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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-01975

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost to the public purse will be of private finance initiatives and public private partnerships in 2023-24, and how this compares to 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-14606

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any interim findings will be made available by Police Scotland regarding its ongoing pilot project in the west of Scotland to train officers to recognise gambling addiction and screen people in custody.

Question reference: S6O-01941

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle cybercrime.

Question reference: S6O-01903

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 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 rural and island communities of the closure of outdoor education centres.

Question reference: S6W-14028

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether Amey, North Ayrshire Council or both are responsible for keeping the A78 free of detritus from Gailes to Skelmorlie.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, litter collection and clearing detritus is the responsibility of the Local Authority even when the road is a trunk road (but not a motorway or specified a ‘Special Road’ that has particular regulations which dictate permitted vehicle use). Consequently, the responsibility for clearing litter and detritus on the A78 remains with North Ayrshire Council.

Question reference: S6O-01849

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what specific training is provided to help serving police officers deal with members of the public who have mental health issues.

Question reference: S6F-01719

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to encourage people to become foster carers, following reports that only 40 of 400 children referred to Barnardo’s fostering service in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been placed with families in the last year.

Question reference: S6O-01757

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers to be the educational impact of open plan classrooms on primary school children.

Question reference: S6O-01718

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of air pollution is on mental health.

Question reference: S6W-12563

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the potential impact on Scotland will be of the closure of the UK Office of Tax Simplification.

Whilst the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is a UK Government body, many of the taxes within its remit apply across the whole of the UK, including Scotland. The OTS provides an independent and objective perspective on taxes such as Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax, which apply in Scotland and are widely considered to be complex and in need of reform.

One of the principles of good tax policy making set out in the Scottish Government's Framework for Tax is ‘convenience’, which states that "tax policy should be as simple, clear and straightforward as possible and opportunities to streamline the tax system should be taken where they arise." The UK Government's decision to close the OTS contrasts with this principle and the Scottish Government's approach to tax policy. The closure was announced without consultation or notice and has led to bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Taxation to call for the decision to be reversed – a call the Scottish Government agrees with.