Tess White

4 Mar 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support freedom of speech across the cultural sector.

3 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it provided local authorities with any guidance on single-sex spaces in leisure centres before April 2025, and, if so, what the content of that guidance was.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44045 on 17 March 2026. 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…

3 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has ever produced any guidance on single-sex spaces in leisure centres, and, if so, what the content of that guidance is.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Public bodies, including any which operate leisure centres, are expected to comply with all relevant legislation and regulations including the Equality Act 2010. It is for service providers to interpret and ensure that they meet their legal duties and they sh…

3 Mar 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has provided local authorities with any guidance on single-sex spaces in leisure centres since April 2025, and, if so, what the content of that guidance is.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44045 on 17 March 2026. 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…

25 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the social justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the protection of people's human rights in relation to new renewable energy infrastructure, including the proposed SSEN Transmission 400kV overhead power line in the North East Scotland region.

17 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what long-term plan it has to support people with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people with respiratory conditions including obstructive sleep apnoea receive the best possible care and treatment to enable them to live longer, healthier, and more independent lives.Our Respiratory Care …

10 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current state of libraries in Scotland as part of any action it is taking to protect and strengthen these services.

20 Jan 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures value for money when allocating funding within the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture portfolio.

12 Jan 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect women from rape and sexual assault in hospitals.

3 Dec 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the impact of its export growth strategy, A Trading Nation, including what metrics it has used to assess this.

10 Nov 2025 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its justification is for pursuing legal action in relation to its policy on transgender prisoners, in light of the judgment in the case, For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers.

21 Oct 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether British Sign Language receives parity of treatment with Gaelic within its Languages portfolio, in light of evidence given by stakeholders to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, as part of its inquiry into the British Sign Language (Sc…

1 Oct 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of its revised guidance on supporting transgender pupils in schools, whether it can guarantee that, effective immediately, single-sex spaces, including toilets and changing rooms, have been made available to all girls during school hours.

10 Sep 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has engaged with the Equality and Human Rights Commission in relation to the 19 public bodies and organisations that were found to have misrepresented the Equality Act 2010.

1 Sep 2025 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the steps that the Scottish Government is taking as a result of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers.

11 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36754 by Angela Constance on 8 May 2025, whether it will provide an update regarding the specific date on which it plans to lay the SSI to propose adding the characteristic of “sex” to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland)…

Answer · Angela Constance: On 28 August 2025 we laid in draft an SSI to add the characteristic of sex to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.If passed, it will make it an offence for a person to stir up hatred against women and girls, and where an offender is motivated …

11 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that people are protected against misogyny, in light of the decision not to proceed with the introduction of the proposed Misogyny Bill.

Answer · Angela Constance: To ensure there are protections for women and girls in law, we have laid in draft an SSI to add the characteristic of sex to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021. This ensures that women and girls will have the same protections as other groups …

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the £756 million in ScotWind option fees that it has received, how much of this revenue has been used to date and for what purposes.

Answer · Shona Robison: A total of £756 million was generated from the initial ScotWind leasing round.To date £96 million of this funding has been spent, all of it in 2022-23. This was used to support the overall fiscal position, with pressures set out as part of the Eme…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is doing to determine whether it will introduce a standalone offence of non-fatal strangulation.

Answer · Angela Constance: As outlined in my letter to the Criminal Justice Committee on 22 July 2025, I remain committed to giving the proposal to introduce a standalone offence of non-fatal strangulation serious consideration. As part of that process our Programme for Government deta…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Central Legal Office of NHS Scotland (a) provides cost-effective advice and (b) protects the public purse from costly litigation.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Central Legal Office (CLO) within NHS National Services Scotland provides in-house legal services to NHSScotland Boards and wider public sector organisations. They provide cost effective advice by having fees that are competitive, flexible and compliant w…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is doing to (a) prevent sexual violence in hospitals and (b) accurately record incidents of sexual assault that have been reported across the NHS estate.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We have recently published a sexual harassment guide to supplement the refreshed Gender Based Violence policy for NHSScotland. The guide has been developed to support employees who are currently experiencing or have experienced sexual harassment in the workpl…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a review of the Central Legal Office of NHS Scotland has been undertaken in the past five years, and, if so, what its conclusions were.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Central Legal Office is a department within NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). As a sponsored statutory body, NSS is subject to Annual Reviews from Scottish Government. This forms part of the overall monitoring of operational performance, governance an…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the implications of the HighCourt decision relating to Northumbria Police participating in Pride marchesfor the impartiality of school teachers in Scotland.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: It is a legal requirement for all teachers in Scottish schools to be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), the independent regulator for teachers in Scotland.Registered teachers must adhere to the GTCS Professional Standards and Co…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Grampian was allocated £7,529.48 forthe delivery of Hospital at Home in 2024-25.

Answer · Neil Gray: Last year we invested £3.6m into H@H for Older People, this funding was awarded through an application process in partnership with Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Aberdeen City requested and received £7,529.48 for 2024-25 to support the expansion…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update the Scottish Government UrbanRural Classification.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification will be updated following the release of the next Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland publication by National Records of Scotland. This is currently planned to be released in 2028,…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking with local partners to ensure that flood defence measures are rigorously tested across Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 allocates clear roles and responsibilities for managing flood risk in Scotland.Local authorities are responsible for implementing and maintaining flood protection schemes. It is up to the local authority to determ…

31 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Hospital at Home beds have been delivered acrossScotland to date, broken down by NHS board, and whether it is on track tomeet its 2,000 virtual bed target by December 2026.

Answer · Neil Gray: Published figures from Healthcare Improvement Scotland estimate that in March 2025, acute and older people’s Hospital at Home services provided care equivalent to approximately 575 beds with an assumed occupancy rate of 80%. This is similar to the size …

15 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter of 11 July 2025 from its Director of People to the human rights charity, Sex Matters, whether it will provide further details of the consultation that is referred to; when it anticipates that the consultation will start; who will be consulted; how long the consulta…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The letter of 11 July sets out that the Scottish Government internal Trans and Non Binary Equality employment policy is under active review in light of the ruling in For Women Scotland V The Scottish Ministers.This is an internal employer policy that covers S…

8 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported finding in the Final report of the evaluation of the impact of the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray that the fund has only safeguarded 120 jobs in two years, what further action it will take to prevent any significant job losses in the energy se…

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Just Transition Fund (JTF) created and safeguarded at least 230 jobs in its first two years of operation, alongside the provision of more than 750 training places and it leveraged over £34 million in additional investment. The fund also supported in…

8 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reported comment by Scottish Trans that "there is now significant uncertainty, following the Supreme Court ruling, on whether trans women who are able to breastfeed can access protection under section 13(6)(a) of the Equality Act if they experience discriminat…

Answer · Jenni Minto: Scottish Government does not provide legal advice to external parties and any questions about reported comments by Scottish Trans should be re-directed to that organisation.The Scottish Government has invested an additional £11m in the past seven years …