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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: S6W-32765

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what protections it will provide to non-medical aesthetic practitioners, in light of its proposed regulations for the sector.

Question reference: S6W-30390

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has carried out with Local Authority Trading Standards (LATS) to ensure that the public can have a high level of confidence in LATS reports.

Question reference: S6W-32300

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support is in place to (a) promote and (b) support access to powerchair football.

Question reference: S6W-31509

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it and COSLA have jointly considered the first year of implementation of the Verity House Agreement, in light of its commitment to do so.

Question reference: S6W-31243

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Reach Advocacy, in Coatbridge, in light of its reported request for support to become a nationally commissioned service.

On 14 May 2024 Reach Advocacy wrote to the Scottish Government requesting to become a ‘Nationally Commissioned Advocacy Training Body’. The Scottish Government replied to Reach Advocacy on 28 May 2024 seeking to fully understand the basis on which Reach Advocacy were requesting this.

On 15 October 2024 Reach Advocacy submitted a business proposal to ask for funding from Scottish Government to deliver Reach Advocacy’s ‘Advocacy Practice Award’ and human rights-based training.

This proposal was submitted for consideration to relevant directorates under the responsibility of the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, and the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport.

Scottish Government Officials from each directorate assessed that the request for funding was not the most appropriate means by which the Scottish Government’s current priorities and objectives would be achieved.

On 6 November 2024 a response was issued to Reach Advocacy to inform them of the decision and rationale.

Question reference: S6W-31135

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed consultation regarding the legal age of marriage, and family and succession law.

Work is continuing on this consultation. It covers a wide range of areas: the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership; extending simplified divorce and dissolution procedures; qualifying requirements for religious and belief bodies when they solemnise marriage or register civil partnership; a Scottish Law Commission report on cohabitant's rights following separation; and points arising on financial provision when one cohabitant dies.

We are also preparing impact assessments in relation to this consultation. We are planning to issue it within the next few months.

Question reference: S6W-30821

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to making the drug, ivabradine, available on the NHS as a treatment for postural tachycardia syndrome.

The regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is currently reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Ivabradine is currently licensed in the UK for the symptomatic treatment of chronic stable angina pectoris, and the treatment of chronic heart failure.

The use of ivabradine for the treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome is an off-label indication (where the product licence does not cover the indication for which the medicine is being prescribed). Clinicians can prescribe medicines off-label, in line with local Health Board protocols where they consider there would be significant clinical benefit for an individual.

Decisions on whether to prescribe a medicine are based on an individual’s needs and are a matter for the clinical judgement of the prescribing clinician in consultation with the individual (and where appropriate their parent/s or guardian/s), informed by advice and guidance about the medicine.

Question reference: S6O-03869

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-03844

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the regulation of dog walking services, following its public consultation on the licensing of activities involving animals.

While there was support among respondents to our consultation last year, concerns were also expressed about the proportionality and cost of such a scheme and about the capacity of local authorities to absorb and meaningfully enforce additional licensing requirements. We are therefore assessing whether less onerous and more proportionate approaches, such as registration schemes linked to codes of conduct, could deliver similar outcomes to licensing.

Question reference: S6W-29995

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle Islamophobia through education in schools.

The Scottish Government is clear that there is no place for religious or racial intolerance, including Islamophobia, in Scotland’s schools.

Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence aims to develop a society based on social justice, equality and respect, and provides opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of various forms of discrimination and their intersectional impact, including Islamophobia. The curriculum is clear in saying that responsible citizens must understand different beliefs and cultures, and have respect for others.

Education Scotland provides teachers with a range of resources to help them navigate sensitive or controversial topics, including discrimination on the basis of religious belief, and to help foster good relations. Recently their online Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework has been updated to specifically include a Developing Religious Literacy component.

In addition, by taking an intersectional approach, the work of the Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme addresses many of the issues at the heart of Islamophobia. Actions which have been taken forward include:

Developing a set of Anti-Racist Principles for the curriculum;
Providing racial literacy professional development, through the award winning Building Racial Literacy Programme;
Publishing an Anti-Racist Action Guide aimed at empowering local authorities to better support their minority ethnic workforce;
Developing guidance to address racism and racist incidents in schools, to empower the workforce to recognise and tackle racism and prejudice in all of its forms.