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

Testing questions body text for accordion

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 634 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-04307

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to maintain infrastructure on key roads.

Question reference: S6W-33319

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to help ensure that victims of trauma, either physical or mental, do not turn to illicit substance use.

Evidence confirms that substance use can be a potential consequence for those of us who have experienced high levels of trauma and adversity in our lives.

The Scottish Government’s ambition, shared with COSLA, is for anyone who has been affected by trauma to be supported by the trauma-informed and responsive support, care and services they need. These are services built on safe, trusted relationships, which foster recovery, prevent re-traumatisation and help reduce the risk that individuals and/or their families might turn to substance use to cope.

Since 2018, the Scottish Government has invested over £12 million in the National Trauma Transformation Programme (NTTP). The NTTP aims to support all sectors of the workforce, to understand how to adapt the way they work to be trauma-informed. This includes understanding how substances can be a coping strategy for the impact of trauma and embedding the principles of choice, collaboration, empowerment, safety and trust to help improve the life outcomes of those affected.

Question reference: S6W-33318

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to help ensure that menstruation is not a barrier to women and girls being involved in sports.

The Scottish Government understand the importance of sport and physical activity for women and girls in Scotland and the positive impact that has on their physical, mental, and social health, across all stages in life.

We believe there should be no barriers to participating in sport and physical activity, and we should all feel included, and able to take part and access the benefits of sport.

sportscotland’s Fit for Girls (FFG) and Young People’s Sport Panel (YPSP) tutors lead conversations and workshops on menstrual education as well work to increase awareness of the barriers to physical activity.

sportscotland’s Institute of Sport delivers tailored support services for athletes. Their internal working group, the Female Athlete Performance Group, have developed a range of resources specifically for female athletes. These are designed to support anyone working with girls and women in sport and include e-learning on the menstrual cycle in sport. These resources are available for free to all, with the ambition that all within the sporting system are comfortable having conversations about female athlete health and understand the impact on training and performance.

Question reference: S6W-33947

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to address the condition of Scotland's roads, in particular the number of potholes.

Question reference: S6W-33948

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has implemented to address violence in schools.

Question reference: S6W-33153

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 24 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its resonse is to reported concerns that elements of the new Parkhead Hub facilities in Glasgow are not a friendly environment for dementia patients.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, health boards and health and social care partnerships to manage and provide appropriate services in their area, and to engage with their communities on how this is provided.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the dementia experience, and the 10-year Dementia Strategy for Scotland recognises the critical role of community services and supports in enabling people to live well for longer following a dementia diagnosis. We are now working to realise the ambitions of this Strategy through initial activities set out in the first 2-year Delivery Plan. This includes efforts to deliver the SIGN dementia guidelines, which provides evidence-based guidance on where and how care and support should be provided across primary and secondary care settings.

Question reference: S6W-33314

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address respiratory problems that are associated with smoking illicit drugs.

We know that there are links between smoking illicit drugs and some respiratory conditions. For example, smoking cannabis can lead to chronic bronchitis and clinicians sometimes see destructive emphysema in younger people.

To prevent harm in future generations, we are taking forward education work on substance abuse in our schools through the Curriculum for Excellence. Through educating young people about substance use and the impact it can have on their life and health, this will prevent them making unhealthy choices.

As part of our cross-government response to the final Drug Deaths Taskforce Report, we are investing £1.5 million in piloting Planet Youth in up to 35 schools across eight areas in 2025. Planet Youth is a universal approach to prevention that empowers communities to take action that will work for their specific circumstances to support young people to reduce the risk of substance use and its harms.

We are committed to ensuring that anyone living with a respiratory condition in Scotland receives the best possible care and treatment and will continue to ensure this takes account of areas of particular concern relating to drugs.

Question reference: S6W-33313

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated to research by Scottish universities on alcohol and drug misuse in 2024-25.

Funding allocation to research by Scottish Universities in 2024-25 is £54,787. The National Mission is further supported by research undertaken at national and local levels by national boards such as Public Health Scotland and Health Improvement Scotland and third sector partners.

In October 2024, Chief Scientist Office (CSO) announced Phase 2 of the Reducing Drug Deaths Innovation Challenge. This £5 million partnership between CSO and UK Government Office for Life Sciences funds 7 innovation projects to address the rising issue of drug-related deaths. CSO contribute £500,000 to this partnership.

In addition, we provided funding of £52,500 to the University of Edinburgh to host the Drugs Research Network Scotland to deliver knowledge exchange activities through an annual conference and regular webinars and to monitor ongoing research activities.

Question reference: S6W-33316

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with law enforcement agencies to tackle the supply of pipes and other paraphernalia used to consume illicit drugs.

We remain committed to reducing harm for individuals from the use of unsafe paraphernalia and will continue collaborating with stakeholders and harm reduction services on this matter.

We acknowledge the risks posed by unsafe, makeshift inhalation pipes, often shared among drug users. We are working closely with Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and other law enforcement agencies through the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to address these issues.

In 2021, the Drug Deaths Taskforce advocated for expanding drug paraphernalia provision for safer consumption and urged the UK Minister for Policing to reconsider legal restrictions. Though initially rejected, Scottish Government officials are engaging with the new UK administration to revisit this matter.

Question reference: S6W-33317

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected cost is of the safer drug consumption facility, The Thistle, in Glasgow, over the next three years.

Tell us your views

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Filter your results Hide all filters

Answer

Answer

Answer

Answer

Answer

Answer

Answer

Answer

Answer

Answer