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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

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Question reference: S6W-22333

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider the merits of the Private Members' Bill, the Animal Welfare (Responsibility for Dog Attacks) Bill, which is currently being considered by the UK Parliament, with a view to introducing similar legislation in Scotland.

Policy responsibility for this issue is a devolved matter, and the potential introduction of any new legislation would be given careful consideration by Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government understands that the Animal Welfare (Responsibility for Dog Attacks) Bill would require a person in charge of a dog to take all reasonable steps to ensure that that dog does not fatally injure another dog. The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 already makes it an offence for a person to cause unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, however the Scottish Government is open to considering if further provision is necessary in this area.

Question reference: S6W-22025

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government’s reported plans to consult on stopping transgender people being treated in single-sex hospital wards, what its position is on implementing a similar policy in Scotland.

The Scottish Government expects everybody to be treated fairly and with respect when seeking health care. All health boards have policies in place to fulfil their duties under the Equality Act 2010.

The Scottish Government supports the appropriate use of single sex exemptions to services when it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Equality Act rests with individual organisations. The responsibility for oversight of compliance with the 2010 Act, rests with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).EHRC has issued guidance on how the Regulations should be applied in practice, including on hospital wards.

The EHRC is independent, and it cannot be directed by Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S6W-22332

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update following the public consultation on extending the animal licensing framework, particularly regarding the consideration of licensing commercial dog walkers.

Question reference: S6F-02455

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reported concerns that parents are having to give up their jobs due to childcare costs.

Question reference: S6W-21666

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the financial package that the UK Government announced for its Swimming Pool Support Fund, whether it will provide an update on what measures it has considered to provide additional support to the sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Government places great importance on community sports and leisure facilities, such as swimming pools. They are crucial to the wellbeing of all our country and most importantly, for our children and young people to be healthy and active.

sportscotland are working with local and national partners to help them assess the impact of any potential facility closures and these discussions will continue over the coming weeks and months.

In addition, sportscotland are supporting Scottish Swimming to undertake the Scottish Swimming Facilities Project. This is a detailed piece of work to accurately understand the current pool provision and life cycle, and to predict the landscape in the short, medium, and long term. This important piece of work can help inform future investment decisions both nationally and locally to ensure sustainable facilities, in the right places, to serve their local communities’ needs.

We are fully aware that local authorities are facing challenging financial circumstances, particularly in the maintenance and operating of facilities such as swimming pools, largely due to energy costs and other cost of living pressures.

The 2023-24 Local Government settlement of £13.5 billion provides a cash increase in day to day spending of over £793 million, a real terms increase of £376 million. As confirmed in the Autumn Budget Revision on 28 September 2023, all consequentials available from the UK Spring Budget have now been allocated, with the Local Government Settlement increasing by £254 million accordingly. It is for democratically elected Councils to manage their own budgets and to make decisions on the priorities in their local communities.

Question reference: S6W-21667

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 20 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure the ability for the equal provision of services and facilities across all local authorities through the shared priorities that it hopes to agree in its proposed new deal for local government.

The Verity House Agreement sets out our joint vision with COSLA for a more collaborative approach to delivering our shared priorities for the people of Scotland. We have agreed three shared priorities - tackling poverty, just transition to net zero and sustainable public services - and recognise that local flexibility will be required to maximise impact.

The Agreement also highlights the importance of mutual trust and respect and promotes the maxim of "local by default, national by agreement" whilst recognising the benefits that consistent national approaches can bring for people and communities.

Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities and how to manage their own budgets within this national framework.

Question reference: S6W-21664

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 20 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-02470 by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 September 2023, whether it will provide a breakdown of where it has allocated the additional Barnett consequential funding to, including how much has been allocated to (a) local authorities and (b) fund other priorities, such as social security.

Question reference: S6W-21665

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what changes in its budget it is considering to prevent any further closures or reduction of essential community facilities and services.

The Verity House Agreement will better enable local and national government to work together to achieve better outcomes for people and communities across Scotland. The Scottish Government will continue to work in partnership with COSLA to agree a more detailed programme of work, a fiscal framework, and an accountabilities and monitoring framework, to underpin the Verity House Agreement in the coming months.

Decisions on future local government finance settlements will be the subject of negotiations with COSLA on behalf of all 32 local authorities and will be announced as part of the outcome of future Scottish Budgets.

Question reference: S6W-20739

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much it has spent to date on its challenge of the decision of the UK Secretary of State for Scotland to issue an order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 in respect of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

The costs incurred in this legal challenge are the necessary price of protecting democracy and devolution in Scotland. On 19 April 2023 I undertook to publish the costs of this action once it is completed, and as the member will be aware the substantive hearing in this case was held in the Court of Session earlier this week. In the spirit of transparency and accountability we will publish the costs accrued by the Scottish Government, up to and including those associated with this week's hearing, once they are available.

Question reference: S6W-20740

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether a recorded police warning (RPW) is an appropriate disposal for the offence of assault, in light of the reported decision by Police Scotland to issue a RPW to an individual for an alleged assault during an incident in Aberdeen on 23 July 2023.

The RPW scheme is intended to provide police officers with a timely and proportionate means of dealing with offending which meet the criteria of being lower-level offending in terms of the Lord Advocate’s guidelines.

Those guidelines provide general principles which should be followed when an officer is considering whether to issue an RPW.

Officers have operational discretion to issue an RPW if they consider that appropriate in all the circumstances. An alternative would be for the officer to report the matter to the Procurator Fiscal.

Although the Lord Advocate’s guidelines are confidential, Police Scotland’s published guidance provides additional instruction to officers on when RPWs can be used.