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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: S6T-01726

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that all people who were potentially wrongfully convicted as a result of the reported Horizon scandal are supported in coming forward if they wish for their conviction to be overturned.

Question reference: S6W-23937

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the provision of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) from NHS Tayside and the subsequently reported removal of the cross-border referral of Scottish essential tremor patients to NHS England services, what plans it has to redirect any funding towards aiding a national commission for MRgFUS services across NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-02940

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the proposed closure of 29 police stations across Scotland on antisocial behaviour.

Question reference: S6W-23363

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to improve the reporting and recording of Islamophobia in schools, colleges and universities.

The Scottish Government is clear there is no place for Islamophobia or racism in our schools, colleges or universities. Discrimination or prejudice of any kind is unacceptable and must be addressed quickly whenever it arises.

A consistent and uniform approach to recording and monitoring incidents of bullying in schools was introduced in 2019. Guidance for local authorities and schools on recording and monitoring bullying incidents was produced to support the approach. The Bullying and Equalities Module on SEEMiS, the schools management information system, was updated to reflect the new approach. The list of characteristics that can be reported on within SEEMiS includes incidents where race or religion was a factor.

Our Behaviour in Scottish Schools research, which published on 28 November 2023, provides information on the frequency with which staff are dealing with racist incidents towards pupils or themselves. Our work on Racism and Racist Incidents, which is part of the Anti Racism in Education Programme, will provide further guidance for schools on recording and monitoring racist incidents, including incidents of Islamophobia.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published a report earlier this year, which asks higher and further education institutions to address the most pressing persistent inequalities in the tertiary education system, including islamophobia, by contributing to a set of National Equality Outcomes (NEOs). We expect higher and further education institutions to prioritise, and demonstrate progress against these NEOs, in line with their reporting requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Additionally, in 2021-22, the Scottish Government supported the Fearless Glasgow collaborative in a pilot on the use of Report and Support, an online reporting system for incidents of islamophobia, gender-based violence and other issues, which is now in use at a number of universities across the UK.

Question reference: S6W-23522

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it has taken to date to implement the recommendations of the Report of the inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland by the Cross-Party Group on Tackling Islamophobia, in light of it being more than two years since the report was published.

The Scottish Government welcomed the publication of ‘Scotland’s Islamophobia’ – the report into Islamophobia in Scotland by the Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Tackling Islamophobia, and will continue to carefully consider the recommendations made.

The report shines a light on some serious issues faced by our Muslim communities in Scotland and we are committed to ensuring that Islamophobia is not tolerated. The Scottish Government is funding and working closely with organisations working to tackle racist and religious intolerance, as well as improve the lives of minority ethnic and religious communities in Scotland.

I have committed to attend a meeting with the CPG in early 2024 to discuss interventions to tackle Islamophobia in Scotland, including the recommendations within the CPG report ‘Scotland’s Islamophobia’.

Question reference: S6O-02898

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether urban areas will be included in its land reform legislation.

Question reference: S6W-23193

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of incidents in Scotland of children drowning, in light of data from the 2022 Active Lives Survey reportedly showing that only 34.7% of children from low-income families in some parts of the UK are able to swim 25 metres unaided, compared with 76.4% children from high-income families.

The Scottish Government believes that every child should be given the opportunity to learn to swim, it is a life skill that can save lives.

While the Active Lives Survey relates to England only, we recognise that children living in areas of deprivation may be less likely to be able to swim. We have been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, sportscotland and Scottish Water to develop interventions and approaches to provide opportunities for children to become confident, safer and competent swimmers. Inclusion has been central to the approach and there is a specific focus on targeting areas within quintile 1 of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. Four Delivery Pilots have taken place to support schools to understand and consider different approaches on how best to support young people to access school swimming. An evaluation, available here , has been published and we will work with Scottish Swimming and sportscotland to utilise the learning from these pilots to consider the best approach for a continued roll out of a national framework for school swimming.

Our Water Safety action plan which focuses on key initiatives to improve education, data, local area water safety planning and incident reviews, was updated in June 2023.

Question reference: S6W-23365

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to ensure that initiatives regarding Islamophobia in Scotland pay specific attention to any gendered nature of Islamophobia.

Question reference: S6W-23364

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure scrutiny of Education Scotland and the Race Equality Action Plan, in light of the recommendations of the report of the public inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23267

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered targeting funding to ensure that people in Scotland who have recently been granted refugee status will not become homeless and/or potentially vulnerable to trafficking, in light of the UK Government reducing the notice period for leaving asylum accommodation to seven days.

Under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, asylum applicants are entitled to receive asylum support for a prescribed period after they have been notified of the decision on their asylum application, for positive decisions this remains 28 days. As far as the Scottish Government is aware, the UK Government has not changed the prescribed period and it remains at 28 days.

However, we are aware that there have been issues with communication of decisions from the Home Office to the accommodation provider and local authorities which is impacting provision of information and support for people at the end of their period in asylum accommodation.

The Scottish Government has also raised concerns about the impact of the UK Government’s Streamlined Asylum Process. I wrote to the UK Government on 28 October 2023 to request urgent funding for local authorities and to work constructively with them to ensure that people receiving a positive asylum decision are supported to move-on from asylum accommodation. I am awaiting a response.

People in Scotland who have recently been granted refugee status are entitled to access homelessness support from their local authority. Most funding for homelessness is provided through the local government settlement. In addition to this, the Scottish Government have provided local authorities with £52.5m since 2018 to support the implementation of rapid rehousing transition plans and provide £30.5m annually for their work to prevent homelessness.