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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: S6O-00272

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how its policies and actions across government will take account of the key findings and recommendations of the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission published earlier this week.

Question reference: S6W-03324

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 14 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the commitment made by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People on 19 May 2020 regarding the provision of additional support to young carers.

We have invested around £1.3 million since October 2019 through our Young Carer Grant, the first support of its kind in the UK, and have heard from young carers how this has helped make a difference to their lives and helped them access more opportunities.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, we have implemented a range of additional measures to respond to the needs of young carers. As well as making alternative arrangements for the Young Carer Festival and providing extra funding for young carer services during the pandemic, we have invested an additional £100,000 into the Time to Live Fund to enable young carers to take a break from their caring role, and an extra £300,000 to expand the Young Scot young carers package for 11-18 year olds which provides access to non-cash benefits like free subscriptions and e-vouchers to leisure activities and rewards. Many of these are designed to support good mental health. We continue to target promotion of mental health resources for young people such as #AyeFeel, and have been working with young carers to create a young carer specific page for the National Wellbeing Hub. Young Scot ran a social media campaign to raise awareness of young carer issues among trusted adults who may work with or encounter young carers, focused in areas with the lowest sign up to the package.

We continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders including the National Care Organisations, Young Scot, Education Scotland and COSLA to help us collectively identify and address the needs of young carers. Young carers can find out about Young Carer Grant through many of these mechanisms. And, in line with our Benefit Take-up Strategy, we have promoted Young Carer Grant through regular social media posts and dedicated promotion on key dates like the first anniversary since the launch.

Question reference: S6W-03358

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 13 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it reviewed the human rights implications of Police Scotland's work in Sri Lanka, and whether it will publish the paper that was presented at a meeting of Police Scotland’s International Development Board on 19 May 2021 regarding its work with the police force in Sri Lanka, which led to a decision at that meeting to pause the programme.

The work of Police Scotland’s International Development and Innovation Unit and the papers presented at meetings of their International Development Board are a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, who is operationally independent of the Scottish Government. The decision to enter into UK Government funded contracts to train police forces in countries such as Sri Lanka is also a matter for the Chief Constable with the Scottish Police Authority having responsibility for oversight and scrutiny of his decisions.

Police Scotland has confirmed that their work in Sri Lanka is aimed to improve community policing and gender equality, with all training underpinned by equality and human rights. The training was initially paused due to the coronavirus pandemic and they are now awaiting the outcome of the review of the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment for Sri Lanka, which is the responsibility of the UK Government, so that this can be given due consideration.

Question reference: S6O-00263

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Swedish national system of collective rent bargaining through a national union of tenants would help to address any housing issues in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-03227

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms, other than local authority byelaws, it would consider appropriate to create protest-free buffer zones outside clinics that provide abortion services.

All women in Scotland should have access to abortion services without feeling harassed or intimidated when accessing these services. Local authorities may wish to consider using their byelaw powers to put in place protest-free buffer zones outside clinics that provide abortion services where the specific circumstances justify imposing those measures. We have made a commitment in our Programme for Government to support any local authority who wishes to use bye-laws in this way.

Question reference: S6W-03004

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any public funding for which it has responsibility that has supported companies that develop, manufacture or market in the arms trade in each of the last five years, also broken down by which companies received funding.

Question reference: S6O-00219

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on Afghan refugee relocation and resettlement with reference to the different elements of the New Scots Strategy.

Question reference: S6F-00220

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with ScotRail and the trade unions regarding industrial action on the network.