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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-02176

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support responsible and ethical tax collection practices.

Question reference: S6W-16571

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently in prison beyond their original sentence, and whether it will provide a breakdown of the reasons in each case.

A prisoner serving a determinate sentence cannot be held beyond the end of that sentence.

If a person is given an indeterminate sentence the judge must, by law, set a punishment part of the sentence. This is the minimum time the person must spend in prison before they can be considered for release into the community by the relevant Parole Board.

As of the morning of the 3rd of April 2023:

233 (31%) of the 756 serving a life sentence, and
168 (75%) of the 224 serving other indeterminate sentences (i.e. Order of Lifelong Restriction or Imprisonment for Public Protection)

remained in custody beyond the period of the punishment part of their sentence.

SPS do not hold information centrally on the reasons why Parole Boards have not recommended release for these individuals.

Due to the small number of prisoners serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), these have been combined with Orders of Lifelong Restriction (OLR) to prevent the identification of individuals.

Question reference: S6O-02157

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what additional fiscal measures it will put in place to reduce inequality in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-16572

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether all drugs that are approved for prescribing on the NHS are available to be prescribed to people in prison.

Question reference: S6W-16574

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the range of drugs available for prescribing to prisoners is consistent across all prison estates; whether it will outline any variations and what the reasons are for these, and what body is responsible for deciding what drugs are available for prescribing in each prison estate.

The range of drugs that exist for clinicians to prescribe to people in prison across all prison estates is the same as those available to NHS patients across the same geographical areas (Health Boards).

There may be some difference in what the first line and second line formulary recommendations are in each of the Boards, with these differences being attributable to local variation in assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) is responsible for approving all medicines for use in the NHS in Scotland. Once a medicine has been approved by the SMC it is then considered for addition to the local formulary by the Boards Area Drugs and Therapeutic Committee (ADTCC). The ADTCC is a statutory committee of the Board with responsibility for the safe and effective use of medicines in that Board.

All medicines approved for use in the NHS in Scotland are available to all people in prison regardless of location, through the same processes that are available to the non-custodial population.

Question reference: S6W-15992

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that operations are to be contracted out on the Caledonian Sleeper when it is brought back into public ownership, what parts of the service or operations will be contracted out; which companies will be contracted for which part of the service or operations; for how long each contractor will be contracted for, and how much each contractor will be paid for the services that they provide over the course of their contract.

Question reference: S6W-15993

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether all elements of the Caledonian Sleeper operations will be brought in-house when it is taken back into public ownership in June 2023, or whether some will be contracted out.

From 25 June 2023, all elements of the Caledonian Sleeper operations undertaken by Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd will be delivered by Caledonian Sleeper Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd . Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd is a company wholly owned by the Scottish Government

It will be a matter for Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd and Caledonian Sleeper Ltd to determine the optimum arrangements post mobilisation of the Operator of Last Resort (OLR) arrangements.

Question reference: S6W-15800

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the (a) conclusions and (b) findings from all stages of the National Speed Management Review.

Question reference: S6W-15801

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its current position is on HGV speed limits.

In Scotland the speed limit for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in built up areas is 30 mph. On single carriageway it is 40 mph, dual carriageways is 50 mph and on motorways 60 mph.

In addition, the HGV speed limit on single carriageway sections of the A9 between Perth and Inverness was raised to 50 mph on 28 October 2014.

HGV speed limit policy is being considered as part of the National Speed Management Review, later this year we will consult with stakeholders and the public to gather and consider their views on future changes to speed limit policies and speed management measures.

Question reference: S6W-15896

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce its decision on the Outline Business Case for the Monklands Replacement Project, which was submitted to its Capital Investment Group in December 2022.