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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 3365 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-15703

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all children and young people have an alcohol-free childhood.

Our Alcohol Framework (published 20 November 2018) sets out our priorities for preventing alcohol-related harm. There is a strong focus on reducing health inequalities and protecting children and young people from alcohol-related harm.

A key action in the framework is to consult on potential restrictions on alcohol advertising and promotion in Scotland this year to protect children and young people. Our consultation, which has now closed, was informed directly by young people’s voices, gathered through projects by the Children’s Parliament and Young Scot Health Panel.

The consultation will be independently analysed before any potential proposals are put forward for consultation.

Question reference: S6W-15712

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to alcohol marketing, what its response is to the Young Scot Health Panel's recommendation to (a) prohibit alcohol-branded sports merchandise, including sponsorship on replica kits, (b) offer accreditation to "family friendly" sports venues that reduce the alcohol advertising on display, place limits on the number of alcoholic drinks a person can buy and host at least six alcohol-free sporting events per year, and (c) avoid close shots of people drinking alcohol in footage of crowds during televised sporting events.

It is crucial that the voices of children and young people are at the heart of developing our next steps on alcohol policy.

Our recent consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion directly references the recommendations of the Young Scot Health Panel. It contains questions on potential restrictions on alcohol sponsorship of events as well as potential restrictions on alcohol-branded merchandise.

The consultation closed on 9 March. An independent contractor will comprehensively analyse the responses and publish a report. We will then further consider possible restrictions.

Question reference: S6W-15711

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position on any role that alcohol marketing plays in encouraging problem drinkers to consume alcohol.

As our recent consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion set out, there is evidence that those who drink heavily have increased susceptibility to alcohol marketing and that this can translate into drinking behaviours. For those in recovery, alcohol marketing can be a trigger which threatens their recovery and can be responsible for relapse.

The consultation closed on 9 March. An independent contractor will comprehensively analyse the responses and publish a report. We will then further consider possible restrictions.

Question reference: S6W-15624

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions regarding the proposed Scottish Deposit Return Scheme have (a) the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, (b) the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport and (c) any other Scottish Government minister had with the UK Government.

The Scottish Government has been following the agreed process for excluding the deposit return scheme regulations from the Internal Market Act.

We first raised the issue with the UK Government in 2021, and on 28 February 2023 we published correspondence and a timeline setting out the steps that have been undertaken to secure an exclusion. .

On 6 March I met with Ministers and Senior Officials from each UK administration at the inter-ministerial group on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ask for an urgent decision from the UK Government for securing an exclusion from the Internal Market Act.

I will keep Parliament updated on further developments.

Question reference: S6W-14801

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 March 2023

��˿��

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a list of any disused train (a) stations and (b) lines that it is currently considering reopening.

��˿��

Transport Scotland has a highly successful record of reintroducing stations and routes to the network, reconnecting and bringing new opportunities to Scotland’s communities. These include the Airdrie to Bathgate line and the Borders Railway, and most recently, the reopening of Reston Station. A new station at East Linton is expected to open before the end of this control period. Work is well underway on the Levenmouth Railway, which will enter service in 2024, reversing historical closure and returning stations and new journeys and economic opportunities to the communities surrounding Leven and Cameron Bridge.

Question reference: S6W-15716

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15314 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 March 2023, how much funding has been allocated to local authorities to enable them to forgive school meal debt since 1 January 2022.

The Scottish Government has not allocated funding to local authorities specifically for school meal debt since 1 January 2022.

As referenced in the answer to question S6W-15314 on 6 March 2023, the management of debt is an issue for education authorities and their finance departments.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-15472

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendation in the Wise Group report, Lifting People out of Fuel Poverty in the United Kingdom, what discussions it has had with the UK Government, as it may relate to Scotland, on introducing a permanent ban on forced prepayment meter installations.

The Scottish Government remains opposed to the forced installation of pre-payment meters, and we welcome Ofgem’s recent announcement that suppliers will not be restarting prepayment meter installations next month, as previously intended. Scottish Government officials are engaging with Ofgem on its current review of guidance for suppliers on the use of pre-payment meters to ensure that the rights and interests of Scottish consumers are fully considered.

Question reference: S6W-15908

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much sewage has been discharged by Scottish Water into bodies of water in (a) North Lanarkshire, (b) South Lanarkshire and (c) Falkirk since 2021.

Scottish Water operates 151 waste water treatment works (WWTW) in North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Falkirk areas. These WWTWs treat waste water to comply with mandatory standards before returning the water to the environment. These WWTWs operate to standards set out within licences issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations 1994 and the . Scottish Water also operates a large sewer network which includes Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), which are also licensed. These are designed to spill storm water in extreme weather conditions to protect homes and businesses from flooding when the network is operating at full capacity. Scottish Water reports the spill data that it is required to under the terms set out within sewer network and WWTW licences. This reported information is also available on-line for the period 2017-2021 and the data for 2022 will be available by the end of March 2023 at

Question reference: S6W-15514

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will raise the issue of the proposed Rosebank oil field development at the next meeting of the Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change Interministerial Group

Question reference: S6W-15903

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much drilling equipment used by oil and gas companies has been discarded in the North Sea since 2010.