Parliamentary questions
Michael Matheson
1,154 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
10 Mar 2026 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support local authorities, including Falkirk Council, to deliver vital services, including those aimed at reducing child poverty.
26 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported marine energy sector calls for it and the UK Government to work together in delivering policies that are required to support commercialisation.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43978 on 12 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…
26 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Scotland’s marine energy sector to protect its home-grown, innovative skills and knowledge base, and how it is working with partners, including the UK Government, to develop policy to achieve this.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Scotland has developed one of the world’s strongest concentrations of marine energy expertise, built through significant investment to date by Scottish Government and its Enterprise Agencies in research and development which has leveraged additional sup…
26 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research suggesting that Scotland’s marine energy sector could generate over £8 billion for Scotland’s economy, creating over 60,000 jobs, by 2050, and what it is doing to support the sector to deliver this.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The successful commercialisation of the marine energy sector in Scotland certainly has the potential to grow our economy. While the research referenced shows promising projections for the marine energy sector, the realisation of these projections is reliant o…
16 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role integration joint boards have in monitoring funding allocated by the Scottish Government to hospices.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Financial monitoring requirements, as set out in legislation and statutory guidance, apply to Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) for functions that are delegated to IJBs.IJBs commission palliative care services, including independent hospices, to meet the needs …
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to mark Eosinophilic Diseases Awareness Month in May 2026.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government recognises the impact that Eosinophilic Diseases can have on those affected and their families, and remains committed to ensuring access to safe, effective and person-centred care for people living with these conditions in Scotland.Whi…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support research and clinical trials for the medical condition, eosinophilic oesophagitis.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Within the Scottish Government, funding of Health and Care Research comes under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).CSO funds research projects via its Translational Clinical Studies (TCS) Committee and the Health Improvement, Protection and Service…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on the prevalence of eosinophilic oesophagitis, and whether it has observed any changes in the level of prevalence over the last five years.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold any data on the prevalence of eosinophilic oesophagitis in Scotland.
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase awareness of the medical condition, eosinophilic oesophagitis, in NHS Scotland, in both primary and secondary care settings.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of improving awareness of gastrointestinal conditions, including eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE), across NHS Scotland and is committed to ensuring that people living with these conditions receive safe, effecti…
14 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to further its understanding of the medical condition, eosinophilic oesophagitis, and support diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Education for Scotland provides a range of educational resources and training programmes for healthcare professionals that encompass gastrointestinal conditions, including eosinophilic oesophagitis(EoE).The Scottish Government expect clinicians and NHS Bo…
13 Jan 2026 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the economy secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding whether social impact bonds can be used to improve the employment opportunities for young people, including in Falkirk West.
12 Dec 2025 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken, following the National Speed Management Review public consultation, to improve road safety and manage speed limits on roads.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland has published the findings from the National Speed Management Review (NSMR) public consultation, which ran from November 2024 to March 2025 and received over 19,500 responses.Following close consideration of consultation responses Ministers…
2 Dec 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support manufacturing, including in the renewable energy sector.
5 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is currently provided to local authorities to improve literacy, numeracy, and outcomes for young people, while tackling the poverty-related attainment gap.
27 Oct 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting path networks established under land reform legislation for outdoor recreation.
6 Oct 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister, following Scotland’s Global Investment Summit 2025, whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s work to attract international investment into Scotland’s economy.
16 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting current, and developing future, supply chain opportunities in the renewable energy sector.
Answer · Gillian Martin: We are working across public sector delivery partners, and with industry and the supply chain to deliver the ambition set out in the Green Industrial Strategy to realise the benefits from growing our renewables sector.Our approach includes our strategic inves…
4 Sep 2025 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress made in the further decarbonisation of Scotland's suburban rail services, and what plans it has to replace the rolling stock currently operating on ScotRail’s suburban services.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I can confirm that the next phase in Scotland’s programme to decarbonise the railway network will involve the electrification of sections on the Fife and Borders railways. Works are already underway, with significant progress being made on the electrifi…
24 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland has made progress on implementing "a national review of freight parking/rest areas" in line with recommendation 36 of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), and when it expects to publish the findings of any such review.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: STPR2 forms the Scottish Government’s long term plans for future transport investment. It must be recognised that it is not possible to take forward all 45 STPR2 recommendations at the same time.Whilst work on recommendation 36 is still to begin, my off…
24 Feb 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the recent study by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit regarding the contribution of the net zero sector to the UK and Scotland’s economy.
30 Jan 2025 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on ScotRail fares for 2025.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: From 1 April 2025, all ScotRail fares will increase by 3.8%, including season tickets and flexipasses.We want more people to choose to travel by public transport for work, study and leisure but we know that people are still struggling with cost-of-living pres…
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that the justice system treats children who are criminally exploited as victims rather than offenders, and how justice professionals and their colleagues in child protection teams communicate and share information with each other to ensure that the children…
Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 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-comm…
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve coordination and information sharing between the justice, social services and education sectors, other statutory agencies and the third sector to address the criminal exploitation of children.
Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 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…
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often the Lord Advocate’s instructions have been used to protect victims of human trafficking and exploitation since the commencement of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015.
Answer · Dorothy Bain: The Lord Advocate’s instructions for non-prosecution of victims of human trafficking | COPFS were first published in May 2016 and the manual collation of data commenced at that stage.As of 6 January 2025, proceedings involving 188 individuals, who were …
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 regarding children who have been criminally exploited.
Answer · Angela Constance: Information is not held centrally. Criminal Proceedings data does not include details about the victim unless explicitly specified by the legislation. As a result, we are unable to determine the number of prosecutions or convictions under the Human Traffickin…
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it has conducted into the effectiveness of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 regarding the protection of children who have been criminally exploited (a) by offering them presumption against prosecution and (b) through sanctioning perpetrators.
Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 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-comm…
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is implementing to improve the (a) reporting and (b) detection of the criminal exploitation of children.
Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 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-comm…
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated to services and programmes over the last five years aimed at (a) early intervention in response to and (b) the prevention of criminal exploitation of children.
Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 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-comm…
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with representatives of (a) the justice, (b) the social work, (c) the education, (d) the health sector and (d) other professional sectors regarding dealing with the criminal exploitation of children, also broken down by what training it provides.
Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 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-comm…
18 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives there are to inform (a) children, (b) parents and (c) the public regarding the awareness, signs and risks of the criminal exploitation of children and where to seek help should they have concerns regarding this.
Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32496 on 10 January 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-comm…