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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-17772

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of student withdrawals from (a) college and (b) university courses have been (i) male and (ii) female in each year since 2020.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) publishes information on college withdrawals, as well as retention statistics for undergraduate courses at colleges and universities.

These statistics are measuring different things and are not comparable.

College withdrawal statistics (Chart 10) : College Performance Indicators 2020-21 (sfc.ac.uk)

College and university retention statistics (Background Table 3) : Report on Widening Access 2020-21 (sfc.ac.uk)

Question reference: S6W-16710

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on maintaining the monarch as the head of state in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-17766

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16796 by Siobhian Brown on 21 April 2023, whether it can provide an estimated or intended year for the implementation of the restricted days of the supply and use of fireworks and pyrotechnic articles, in order to allow retailers to plan ahead.

Question reference: S6W-17584

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings in the Scottish Women’s Aid and Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland report, Policies Not Promises: A review of Scottish social landlord’s domestic abuse policies, published in April 2023.

We welcome Scottish Women’s Aid and the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland’s Policies Not Promises report. It illustrates why the proposed new duty on social landlords to develop and implement a domestic abuse housing policy, as part of wider duties to prevent homelessness, is so important.

Social landlords play a crucial role in preventing homelessness and good intentions are not enough. There is good practice guidance already available to help social landlords and they must act now to support any tenants who are survivors of domestic abuse and protect their rights to stay in their home. I look forward to working closely with social landlords and other partners to ensure they improve their support and make a real, positive difference for women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-17548

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress on (a) the recommendations in the report, A Review of the Aquaculture Regulatory Process in Scotland, published in February 2022, and (b) establishing a short-term project board.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-01811 on 25 January 2023 which is available on the Parliament's website, the Official Report can be found here: Meeting of the Parliament: 25/01/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

I am pleased to update that the Scottish Science Advisory Council published the ‘Use of Science and Evidence in Aquaculture Consenting and the Sustainable Development of Scottish Aquaculture’ report on 26 April 2023.

Question reference: S6T-01384

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce violence in schools, in light of reports that three teachers and a 14-year-old pupil have been injured in a disturbance at a Renfrewshire school.

Question reference: S6W-17441

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland have been charged and subsequently convicted of owning a banned dog breed since 2013, broken down by what the court disposal was.

Information on proceedings is provided in the following tables. Table 1 shows all charges reported to COPFS under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Table 2 shows only people prosecuted where the main charge was under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Table 1

Charges reported to COPFS under: Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 S1(3)&1(7) - Possess a dog otherwise than in accordance with Act, 2013-14 to 2022-23.

	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Total	11	7	3	5	7	4	5	3	3	2

Source: Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service

Table 2

Number of people proceeded for possession of a dangerous dog, where main crime, by result, 2013-14 to 2020-21.

		2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 1991 SECTION 1(3) & 1(7)	Not guilty	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
	Community sentence	-	1	-	-	1	1	1	-
	Monetary	1	1	2	-	2	1	-	-
	Other	1	1	1	-	1	1	-	-
Total proceedings		3	3	4	-	4	3	1	-

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.

Please note: Data for 2020-21 are affected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and may not be reflective of long term trend.

Question reference: S6W-17627

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will send a representative, such as the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Scottish Game Fair in Perth from 1 to 3 July 2023.

Question reference: S6W-17737

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the number of registered veterinary surgeons, and what steps it is taking to increase their (a) presence and (b) availability in (i) rural and (ii) remote areas.

Governance of the veterinary profession is a Reserved Matter and the number of registered veterinary surgeons in the UK is available from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, the Chief Veterinary Officer Scotland chairs the veterinary delivery landscape forum, a cross-sector group that examines recruitment and retention of veterinary surgeons in Scotland.

The Scottish Government also supports the provision of veterinary services in the rural and remote rural areas of Scotland through the Highlands and Islands Veterinary Services Scheme. The Scheme ensures the provision of an adequate veterinary service to detect, prevent and eradicate animal diseases for all animals kept for agricultural purposes and belonging to crofters and others of like economic status.

Question reference: S6W-17318

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 12 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to (a) the British Property Federation report, Assessment of Scotland’s Rent Freeze and Impacts, published in April 2023, and (b) its finding that its recently introduced rent controls are further restricting the supply of new homes.

We note the recent publication by the British Property Federation, assessing the impact of the emergency Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

We recognise the importance of the private rented sector in the provision of rented housing, including homes provided through the Build-to-Rent sector, and we believe that a well-regulated private rental sector is good for both tenants and landlords.

The temporary, emergency Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 is providing additional protections for tenants during these challenging and uncertain economic times. It is important to note that there are no restrictions on a landlord setting rents at the start of a tenancy and the legislation could only ever be in place for a total of 18 months, if the circumstances demand it and with Parliamentary approval, and therefore the temporary protections should not be a deterrent to new housing development.

Scottish Ministers have a statutory duty to ensure that the emergency powers taken are proportionate in order to respond to the costs crisis and will only last as long as required. In addition, the Scottish Parliament has continued oversight of the necessity of those powers through our regular reporting on the necessity and proportionality of the measures.

In the longer term, we have committed to introducing a national system of rent control, informed by views from tenants, landlords and investors through an advisory group. We intend to introduce a rent control system which is compatible with encouraging investment and we will continue to engage with stakeholders from across the sector on our long-term commitment to develop an effective system of rent controls for Scotland.

The best way to deliver a strong rented sector is to build more affordable homes and Scotland leads the way in this area, having delivered more than 118,000 affordable homes since 2007, with 83,291 of these for social rent. We’re now working towards our target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% will be for social rent.