Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

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 ��˿�� 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-35070

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the reasons for the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General having recused themselves from any role in relation to consideration of possible proceedings resulting from Operation Branchform.

Question reference: S6W-35071

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether the Lord Advocate plans to name the Advocate Depute who has lead responsibility in relation to consideration of possible proceedings resulting from Operation Branchform; if it has this information, whether it will provide the name of the Advocate Depute, and, if not, for what reason it is not able to provide this information.

As head of the system for the prosecution of crime as Lord Advocate, I remain accountable and responsible for every case, regardless of not being personally involved.

Prosecutors take decisions independently, free from political influence or external interference, relying on evidence and the law in accordance with the principles set out in the Prosecution Code.

It is standard procedure that the identity of prosecutors considering individual cases is not publicly known until a case progresses to court.

Question reference: S6W-34508

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-34507

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-34505

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 11 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what system is being used to select the new head of the civil service in Scotland; who and which organisations are involved; whether it will set out the procedure in detail, and what the timespan for the appointment is.

All civil service appointments are governed by the Civil Service Commission () whose remit is to ensure that selections for appointment to the UK Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Commission’s (paragraphs 44 – 48) explain that Permanent Secretary competitions are chaired by the First Civil Service Commissioner (or nominee), who will be responsible for ensuring that Ministers are fully involved in competitions in which they have an interest and that their views are relayed to the panel, and taken into account.

In the case of the appointment of the Scottish Government Permanent Secretary, the process is run by the Cabinet Office, with close co-operation from the Scottish Government People Director. The First Minister is consulted throughout the process and makes the final selection decision from the appointable candidates, in consultation with the Head of the Civil Service and the First Civil Service Commissioner. The recruitment process is currently underway and is expected to be concluded by the end of February 2025.

Question reference: S6O-04308

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much it estimates will be paid in compensation for the properties to be compulsorily purchased to further the progress of the dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Auldearn, including the Nairn Bypass, and when that process will be completed.

Question reference: S6W-32786

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 28 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the judgement of Lord Pentland in the case of The Scottish Ministers v The Scottish Information Commissioner (case reference number XA10/23), which states that the Scottish Ministers accepted that they (or their officials) could gain access to the information held by James Hamilton, whether it will provide, where possible, the names of any of its officials that (a) had such access and (b) used such permissions to access the inboxes of secretariat members, as stated in the judgement.

As set out in the information disclosed by Scottish Government on 26 October 2024, several Scottish Government officials had permissions to access the mailbox used by Mr Hamilton’s secretariat. The reason they were granted access was for business continuity purposes, for example if there were an urgent business requirement in the case of unexpected absence. The individuals who had permissions to access the mailbox were permanent civil servants. To comply with data protection principles the names of those civil servants are not disclosed.

Question reference: S6W-32785

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the fifth supplementary question to question S6T-02254 by Jamie Hepburn on 17 December 2024, when the Minister for Parliamentary Business will issue the response that he stated would be provided "in due course".

In his question to me in the chamber on 17 December, the Member asked about the handling of a Freedom of Information request made to the Scottish Government in April 2021, which sought information regarding James Hamilton's investigation under the Ministerial Code (see: ).

The Member has corresponded with the Scottish Government on a number of matters relating to this issue. On 17 December I was aware that the Member was awaiting the Scottish Government’s response to his letter of 20 November, specifically regarding the costs of legal advice in relation to these matters. The Scottish Government’s response to the Member’s letter of 20 November was subsequently issued on 19 December. This is the response referred to in my answer.

Question reference: S6T-02250

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reported delay in the publication of the A96 Corridor Review document, three months after it was understood to be provided to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, is acceptable.

Question reference: S6W-30594

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the possible introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers, as set out in the 2024-25 Budget, whether it (a) has assessed and (b) will assess the potential impact on support for new or renewal ballots for business improvement districts from those firms liable for the new levy.

The Scottish Government has not assessed the specific impact of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on support for new or renewal ballots for Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and there are currently no plans to do so. However, the Scottish Government continues to engage with a broad range of stakeholders to understand the impact of Non-Domestic Rates policies and would welcome any contributions from Improvement Districts.