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-16820

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential public health implications of the closure of the charity, HIV Scotland, including any impact on the Scottish Government’s target to achieve zero HIV transmissions in Scotland by 2030.

HIV Scotland, along with all our third sector organisations, have made a significant contribution to Scotland’s goal of eliminating HIV Transmissions by 2030.

We were saddened to hear of the decision to close the organisation, and thank HIV Scotland for their support for people living with HIV in Scotland, and their valuable input across the sector.

Whilst their contribution will be missed, Scotland has a number of other excellent third sector organisations who share our ambition to eliminate HIV transmission within Scotland by 2030, and to improve the lives of those living with HIV. By working in partnership, I remain confident that we will meet those goals.

As one example, HIV Scotland were previously funded to lead the HIV self-test pilot which expands testing services so people can order a test in the privacy of their own home. Terrance Higgins Trust will now be funded to provide the service and mitigate any risk to the at-home testing service.

Question reference: S6W-16591

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to the reintroduction of the lynx species in suitable remote areas, and what recent discussions it has had with (a) NatureScot and (b) other stakeholders, such as the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, on this matter.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that reintroductions of native wildlife can play in meeting our nature restoration ambitions, but has no current plans to reintroduce lynx or any other large carnivorous species into Scotland. We have not recently engaged with stakeholders, including the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, on this issue.

Anyone seeking to reintroduce lynx or another species into Scotland would require a licence from NatureScot. Thus far, no licence applications for the reintroduction of lynx have been submitted.

Should a licence application be made in the future, the Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations sets out the process that NatureScot would be required to follow in considering whether any translocation or reintroduction project may be appropriate. This includes the need to give consideration to benefits and risks, whether of a biological or socio-economic nature.

Question reference: S6W-16844

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the day-to-day responsibilities will be of the recently-appointed Minister for Independence.

Question reference: S6W-16799

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of the potential impact that advancing generative artificial intelligence will have on the economy and labour market in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has been investigating the potential impacts of AI on our economy and labour market for over five years.

In 2018 , Technological Change and the Scottish Labour Market , a joint Scottish Government and Scottish Trades Union Congress report, already considered AI.

Between 2019 and 2021, evidence on this topic was generated as part of the development of Scotland’s AI Strategy , which included impact assessments, an online public consultation, a citizen engagement programme and expert working groups, including one on the skills of the workforce.

The 2021 Digital Economy Business Survey highlighted key challenges faced by businesses and the importance of supporting a strong technical infrastructure for Scotland.

The 2022 Digital Economy Skills Action Plan details how we intend to ensure all sectors work together to support the people of Scotland in our move to a digital and AI-enabled economy.

Recent press coverage has made Generative Artificial Intelligence a focus of debate on economic and labour market impact. The Scottish Government also follows other strands of AI research which might be expected to have similar levels of impact – like Computer Vision and Causal AI. The impacts of any of these innovations may have many common considerations.

Experts from the Scottish AI Alliance’s Leadership Group will continue to inform and challenge our actions in this area in the coming years, in the face of accelerating technological innovation including generative AI specifically.

Question reference: S6W-16822

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of any trends relating to the protected bat population, including the common pipistrelle.

Through NatureScot, the Scottish Government supports the National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP). The NBMP is a world-leading citizen science programme which produces population trends for British bat species.

Population trend information for bats in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK can be found in the NBMP

The 2021 Annual Report outlines that populations of the bat species monitored are stable or recovering and that “current legislation and conservation action to protect and conserve bats is being successful, and it is vitally important that this continues.”.

Question reference: S6W-16695

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many drones have been (a) recorded flying in or above Scottish prison estates and (b) seized by prison authorities, in each year for which data is available.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Since January 2022, there have been 20 instances of drone activity being recorded over or inside the prison estate, out of which there were been 6 physical drone recoveries. SPS systems cannot provide information prior to this date as incidents before January 2022 are not categorised to allow this information to be extracted. The rising number of incidents involving drones has now resulted in closer monitoring and recording of these incidents.

Question reference: S6W-16830

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the recruitment (a) process and (b) timeline for appointing Police Scotland’s next Chief Constable, including any discussions that it has had with the Scottish Police Authority on this matter.

The Scottish Police Authority has launched a recruitment campaign on Friday 31 March 2023, looking for a new Chief Constable to lead the second largest police service in the UK, after Sir Iain Livingstone QPM announced his intention to retire in the summer of 2023 at a meeting of the Authority on 23 February.

The deadline for applications is Friday 28 April. The Authority expects to announce a successful candidate in June 2023. This will be a fixed term appointment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years.

The appointment process has been reviewed and approved by the Scottish Police Authority’s People Committee. A Selection Panel has been convened which will be chaired by Martyn Evans, Chair of the Authority and will include Fiona McQueen CBE - Member, SPA, Joe Griffin - Director-General, Scottish Government, Angela Scott - Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council, Independent Member, and Martin Hewitt QPM, Former Chair, National Police Chiefs Council – UK Policing Professional. Craig Naylor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland and Lynn Brown OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Authority will be advisors to the panel and observe its discussions with candidates.

The appointment is subject to the approval of the Scottish Ministers.

The former Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans met with the Chair of the SPA and the Chief Constable on 22 March and they discussed the arrangements for the recruitment campaign, transition plans and timing.

Question reference: S6W-16794

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to regulate the legal services profession.

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on the 20 April 2023.

The overarching policy objective of the Bill, which builds on the existing regulatory framework, will, if passed, provide a modern, forward-looking regulatory framework for Scotland that will best promote competition, innovation, and the public and consumer interest in an efficient, effective, and efficient legal sector.

Question reference: S6F-02046

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 April 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to new Police Scotland statistics showing that the number of recorded rapes has increased to its highest level in six years.

Question reference: S6W-16934

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent estimate it has made of the level of illegal mobile phone use by individuals in charge of a vehicle, and what steps it is taking to address this.

Observational studies covering Great Britain are carried out on behalf of the Department for Transport every four or five years. The latest of these was undertaken in 2021 and published in July 2022.

There is a significant amount of data in the tables but the headline figures are:

Observed mobile phone use (held to ear or held in hand)

	Great Britain	England and Wales	Scotland
All vehicle drivers	1%	1%	0.9%
Car Drivers	0.8%	0.9%	0.7%

Mobile phone use is identified as one of the ‘fatal five’ by road safety professionals, and campaigning has been consistent for many years. In Scotland, in recent years, this has been undertaken as part of the ‘Drive Like Gran’s in The Car’ campaign, and scheduling would normally support Police Scotland enforcement activity.

Road Safety Scotland (RSS) ran the ‘Mates’ distraction ad from 25 October - 30 November 2021 on TV, radio, video-on-demand, social and digital channels. When the new legislation came into force last year, RSS ran the new G-Force gran mobile phone ad throughout March 2022 on digital channels, video-on-demand, radio and social.