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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-24388

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the First Minister and/or Deputy First Minister will meet with each cabinet secretary to discuss what progress has been made against the objectives detailed in their mandate letter for the financial year 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-24384

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action the First Minister would take if a cabinet secretary does not meet the objectives set out in their mandate letter for the financial year 2023-24.

The First Minister constantly keeps the performance of cabinet under review and meets regularly with his Cabinet Secretaries to discuss objectives. Should it arise that a mandate letter objective has not been met, the First Minister will hold a discussion with the Cabinet Secretary in question to (a) understand the reasons for the objective not being met and (b) agree the most appropriate next steps.

Question reference: S6W-23966

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consult on potentially changing the status of Holyrood Park so that access restrictions can be changed or removed.

The Scottish Government delegated the management of Holyrood Park to Historic Environment Scotland as a Property in Care. When considering potential changes to any Property in Care, Historic Environment Scotland ensures that the local community, as well as the relevant experts, are consulted. The Holyrood Park public consultation ran from 26 September to 19 December 2023, and once the results are analysed this will inform the development of any proposals for change. Health and safety remains paramount and I will continue regular engagement with Historic Environment Scotland regarding the effective management of the Properties in Care.

Question reference: S6W-23967

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will take steps to reopen the “Radical Road” in Holyrood Park.

The Scottish Government delegated the management of Holyrood Park to Historic Environment Scotland as a Property in Care. This delegation includes decision-making relating to the ‘Radical Road’ which was closed in 2018 following significant rockfall and it has remained closed to minimise the health and safety risk posed by the active threat of rockfall. Historic Environment Scotland advised that there have been a number of further rockfalls on to Radical Road since the closure.

While managing the Park, Historic Environment Scotland is legally obliged to comply with all relevant legislation, of which health and safety is particularly important. Historic Environment Scotland has to ensure the health and safety of its visitors, staff and contractors.

Historic Environment Scotland also has a duty of care to people entering the Park, under the Occupier’s Liability (Scotland) Act 1960, in relation to dangers caused by the state of the Park, as well as a general civil law duty of care. The Occupier’s Liability legislation and the general duty of care were central in the decision to close Radical Road.

The risks in relation to the ‘Radical Road’ and other areas of Holyrood Park will be routinely re-assessed by specialist geotechnical engineers, and potential mitigating measures considered to inform future plans.

Question reference: S6W-23968

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what barriers exist to potentially changing the status of Holyrood Park so that access restrictions can be changed or removed.

Without further information about which status the member is referring to, it is difficult for the Scottish Government to provide any further information about the applicable procedure, as this could range from a statutory procedure set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 to a change in the legislation applicable to the Park in the Holyrood Park Regulations 1971 (as amended in 2001 and 2005). These regulations were made under the Parks Regulation Act 1872 and the Parks Regulation Amendment Act 1926, both of which are still in force.

There are also vehicular access restrictions in place for the Park. Some of these, such as the speed limit and the restrictions on commercial vehicles, are required by the Holyrood Park Regulations. Others, such as the road closures during the day on Saturdays and Sundays, have been introduced by Historic Environment Scotland in order to manage the safety of the Park users as well as improve visitors’ enjoyment of the Park.

For more clarity, I would advise the member to contact Historic Environment Scotland directly with her specific enquiry at chiefexecutive@hes.scot so it can offer a thorough and tailored response.

Question reference: S6W-23964

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with Historic Environment Scotland regarding the legislative and regulatory frameworks associated with Holyrood Park.

The previous Minister for Culture, Neil Gray MSP, and Lorna Slater MSP (in a constituency capacity) met with Historic Environment Scotland in May 2022 to discuss specific issues relating to the management of Holyrood Park around speed limits and car parking.

I, and wider Scottish Government officials continue to meet with Historic Environment Scotland regularly to discuss a broad range of issues which affect our many and varied Properties in Care. The most recent regular meeting was held on 13 December.

Question reference: S6W-23965

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to potentially changing the legislative framework to increase flexibility in the management and operation of paths and roads in Holyrood Park.

The Scottish Government delegated the management of Holyrood Park to Historic Environment Scotland as a Property in Care. When considering potential changes to any Property in Care, Historic Environment Scotland ensures that the local community, as well as the relevant experts, are consulted. The Holyrood Park public consultation ran from 26 September to 19 December 2023, and once the results are analysed this will inform the development of any proposals for change. Health and safety remains paramount and I will continue my regular engagement with Historic Environment Scotland regarding the effective management of the Properties in Care.

Question reference: S6O-02988

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the City of Edinburgh Council to discuss its housing emergency declaration.

Question reference: S6W-23786

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker on 9 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has made any commitments to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals within its functions, and, if so, what commitments it has made.

One of our Strategic Change Objectives outlined in the SPCB Strategic Plan is ‘Adapting for a sustainable future’. This focuses on reducing our carbon emissions and embedding Sustainable Development thinking across the parliament.

Our Sustainable Development Plan includes work under two key pillars - Climate Change, and Enhancing Scrutiny. Work in these areas is supported by a third pilar on engagement and embedding sustainable development thinking.

We are systematically using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to help us identify priorities in our sustainability work, and use this to help evolve our related training and engagement. This includes a course related to the SDGs and the role of Parliaments – developed by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which is available to MSPs, MSP staff and SPCB staff regarding the SDG and the role of Parliaments.

Within the SPCB we are mapping Parliament’s strategic goals to the SDGs identifying the top priorities and the leadership required to embed them into the organisation. The outcome of this work will help us to shape the Session 7 Strategic Plan. We are publicly committed to being Net Zero Ready by 2038 at the latest and we have created a related Climate Change Adaptation risk assessment and action plan.

As part of the Scrutiny pillar, we are delivering the Conveners Group Session 6 strategic priority on climate change and net zero. There are seven areas of work to strengthen scrutiny of climate change across the Scottish Parliament. These include reviewing parliamentary processes and procedures, commissioning research to illustrate how climate change impacts on policy areas across subject committees and further rolling out of the Sustainable Development Impact Assessment tool. This is part of the work to develop a model for parliamentary scrutiny of climate change. This wider work includes enhancing engagement with diverse research evidence and expertise, embedding public participation, strengthening connections with strategic partners and sharing good practice. SPICe is publishing an updated blog on this work in January 2024.

Our Sustainable Development Performance Manager and Senior Analyst (Climate Change Scrutiny) would be delighted to meet with you to discuss more fully our work on Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Question reference: S6O-02900

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its cross-government co-ordination on islands policies, what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding any impact on island communities of its proposed EPC reforms.