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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-27470

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the concerns raised by the group, Children's Hearings Scotland Scandal, and whether (a) the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, (b) any other minister and (c) its officials have met representatives of the group to discuss its concerns.

Ministers and Scottish Government officials have clearly and comprehensively explained the Scottish Government’s position in relation to these matters to the former panel members and their representatives on numerous occasions dating back several years. A summary of the provided information follows:

- The Children’s Hearings (S) Act 2011 provides that the terms and conditions of children’s panel membership are for the National Convener of Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS). The National Convener’s independence in discharging his functions are set out in the same statute. Scottish Ministers and Scottish Government officials have no role in decisions regarding recruitment, tenure or training of panel members and any departure from that would not be appropriate.

- The National Convener reports to the Board of CHS on the performance of his duties. Any complaints about the National Convener, members of staff within CHS, or CHS policies and procedures, should be directed to the CHS Board.

- The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has confirmed that the CHS complaints procedure is compliant with their standards. CHS has satisfied itself regarding the suitability of its complaints procedure, including taking external advice. No concerns therefore arise for Scottish Ministers or Scottish Government officials.

The Scottish Government has exhaustively explained the position and has confirmed that there is no appropriate locus for Ministers or officials in these matters, so it would not be appropriate to meet the group.

Question reference: S6W-27381

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions (a) the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and (b) her officials have had with (i) Lothian Buses and (ii) the City of Edinburgh Council regarding the reinstatement of service 69, which was originally withdrawn in 2020.

Lothian Buses provided an update on service 69 to Transport Scotland officials in 2022, noting they had no plans to reinstate the service at that time. Most bus services across Scotland operate in an open de-regulated market and have done so since the 1980s. Scottish Ministers do not have the power to intervene directly in the provision of local services. This is solely a matter for individual bus operators who use their own commercial judgement on service routes, frequencies, and vehicle types.

Lothian Buses is owned by the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian Councils. However, it is operated and managed as an arms-length commercial operation by a board of directors. It would remain a matter for the local authority to determine whether there is a social need for a bus service that is not being provided commercially. Local authorities can subsidise these at their discretion.

Question reference: S6W-27278

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 21 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to attract more airlines to establish direct routes to Scotland, and what its position is on whether its planned Air Departure Tax could be used to improve the competitiveness of Scotland's airports as hubs within Europe and the UK.

The Scottish Government has always recognised the importance of Scotland’s international connectivity. Our ambition is to make Scotland at least as well connected as peer nations. Transport Scotland, in partnership with VisitScotland and Scottish Development International, works to help Scotland’s airports secure new routes that are essential for inbound tourism, business connectivity and the economy as a whole. Recent successes include direct routes from Atlanta, Calgary and Beijing and we look forward to welcoming the arrival of a new airline for Scotland later this month, with JetBlue launching their first ever Scottish service to New York JFK.

Representatives from the cross government partnership recently took part in the route development forum Routes Europe 2024, meeting with a number of airlines to discuss future opportunities and promote Scotland as a market that can sustain more direct connectivity.

The Scottish Government recognises that tax is one factor in airlines’ decision-making on where to fly. We will review the rates and bands of Air Departure Tax prior to the implementation of the tax once a solution to the Highland & Islands exemption has been identified.

Question reference: S6W-27471

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has recently considered an independent review of the Children's Hearings Scotland system, in light of the concerns raised by the group, Children's Hearings Scotland Scandal.

None of the concerns or grievances raised by this group in respect of their own experiences within the children's hearings system justify a wider review of the well-established and highly-regarded multidisciplinary children's hearings system. More broadly, and working with system partners and with people bringing lived experience of children’s care and justice, the Scottish Government is currently engaged in redesigning the children’s hearings system. This work follows publication of the independent ‘Hearings for Children’ report in May 2023. The Scottish Government published its own response to those recommendations in December. A redesign board was established in January to progress non-legislative improvements to the system. For those improvements that require new legislation, a full public consultation on proposed reforms will take place in summer 2024.

Question reference: S6W-27380

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has offered (a) ScotRail, (b) Transport for Edinburgh and (c) bus operators any additional support to ensure that all people travelling to and from the upcoming Taylor Swift concert in Edinburgh can do so without any concerns for capacity issues on public transport.

Question reference: S6W-27382

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18553 by Emma Roddick on 14 June 2023, whether it has since received the initial findings, and whether it will publish these in due course.

The archival analysis element of the research is underway and the report is currently being drafted. We anticipate receiving the report from this work towards the end of summer 2024. The contract for the qualitative research was tendered twice but no compliant bids were received.

We intend to publish the report from the archival analysis in due course, and will work to ensure those who wish to provide feedback and share their experiences will be able to do so. We will then consider next steps thereafter.

Question reference: S6W-27379

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions (a) the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and (b) her officials have had with (i) ScotRail, (ii) Transport for Edinburgh and (c) bus operators regarding preparations for the upcoming Taylor Swift concert in Edinburgh.

Transport Scotland Officials, along with relevant transport stakeholders, routinely take part in the multi-agency Events Planning and Operations Group (EPOG) dealing with Events. EPOG is run by the City of Edinburgh Council as the lead planning authority in respect of events within Edinburgh, such as Taylor Swift.

Through the EPOG discussions, enhanced transport arrangements have been put into place across Lothian Buses, Edinburgh Trams and ScotRail services, to meet the increased demands expected at the Taylor Swift concerts.

Question reference: S6O-03460

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the impact of the updated fiscal framework.

Question reference: S6W-27279

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of any impact on bridge infrastructure of the increased weight payload of electric vehicles, in light of the forthcoming 2030 deadline for prohibiting the sale of new combustion engine cars.

Question reference: S6W-27276

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations in relation to (a) public safety and (b) transport are being taken for the upcoming Taylor Swift concert in Edinburgh, in light of the anticipated demographic of the audience being primarily younger women.

The Taylor Swift concerts are wholly commercial events and the Scottish Government has no locus for involvement. It is the responsibility of the City of Edinburgh Council as the relevant licensing authority to oversee events of this nature, including ensuring compliance by the organisers with the appropriate public safety regulations.

Like with similar major events, security arrangements including the deployment of officers is an operational decision for Police Scotland.

Enhanced transport arrangements have been put into place across Lothian Buses, Edinburgh Trams and ScotRail services to meet the increase in demand expected over the weekend. This includes adding later trains on numerous routes and providing additional carriages on existing rail services to manage the demand. There will be enhanced staffing plans and additional British Transport Police (BTP) officers in place at key locations, as well as on board trains to ensure a safe environment for passengers traveling to and from the event.