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-01105

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects information regarding health and safety enforcement action issued to colleges in Scotland, and, if so, whether it will provide details of any such action taken in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S7W-01106

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Scottish Funding Council regarding oversight of health and safety standards in colleges.

Question reference: S7W-01100

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the Health and Safety Executive regarding the reported findings of the unannounced inspection of the welding and fabrication department at City of Glasgow College in December 2025.

Question reference: S7W-01101

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the City of Glasgow College and the Scottish Funding Council regarding the reported findings of the unannounced inspection of the welding and fabrication department at the college in December 2025.

Question reference: S7W-01103

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken, or plans to undertake, any review of health and safety arrangements in Scotland's colleges.

Question reference: S7W-01102

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to colleges regarding the management of health and safety risks associated with welding fumes and other hazardous substances.

Question reference: S7W-01099

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, what assessment it has made of whether staff in Scotland's colleges have sufficient protections and confidence to raise any workplace health and safety concerns without fear of detriment.

Question reference: S7W-00884

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has undertaken on the use of wild or semi-wild large herbivores as a nature-based tool for insect conservation and habitat restoration.

Question reference: S7W-00883

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will evaluate recent research from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences on the impact of reintroducing large herbivores on the richness and abundance of pollinator species, and whether it has any plans to incorporate these findings into its biodiversity strategy, land-use strategy, and future rural payment schemes.

There is evidence of the benefits of large herbivore impact on biodiversity outcomes in some circumstances from a range of contexts, including in the UK. The Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan includes an action to explore how best to support optimal herbivore densities to enhance biodiversity outcomes in the uplands. We have funded the James Hutton Institute to research the effects of different domestic grazing regimes on biodiversity at the Glen Finglas Woodland Trust site for over 20 years. The results show variable benefits to biodiversity from different grazing regimes with ‘winner and losers’ under each type of grazing. Our approach is therefore to support such interventions in nature restoration projects in the right circumstances, on a case by case basis.

Question reference: S7O-00031

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it is taking forward plans to rebalance the non-domestic rates system.