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-27933

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to have a national integrated ticketing system for public transport in place and operational before the end of the current parliamentary session.

The Scottish Government has already introduced a national smartcard that can be used across all modes of public transport. The National Entitlement Card ( saltire card) is available to any Scottish resident and, since 2019, can be used across Scotland for any operator that provides a compatible smart ticket. This platform is also used for the national concessionary travel schemes, with approximately 170m smart journeys taken each year.

Our refreshed Smart Delivery Strategy will be published in summer 2024, outlining our programme of work in the coming years. This includes exploring development of options for a new national integrated ticketing system to reflect passenger desire for progression to integrated contactless and digital ticketing. We will encourage operators across all modes to participate in these options for a new system that could offer multi-modal fare capping, removing the need to think about a ticket for each leg of the journey, potentially building on the five regional integrated ticketing schemes that are available in Scotland, led by operators and local transport authorities.

The strategy aligns with the work of the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board (NTSAB), established in November 2023, to advise on national technological ticketing standards that will support a new integrated system, as well as delivery of smart ticketing measures from the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. With NSTAB’s advice, a business case will be developed, which will consider the timescales and costs of delivering a national integrated ticketing system.

Question reference: S6W-27919

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of any financial support that it has provided to (a) small, (b) medium-sized, (c) large and (d) start-up businesses in the Edinburgh Eastern constituency in each of the last five financial years.

The Scottish Government is keen to promote a culture of entrepreneurship.

Scottish Government business support is provided by our enterprise agencies, utilising a range of support mechanisms. Scottish Enterprise provide business support in the area which includes the Edinburgh Eastern Constituency.

Scottish Enterprise systems do not hold tags for UK or Scottish parliamentary constituencies. Accordingly, as a proxy, the postcodes for the Edinburgh Eastern constituency were used to identify businesses in that constituency to which payments were made. It is also not possible for Scottish Enterprise to break down the payments according to size of business as they do not hold company size in our finance system

£	Financial Year
Funding Type	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	Grand Total
Grant Contribution	1,030,835	1,853,866	719,756	525,259	818,095	4,947,811
New Investment	980,505	1,316,627	356,259	1,065,670	1,559,996	5,279,057
Grand Total	2,011,340	3,170,493	1,076,015	1,590,929	2,378,091	10,226,868

Scottish Enterprise can be contacted via their or you can reach them on 0300 013 3385 every Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Question reference: S6W-27927

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has engaged with (a) universities, (b) Universities Scotland, (c) the Scottish Funding Council, (d) the Department for Education and (e) any other part of the UK Government regarding contingency planning in the event that a university in Scotland becomes bankrupt, and whether it has plans in place to deal with such an incident.

The Scottish Government are in regular discussions with the Scottish Funding Council about the financial sustainability of the university sector. These discussions consider sector risks and plans and seek to strengthen our collective approach.

Additionally, I last met with University Chairs on 5 March 2024 at which a range of topics of importance to the sector were discussed. In addition to regular meetings with Universities Scotland (US), I met with US, the Scottish Funding Council and PriceWaterhouseCoopers on 29 May to discuss the short to medium term financial sustainability of universities in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27925

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update the Parliament on its work to split the role of the Lord Advocate, and whether this work remains one of its priorities.

I refer the member to the answer to question PQ S6W-27235 on 17 May 2024. 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 .

The Scottish Government has announced it will consult on whether the prosecution and government functions of the law officers should be separated.

Question reference: S6O-03608

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that homeless women are not safe in hostels.

Question reference: S6W-27932

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to retain the commitment to active travel spending by 2024-25, as outlined in the Bute House Agreement.

Since 2021, we have seen year on year increases confirming record breaking funding in Active Travel. However, the significant pressures on public finances, including the failure of the outgoing UK government to provide more capital funding for Scotland in its Spring budget, means that there are real challenges in progressing our ambitions to invest in infrastructure, particularly for my portfolio. Consequently, difficult decisions about how and where to invest our capital for transport projects had to be made and continue to be kept under review.

Nonetheless, the Active Travel budget for 2024-25 was confirmed as £220m, a 16% increase on 2023-24. While the Bute House Agreement came to an end in April 2024, the Scottish Government remains committed to delivering on our ambition to increase investment in and participation in walking, wheeling and cycling.

Question reference: S6W-27922

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) NHS Lothian, (b) the City of Edinburgh Council and (c) other relevant authorities regarding the reports of non-surgical Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedures taking place in the city, which led to the local authority issuing a public warning on 25 April 2024.

The Scottish Government was approached by NHS Lothian, the City of Edinburgh Council and Public Health Scotland to make it aware of issues regarding Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedures taking place in Edinburgh.

The Scottish Government invited an environmental health officer from the City of Edinburgh Council to the Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group meeting on 25 March 2024 to provide the group with further details.

The decision to issue a public warning regarding these procedures rested with, and was made by, the City of Edinburgh Council.

Question reference: S6W-27921

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will publish the findings of its most recent consultation on restricting promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt.

The consultation on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt closed on 21 May 2024.

Work is underway to procure an independent analysis of the consultation feedback. The feedback received will be used as part of the policy decision-making process, alongside a range of other available information and evidence. It is anticipated that the final report will be available for publication in late autumn.

Question reference: S6W-28002

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27604 by Tom Arthur on 28 May 2024, when its (a) ministers and (b) officials last met with the UK (i) Department for Business and Trade, (ii) Department for Work and Pensions and (iii) Government to discuss Scotland's long-term labour market strategy, and what the outcomes were of any such meetings.

Ministers and officials have regular engagement with the UK Government on labour market matters.

Scottish Government officials meet regularly with Department for Work and Pensions officials from Job Centre Plus to discuss a range of operational and strategic issues as we collectively shape the approach to employability delivery in Scotland. Scottish Government and DWP officials also attend the Access to Work Stakeholder Forum, which last met on 8 May 2024 and discussed research undertaken by Inclusion Scotland on people’s lived experience of using Access to Work.

A notable example of recent constructive engagement was collaborative work with DWP to develop messaging for employers to promote the benefits of Fair Work. The most recent quarterly meeting between Scottish Government officials and the Department for Business and Trade focussed on new Flexible Working legislation.

We continue to call for employment powers to be devolved. Securing the full range of powers in relation to employment will enable the Scottish Parliament to fully implement policies that will best meet Scotland’s distinct needs. These powers would enable us to create fairer workplaces, enhance workers’ rights in Scotland and help shift the curve on poverty and deliver upon our shared ambition for a fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-28003

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27513 by Neil Gray on 28 May 2024, whether it can provide a breakdown of the spend incurred by NHS bodies on PR and consultancy bills over the last five financial years, broken down by (a) NHS board, (b) spend category, (c) the company or organisation that received funding and (d) the purpose of any such funding.