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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.

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Question reference: S6W-22017

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the reported recommendation that Higher Education widening access targets should take regional context and under-represented areas into account.

We fully recognise that we have more to do, and all institutions have to work hard to ensure students from deprived areas receive opportunities to achieve their potential.

The Scottish Government is engaging with the sector to develop a consistent and robust set of measures to actively identify students who would benefit from our Widening Access policy.

We have established an Access Data Short-life Working Group to consider proposals and to investigate other widening access measures and data sources alongside existing SIMD measures. The group is due to report its findings to Ministers this autumn.

Question reference: S6O-02721

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of police station closures on police response times.

Question reference: S6W-22265

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 1 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the decision to reinstate the £6.6 million reduction of the Creative Scotland budget.

Over the last five years, Scottish Government has provided over £33m to Creative Scotland to compensate for the continuous shortfall in National Lottery funding.

As a result of rising costs and pressure on budgets across government, we are unable to make up the ongoing shortfall this year.

On 27 September the Board of Creative Scotland agreed to provide £6.6m for this financial year from its funding reserves, which totals £17m, to cover the shortfall in National Lottery funding. Therefore this means that none of Creative Scotland’s Regularly Funded Organisations will receive reduced funding this financial year.

Subject to the usual Parliamentary processes we will provide the National Lottery shortfall funding of £6.6m to Creative Scotland in 2024-2025.

Question reference: S6W-22232

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 31 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding increasing the frequency of media campaigns that raise awareness of the tactics that online romance scammers use to exploit their victims and the steps that individuals can take to avoid falling for such scams.

The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the impact that scams can have on individuals, including those who are vulnerable to the activity of online romance scammers.

While we have not held any direct discussions with Police Scotland about romance scams, we continue to work with partners on scams prevention and to support the publication of a regular CyberScotland Bulletin (available at cyberscotland.com) which provides information on the latest cyber threats, scams and news. We also supported a media campaign run by Advice Direct Scotland last year to raise awareness around romance and companionship scams.

I would urge anyone who becomes aware of any suspicious activity relating to romance scams to contact ADS on 0808 164 6000 and urge anyone who feels they’ve been a victim of online romance scammers to report it to Police Scotland by calling 101.

Question reference: S6W-22011

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 31 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to tools other than the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) as a measure for widening access to higher education.

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is currently the national measure of progress on widening access to higher education, as was recommended by the Commission on Widening Access in its final report, A Blueprint for Fairness, in 2016.

Higher education institutions currently use a range of criteria to identify widening access students, but we recognise that there may be other suitable measures to work alongside SIMD.

Scottish Government has established an Access Data Short-life Working Group to consider proposals and to investigate other widening access measures and data sources. The group’s membership comprises a range of stakeholders, including Colleges Scotland, Universities Scotland, Scottish Funding Council, and further and higher education institutions. The group is due to report to Ministers this autumn.

Question reference: S6F-02497

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on waiting times for post-cancer breast reconstruction surgery.

Question reference: S6W-22239

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the publication of the Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2022-23 statistics has reportedly been postponed to March 2024.

Publication of the 2022-23 edition of the Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland statistics has been postponed from November 2023 to March 2024. As outlined within the previous 2021-22 publication, Scottish Government statisticians are undertaking work with Police Scotland to review the methodology for the production of these official statistics, to determine if any future changes in approach could add value. The short postponement of the publication allows us additional time to complete this exercise. We will keep users updated with any new developments via ScotStat and any changes will be highlighted within the next bulletin.

Question reference: S6W-21709

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is promoting the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme to GPs ahead of its full launch.

A programme of communications and engagement is planned to promote the launch of the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme. This will include working with key stakeholder groups, and through their networks, raising awareness of the scheme and encouraging take up by General Practices.

We recognise the value of this scheme and are working to ensure that awareness of the scheme is optimised among both General Practices and their patients.

General Practises keen to be involved can contact gp-afv@gov.scot for more information.

Question reference: S6W-22001

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its timeline for a permanent solution to the issues on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful.

We are committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful. Delivery of a permanent and resilient solution is a priority and we will continue to seek ways to achieve that as quickly as possible.

We continue to progress design work at pace and the announcement on 2 June 2023 of the preferred route option through the Glen Croe valley is a very important milestone in finding a solution to this long-standing problem. The proposed new debris flow shelter will help protect the road and road users from future landslides.

The next step for the project is the detailed design and assessment of the preferred option. This is progressing at pace and should conclude by the end of 2024 with the publication of draft Orders for comment. Progress following publication of draft Orders will depend on the level and nature of any representations, including objections, to the published draft Orders.

As with all our infrastructure projects, construction of the long term solution can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory authorisation process and thereafter a timetable for construction can be determined. It is, however, estimated that construction of the preferred route option will take three to four years, including an allowance for possible stand down time due to bad weather.

Question reference: S6W-21849

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 13 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to accelerate (a) the Single Building Assessment programme and (b) remedial works to ensure that buildings are safe.

The cladding remediation programme has already made good progress in identifying and assessing safety issues and planned legislation through the Cladding Remediation Bill will help also us to address barriers to remediating unsafe cladding that presents a risk to life. We are also committed to undertaking a stock survey and work is underway to risk assess and prioritise the 105 buildings in the pilot programme to ensure that they are on a pathway to Single Building Assessment by summer 2024.