organisations, including 20 RSLs, to provide advice to their tenants and clients.

Housing support enables tenants to live as independently as possible in their communities and is a key part of the work delivered by RSLs. These services are commissioned locally through Health and Social Care Partnerships and Local Authorities, as they are best placed to assess and respond to local needs.

We are also widening responsibility for homelessness prevention through the Housing (Scotland) Bill. Services such as tenancy sustainment, welfare rights and housing support are already key features of the work RSLs do with their tenants. We want to build on this so there is a consistent, robust and sector wide approach across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-30386

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-20679, S6W-22695 and S6W-24757 by Neil Gray on 31 August 2023, 15 November 2023 and 1 February 2024 respectively and question S6W-27001 by Mairi McAllan on 7 May 2024, whether it will provide an update on the establishment of the advisory group required under section 29 of the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020.

I am pleased to announce, in line with the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020, six individuals have agreed to become members of the Ministerial Advisory Group. They have a broad range of knowledge and expertise relevant to providing Ministers with advice on the objects, conduct and performance of the Bank.

I will host the first meeting of the Group in due course.

Full details of the Group’s membership can be found at https://www.gov.scot/groups/scottish-national-investment-bank-ministerial-advisory-group.

Question reference: S6W-30269

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the legal status is of seasonal agricultural workers housed in caravan accommodation on agricultural land, with regards to that accommodation.

The rights that a worker has in tied accommodation will depend on the type of tenancy or occupancy agreement in place. If an employer gives an employee accommodation as part of the job and the employee has to live there to be able to do the job, they may have a Service Occupancy agreement. Rights will depend on what is written in the employment contract and will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. However, if an employee has a Private Residential Tenancy, then they will have the same rights as a private tenant.

Question reference: S6W-30651

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what timescale the Scottish Ministers follow for the consideration of all planning applications that they receive.

Scottish Ministers have an initial 28-day period from when an application is notified to them to consider whether to call it in or clear it back to the authority. This can be extended should Ministers require more time to consider the matter. Ministers can also recall an appeal for their own determination and do so in exceptional circumstances.

When an application is called in or an appeal recalled, Ministers aim to issue decisions on cases within 2 – 3 months of receiving the independent Reporter’s report from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division. These are targets, not statutory deadlines, and these timescales can sometimes increase where there are more complex issues involved.

Question reference: S6W-29304

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of an increase in NHS Ayrshire and Arran's accident and emergency waiting times with reported figures for June 2024 showing its lowest monthly performance on record over the past eight years.

As with Health Services across Scotland and the rest of the UK, NHS Ayrshire & Arran are experiencing sustained pressure on their Urgent Care Services with some patients waiting longer than we would wish. I recognize that NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s A&E performance in June was below the level I and the Board expect. It is important to note that fluctuation in performance figures is not unusual. Monthly figures for July show that Ayrshire & Arran’s performance increased by more than five percentage points and was the Board’s highest monthly performance this year.

Through our Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme we continue to support NHS Boards, including NHS Ayrshire & Arran, to improve patient flow through acute sites and reduce A&E delays. Key actions include: strengthening arrangements to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions such as Same Day Emergency Care services; optimising Flow Navigation Centres; enhancing the discharge process - focusing on discharge planning; and reducing length of stay.

Question reference: S6W-30489

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations of Shelter Scotland and Engender's recent joint report, Gender and the Housing Emergency, what engagement has it had with (a) local authorities and (b) third sector organisations to develop print and online resources for women experiencing domestic abuse that detail their housing options and signpost to sources of support.

Through Equally Safe, we are working closely with local government and third sector partners to ensure victims and survivors of domestic abuse are aware of all sources of support. This year we are providing over £7.5m to Women’s Aid groups in Scotland, through our Delivering Equally Safe Fund, that provide vital and sometimes lifesaving support through a range of channels, including online and print materials. In addition to this we are also supporting Scotland's Domestic Abuse & Forced Marriage Helpline with over £550,000 funding to also ensure this information is widely available to those who need it.

The Scottish Government also funds the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, which provides online guidance on legal and housing options available to women experiencing domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-30378

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many eviction order applications from private landlords were (a) submitted to and (b) granted by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland in each year since 2019, broken down by the local authority area in which the property was located, for each local authority area in the West Scotland parliamentary region.

(a) The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) has published the number of applications for eviction received in their Scottish Tribunals Annual Reports. For ease of reference, this is set out in the following table.

Financial year	Received
2019 - 2020	1742
2020 - 2021	767
2021 – 2022	1251
2022 – 2023	2252
2023 - 2024	2687

(b) The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) are the relevant body in relation to processing eviction applications and determinations in Scotland. They are, therefore, best placed to answer how many eviction orders were granted in each year since 2019.