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-37952

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities on enabling people to apply for a Blue Badge without using an online application, and how it ensures that non-digital routes are clearly publicised and accessible.

Transport Scotland is responsible for Blue Badge legislation. However, local authorities are wholly responsible for the scheme from application, administration through to enforcement.

While Transport Scotland does not explicitly define the way in which local authorities must publicise these services, Transport Scotland continues to work closely with local Blue Badge teams and reiterates the need for paper application forms, and for local authorities to raise the awareness of help offered locally to those who may need additional support during the application process.

Question reference: S6W-37951

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential data privacy implications of retaining DNA and tissue samples without explicit consent, particularly in relation to compliance with existing privacy and data protection legislation.

Question reference: S6W-37948

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what policies and procedures are in place regarding the storage, use, and disposal of tissue samples from non-suspicious deaths, and what safeguards exist to ensure that the consent and rights of the next of kin are respected.

Part 2 of the Human Tissue Act (Scotland) 2006 makes provision for post-mortem examinations for non-suspicious deaths including the requirement that any hospital-arranged post-mortem may only be carried out if authorisation is obtained from the nearest relative of the deceased or the deceased themselves in advance of death.

Failure to comply with the 2006 Act is an offence. Any authorisation given under the 2006 Act may also include such conditions as the party authorising the matter specifies, such as agreement to retain tissue samples as part of the medical record. It is the duty of those carrying out any authorised activity to do so, in so far as reasonably practicable, in accordance with the specified conditions.

The consent of the nearest relative is not required for a Procurator Fiscal-instructed post-mortem, however the views of the family will be taken into account when making a decision on whether or not to instruct a post-mortem.

Question reference: S6W-37953

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the average processing time for Blue Badge applications in the Scottish Borders, and how this compares with other local authority areas.

Question reference: S6W-38131

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the rateable value threshold for business rates relief, in light of reported concerns that approximately one third of grassroots music venues in Scotland will not qualify for relief under the current £51,000 threshold.

The Scottish Government has no plans to revisit the non-domestic rates relief policies announced for 2025-26.

In recognition of the challenges faced by smaller music venues, and the crossover with parts of the hospitality sector such as pubs and nightclubs, the Scottish Budget 2025-26 announced that music venues with a capacity of up to 1,500 will be eligible for the new 40% hospitality relief from 1 April 2025 where the property meets the other eligibility criteria for this relief, including the £51,000 rateable value threshold which aligns with the threshold for the Basic Property Rate. We estimate that up to 13,000 properties in Scotland could benefit from hospitality reliefs this year.

In addition to hospitality reliefs, the package of reliefs available in 2025-26 also includes the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous relief of its kind in the UK. Around half of the properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are expected to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief this year.

Question reference: S6W-37947

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to family consent and post-mortem tissue retention, whether it has considered updating the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 to align with changes implemented in the Human Tissue Act 2004 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S6W-38296

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken regarding (a) the financial impact that stroke will have on Scotland’s health and social care services in the next 10 years and (b) what savings can be made by investing in the expansion of the national thrombectomy service.

Question reference: S6W-37949

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 5 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider removing non-suspicious deaths from the remit of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

COPFS understands the impact that the loss of a loved one can have on bereaved families.

The Procurator Fiscal will investigate every death reported to us thoroughly and independently to establish what happened and consider whether criminal proceedings or a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) would be appropriate.

It is a strength of the Scottish system, which reflects a common European model, that death investigations are undertaken by a public prosecutor. That investigation may, depending on the circumstances, disclose a basis for criminal proceedings.

More than 13,000 deaths are reported to COPFS each year. In 2024-25, 98% of deaths where no investigation was required were closed within 6 weeks and 71% where further investigation was required were concluded within 12 weeks.

COPFS has significantly reformed its processes in recent years to improve the quality of death investigations and reduce the time taken to investigate deaths and bring FAIs to court. We are committed to identifying further improvements that can be made. A Death Investigations Improvement Board has been established to oversee all ongoing pieces of work and new proposals to achieve greater public confidence, improve the service delivered to bereaved relatives and reduce the journey time for concluding investigations.

Question reference: S6W-37964

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is a statutory requirement for local authorities to collaborate with (a) healthcare professionals and (b) independent mobility assessors in the administration of the Blue Badge scheme.

While there is no statutory requirement, the decision on whether an applicant should have further assessment is a decision for the local authority to make. Blue badge administrators may use desk-based screening tools to inform decisions and identify which applicants should be referred to regulated health care professionals.

Transport Scotland considers it good practice for local authorities to refer applicants for an independent mobility assessment, if that is required to make a clear and robust decision on eligibility.

Question reference: S6W-37950

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 5 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to expand the use of non-invasive post-mortem technologies, such as CT scanners, for non-suspicious deaths.

COPFS rely on pathology providers as the medical experts to determine the nature and extent of the examination required to establish a cause of death.

COPFS would support any proposals where evidence is provided that a particular approach would fully meet the requirements of our investigation in a timely and cost-effective manner, whilst reducing distress to families from the post mortem examination process.

The potential further use of CT scanners has formed part of regular discussions with the current pathology providers. From May 2025, Glasgow University Pathology and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board will undertake a service development pilot to investigate the potential benefits of incorporating CT scanning in Procurator Fiscal-instructed post mortem examinations taking place at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Mortuary in Glasgow. The findings of the pilot will be considered by COPFS as part of its future planning.