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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-18328

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any plans to (a) implement the scheme for funding for alternative dispute resolution and (b) establish a pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court under the Children (Scotland) Act 2020.

Sections 23(7) and 24(4) of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 place a duty on the Scottish Ministers to lay six-monthly reports before Parliament setting out why the duties to (a) implement the scheme for funding for alternative dispute resolution and (b) establish a pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court are not yet fulfilled, and stating when implementation is expected.

To date the Scottish Ministers have laid four such reports before Parliament and these have been published on the Scottish Government website. The latest report is available here:

Children (Scotland) Act 2020 - section 23(1) and section 24(1): fourth report on the Scottish Ministers' duties - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6O-02338

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there are any gaps in Scots law in relation to tackling image-based sexual abuse.

Question reference: S6F-02201

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 June 2023

To ask the First Minister whether any objections or concerns were raised by the Scottish Ministers during the deliberations about the guidelines for sentencing under-25s, which came into effect in January 2022.

Question reference: S6W-18052

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools are (a) eligible and (b) registered for the Equally Safe at School programme, as of May 2023.

Our Equally Safe strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls (VAWG) emphasises the importance of challenging the underpinning attitudes which enable such violence to take place.

The Equally Safe at School (ESAS) project, developed by Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance, applies a whole school approach to inequality and gender-based violence in schools. Every secondary school in Scotland is eligible for ESAS. Rape Crisis Scotland have reported that currently 77 schools are registered with an ESAS account. Rape Crisis Scotland is continuing to work with local authority education leads, VAWG partnerships and other third sector partners across Scotland to encourage and support schools to engage with ESAS.

We also fund and support other education-based programmes and initiatives aimed at tackling violence against women and girls and the attitudes which perpetuate it such as; the Mentors in Violence peer education programme, the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning, the Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group and Rape Crisis Scotland’s national sexual violence programme for secondary schools.

Question reference: S6W-17720

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with (a) the leader and (b) councillors of Glasgow City Council to discuss reported concerns raised by business leaders regarding the Low Emission Zone, which is soon to be introduced in the city.

Transport Scotland officials have not met the leader of Glasgow City Council regarding the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), however officials continue to meet with councillors and officials on a regular basis. As part of the LEZ governance structure, Transport Scotland convenes several LEZ working groups, including the LEZ Leadership Group.

The LEZ Leadership Group is chaired by Scottish Ministers and held every six months. The group is made up of convenors/councillors and senior officials from the four local authorities implementing LEZs. Topics raised at the Leadership Group include (but are not limited to), LEZ support funding, city specific topics, operational matters and risk.

Throughout the LEZ consultation process both Transport Scotland and the four local authorities have listened to the views of businesses. The minimum and maximum grace periods reflect feedback from stakeholders, including the Federation for Small Businesses.

Whilst the Scottish Government has set the national framework for LEZs, it is for local authorities to design their LEZs as they see fit, which includes choosing an enforcement timeline (and associated grace period) which best fits their city.

Question reference: S6O-02245

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to help educate children and young people about any dangers of online pornography.

Question reference: S6W-17049

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether women in perimenopause or menopause are prescribed testosterone in cases where they are showing symptoms that research has shown to benefit from such treatment.

No testosterone products are currently licensed in the UK for use in women. We are aware that some NHS menopause specialists are following prescribing advice from the British Menopause Society (BMS) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and prescribing testosterone off-label (out with the terms of its current licence) for individual women who are experiencing a loss of libido during menopause.

The decision to prescribe a medicine, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of an individual’s care, having considered the individual’s clinical condition and any associated safety considerations. This includes prescribing a medicine off-label.

Question reference: S6W-17048

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it (a) has had and (b) will have with the UK Government regarding the licencing of testosterone for women in perimenopause or menopause.

The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with the UK Government on the licensing of testosterone for women in perimenopause or menopause. The regulations for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines are currently reserved to the UK Government and are the responsibility of the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

For a medicine to be routinely prescribed, it firstly needs to receive a licence from the MHRA. It is the responsibility of individual companies to apply to the MHRA for a marketing authorisation (licence). The application process requires a company to provide data demonstrating the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicine.

Question reference: S6W-16521

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to rolling out HPV self-sampling, and whether it would expedite any such process if the UK National Screening Committee were to make a recommendation to this end.

The Scottish Government remains committed to exploring the implementation of HPV self-sampling, acknowledging the potential that it has to increase uptake levels and reduce barriers to cervical screening. As introducing a new screening test into the National Screening Programme is inherently complex, a working group has been convened to assess potential models and understand any required changes to the screening programme to support an initial roll-out. This work is being informed by emerging evidence from UK and global research, and will put us in a strong position to consider how any recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee (NSC) can be implemented in Scotland.

While the NSC recognises the potential benefits of self-sampling, it has concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend implementation. Studies are underway to gather further evidence, but it is not yet known when the NSC may make a positive recommendation. Additionally, it is unclear when the work to assess and validate a test for HPV self-sampling in the UK will be complete.

Question reference: S6O-02181

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce financial incentives to encourage households to install low-carbon heating in their homes, to help reach net zero by 2045.