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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1179 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S7W-03518

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 5 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland have received a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board, whether diagnoses of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder are recorded in national datasets in a way that allows reporting, and if there is no Scotland-specific prevalence data for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder currently available, whether it will commission an active case ascertainment study in Scottish schools, to establish a baseline.

Information on the number of people diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is currently not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The recording of diagnoses and the datasets used for reporting are matters for individual NHS Boards. Information on what data is collected and whether local reporting is available should therefore be sought directly from the relevant NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to commission an active case ascertainment study. However, work underway to improve the identification of people with learning disabilities will provide information which will inform any future discussions on FASD data.

Question reference: S7W-03520

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 5 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken any economic assessment of the lifetime cost to Scottish public services of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and, if not, whether it has any plans to do so.

Question reference: S7W-03503

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 5 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made with implementing the recommendations of the Rail Enforcement Powers Working Group to address antisocial behaviour and improve safety on railways, further to its agreement in February 2026 to implement these recommendations in full.

The Scottish Government accepted all recommendations of the Working Group and continues to work with industry, policing and justice partners to progress their implementation.

Progress has already been made in a number of areas. The lifting of the ScotRail alcohol ban was implemented on 2 June 2025. In March 2026, secondary legislation increased the financial penalty for Antisocial Behaviour Fixed Penalty Notices from £40 to £70. The offence of threatening and abusive behaviour under section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 was also added to the list of offences eligible for an Antisocial Behaviour Fixed Penalty Notice.

Officials continue to engage with rail industry partners to assess the feasibility, costs and delivery timescales of the remaining recommendations and support their delivery. Further advice will be provided to Ministers in due course.

Question reference: S7W-03502

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 5 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce legislation to deliver the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to create a new offence of abusing or assaulting a public transport worker at work.

The Scottish Government remains committed to strengthening protections for public transport workers.

Work is underway to consider how best to deliver this commitment. Officials are developing advice for Ministers on the preferred legislative approach and are considering this as part of wider legislative planning.

Further details will be provided once decisions have been taken on the appropriate legislative vehicle and parliamentary timetable.

Question reference: S7W-03541

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will share the most up to date legal advice that it has received to date regarding the direct awards to Ferguson Marine.

Question reference: S7W-03538

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport has met with the Competition and Markets Authority since taking office regarding the direct awards to Ferguson Marine.

Question reference: S7W-03536

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will share any legal advice that it has received to date in relation to the direct award of contracts to Ferguson Marine.

Question reference: S7W-03537

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it first contacted the Competition and Markets Authority regarding the direct award of contracts to Ferguson Marine.

Question reference: S7W-03539

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it received legal advice before it announced the direct awards to Ferguson Marine.

Question reference: S7W-03540

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any legal advice that it received ahead of the announcement of the direct awards to Ferguson Marine supported the position that a direct award would be possible.