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 MSPs 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: S7W-04031

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government where prisoners currently accommodated within the HMP Barlinnie estate will be held following the closure of HMP Barlinnie, in light of a response to a recent Freedom of Information request which revealed that the establishment recently held 1,450 prisoners, while the replacement HMP Glasgow will have 106 fewer places with a planned operational capacity of 1,344 places.

Question reference: S7W-03882

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider establishing a national framework for recording accessible and adapted social housing.

Question reference: S7O-00339

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the operation of the early release scheme for short-term prisoners.

Question reference: S7W-03741

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, for each of the last 10 years, how many school leavers were recorded as White Scottish males from deprived backgrounds, and of those pupils how many progressed to (a) any positive destination, (b) full-time employment, (c) part-time employment, (d) further education, (e) higher education and (f) a destination that was not classified as positive.

Question reference: S7W-02864

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reintroduce previously applied local connection rules for access to social housing and, in light of reported concerns that people with longstanding connections to communities may be disadvantaged in accessing social housing, what safeguards are in place to ensure that the allocation of social housing does not unfairly disadvantage Scottish residents.

The Scottish Government has no plans to reintroduce previous local connection rules for homeless households.

Social landlords are responsible for the allocation of their housing, and each landlord’s approach is set out within their published Allocations Policy. Allocations policies give priority to homeless people and those threatened with homelessness who have unmet housing needs; people living in unsatisfactory housing conditions with unmet housing needs; and tenants occupying homes that are under-occupied. A decision to allocate housing is based on a fair, transparent and objective assessment of an applicant’s housing need.

Question reference: S7O-00288

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider a ban on all face coverings in public places, including balaclavas and the burqa.

Question reference: S7O-00154

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the night-time economy in Glasgow, including any assessment it has made of the increasing impact of tax, business costs and regulation.

Question reference: S7W-02416

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the educational materials and activities of “Educators for Peace” within the Scottish education system, including whether it has considered any potential implications for (a) political impartiality, (b) the promotion of balanced and diverse perspectives on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and (c) the wellbeing and inclusion of Jewish and Israeli pupils in Scottish schools.

Question reference: S7W-02046

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, should any Barnett consequential funding arise from the UK Government’s recent announcement that it will invest £340 million to tackle rough sleeping, and in response to calls from Crisis Scotland and Homeless Network Scotland for any such funding to be used to expand Housing First, (a) how it plans to use such funding, and (b) what its position is on taking account of the immigration status of applicants when prioritising the allocation of social housing.

The £340 million funding package to tackle rough sleeping, announced by the UK Prime Minister in July, will be met from within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s existing budget. As the funding does not constitute new departmental spending, it will not generate Barnett consequentials for the Scottish Government.

All households assessed as unintentionally homeless, are considered under the same homelessness legislation and local allocation policies. Access to social housing is determined on the basis of assessed housing need and individual circumstances, and no group receives automatic priority over others. Eligibility for certain housing and homelessness assistance is subject to immigration legislation, which is reserved to the UK Government.

Question reference: S7W-01632

Asked by: Thomas Kerr, MSP for Glasgow, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 5 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the proposed funding cut to the Women's Service at Murrays Initiative, what assessment it has made of its potential impact on women who have experienced gender-based violence, and what action it will take to ensure that specialist, gender-responsive support services remain available if the proposed reduction in funding proceeds.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of specialist, gender-responsive support for women who have experienced gender-based violence.

Funding for the Women's Service at Murrays Initiative was provided through the National Drug Mission Fund, administered by Corra Foundation on behalf of the Scottish Government. The grant was awarded for a fixed period from 2021 to June 2026 and concluded in line with the terms of the grant agreement.

We remain committed to supporting women affected by gender-based violence through wider investment in services that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls and through our ongoing commitment to improving support for women affected by substance use and related harms. We will continue to engage with partners across the sector to help ensure that women can access appropriate support.