Parliamentary questions
Stephen Kerr
2,595 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
3 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Scotland relies on base load nuclear generation and imports from England, in light of its policy against the building of new nuclear power stations under current technologies.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Scotland is a net exporter of electricity to the rest of the UK - the UK relies on the electricity that Scotland generates to deliver its net zero targets and its ambition to deliver clean power by 2030.The National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) is responsib…
3 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding whether its current trajectory on social security spending is fiscally sustainable, in light of the findings of the recent Scottish Fiscal Commission Fiscal Sustainability Report.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We are proud of the investment that we are making in benefit expenditure. Based on the latest Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts, the Scottish Government anticipates to spend around £8.8 billion on Social Security Assistance by 2029-30.The additional …
3 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers have been refused permission to work second jobs in the past five years.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The assessment of requests and permission for officers seeking additional jobs or business interests are matters for the Chief Constable.The Scottish Government values the dedication shown by police offi…
3 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will monitor and enforce the return to use of thereported 43,000 long-term empty properties.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government monitors the numbers of empty homes annually when it publishes the statistical bulletin on empty properties, unoccupied exemptions and second homes. The data is sourced from council tax base returns collected from local authorities and…
3 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the reason why hundreds of police officers are reportedly having to work second jobs.
Answer · Angela Constance: The assessment of requests and permission for officers seeking additional jobs or business interests are matters for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland has confirmed that an assessment is undertaken of every application for additional business interests, ma…
3 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it held with auction markets before implementing the bluetongue virus (BTV-3) movement restrictions.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government has hosted regular meetings with representatives of livestock markets and other key stakeholders since the first cases of Bluetongue Serotype 3 (BTV-3) were identified in England in autumn 2024. This is in addition to attending regular…
3 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any economic losses to Scottish farming from the bluetongue virus (BTV-3) movement restrictions.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Government's Centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC) to conduct research into the economic value of live cattle and sheep movements cross-border from the extended England-Wide Bluetongue restric…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the value for money of the reported £3.8 million that it spent on its net zero marketing campaign.
Answer · Shona Robison: Marketing expenditure of £3.8m was spent on the Let's Do Net Zero campaign, covering the period from its development in 2020-21 through to the current financial year 2024-25.This campaign is delivered as part of the Scottish Government’s Climate C…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Scottish Water's reported call to ban wet wipes that contain plastic.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government has prioritised action on marine litter through the Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland. We published our refreshed Strategy in September 2022, which sets out a co-ordinated approach to address the amount of litter entering the marine …
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies on freedom of speech in higher education.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Universities are autonomous bodies and operate within a legal framework which places duties on them to uphold freedom of speech and academic freedom, most notably under the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Higher Education Governance (…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a full breakdown of the advertising and consultancy fees for the reported £3.8 million spent on its net zero marketing campaign.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have asked for. This is because payment data available for reporting from the Scottish Government financial management system does not provide the level of detail needed to breakdown the individual ite…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its funding decisions have contributed to any reduction in police capacity.
Answer · Angela Constance: Scottish Government funding in 2024-25 enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception, and Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales.Furthermore, the Scottish Government has in…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Scotland's approach to wildfire management, what its response is to reported calls for better fuel management and controlled burning.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: I visited the site of a wildfire in Carrbridge on 17 July and I appreciate the concerns about muirburn licensing scheme with regard to fuel loads. I would like to repeat my thanks to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the gamekeepers, land managers, volunt…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its reported target to deliver 40,000 additional operations and diagnostic tests each year by 2026, what proportion of these it currently anticipates will be delivered within that timeframe.
Answer · Neil Gray: The commitment to deliver 40,000 additional operations and diagnostic tests was set out in the NHS Recovery Plan published in 2021. Progress reports have been published annually, the most recent being in December 2024: NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026: annual prog…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the projected cost overrun is for the five new national treatment centres.
Answer · Neil Gray: The development of the National Treatment Centre programme is currently paused, therefore there are no revised costs for the five projects. As part of our Scottish Spending Review, the Scottish Government are undertaking a full review of our capital spending …
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether prostitution is a form of violence against women, and what legislative steps it is taking to address this issue.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government’s Strategic Approach to challenge demand for prostitution and improve support for those with experience of it reinforces the clear message that there is no place for the exploitation of any individual, and that prostitution is re…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the importance of naval contracts for shipyards in Scotland, and how it reconciles this with its policy to not use public money to support the manufacture of munitions or weapons.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The shipbuilding sector plays a vital role in supporting jobs and driving economic growth across Scotland. We are committed to promoting manufacturing and innovation, and Ministers continue to engage with businesses in the sector as part of that commitment.Sc…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many jobs in Scotland are reliant on the naval shipbuilding programme.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Details of defence programme contractual arrangements, including associated jobs, are reserved and a matter between individual companies and the UK Government. Information on contracts awarded through the UK Government Ministry of Defence are published and pu…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what due diligence it undertook prior to it reportedly approving £300,000 of public funding for the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Answer · Angus Robertson: Ministers took the decision on 28 March 2025 to provide this funding for the Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) to support their Schools Programme.This programme aims to provide each of the 5,000 children participating annually with a range of free,…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost to Scotland’s economy of poor mobile connectivity.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Telecommunications policy, which includes mobile connectivity, is currently reserved to the UK Government. Whilst the Scottish Government has not conducted any analysis on the economic impacts of poor mobile connectivity, we do recognise the social and econom…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on prisoners being allowed to watch 18 certificate films while in prison.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:As the Agency Accountable Officer, I am accountable to the Scottish Ministers for the day-to-day operations of SPS, this includes, but i…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is appropriate for prisoners convicted of sexual violence offences to be allowed to view sexual content while in prison.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39151 on 24 July 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on …
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that 73 police officers have been accused of sexual offences in the last five years.
Answer · Angela Constance: Bullying, harassment and unacceptable behaviour of any form cannot be tolerated within society or within policing. Police officers do an incredibly difficult job and the vast majority conduct themselves with integrity and professionalism. However, when things…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it will take to address the reported 52% increase in police officer mental health absences over the last three years.
Answer · Angela Constance: Officer wellbeing is an operational matter for Police Scotland. I refer the member to my response to S6W-35420 on 17 March 2025 and S6W-37984 on 9 June 2025.The Chief Constable has stated to the Criminal Justice Committee that the wellbeing of police officers…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the appropriateness of it providing a grant to the Edinburgh International Book Festival shortly after the appointment of the former Chief of Staff to the First Minister as a festival director.
Answer · Angus Robertson: Funding was approved for the school programme of the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 28 March 2025, some months prior to the appointment referred to.Edinburgh International Book Festival have confirmed that appointments to their Board for directors, …
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers subject to allegations of sexual misconduct currently remain in post.
Answer · Angela Constance: Addressing allegations of sexual misconduct is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it (a) can do and (b) is doing to support the Type 26 and Type 31 frigate orders being delivered at the Clyde shipyards.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The shipbuilding sector plays a vital role in supporting jobs and driving economic growth across Scotland. We are committed to promoting manufacturing and innovation, and Ministers continue to engage with businesses in the sector as part of that commitment.We…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will accelerate the roll-out of at-home cervical cancer testing in order to reduce any health inequalities.
Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38966 on 22 July 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is provided to victims of police sexual misconduct.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is taking robust action to tackle sexual offending through the Equally Safe Strategy – focusing on prevention, improving our laws, and encouraging more victims to come forward. The Scottish Government has provided funding of over…
2 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that some deaf children who attend private school are not being provided with the required support from local authorities.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: All children and young people should receive the support they need to reach their full potential. Independent schools have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with disabilities. The Scottish Government encourages paren…