Parliamentary questions
Liam McArthur
3,644 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish the results of, and response to, its consultation on a cruise ship levy.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government continues to consider relevant evidence and analysis as part of our ongoing policy development for a cruise ship levy. This formal analysis will publish early next year.Port and cruise stakeholders have been working on their own altern…
30 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of sustained overcrowding in prisons on suicide and self-harm prevention.
24 Sep 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to reintroducing the "shared cabin" policy as a condition of the next Northern Isles Ferry Services contract.
17 Sep 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Orkney regarding reported delays in ophthalmology appointments for patients.
9 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of concerns being raised incommunities across the Highlands and Islands in relation to land auctionsinvolving potentially misleading advertising, what action it will take toensure that people who believe they have been affected by such practices haverecourse under Sc…
8 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to seek stakeholder input intothe development of the Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme, and what thetimeline is for any stakeholder engagement.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme (AECS) was launched in 2015 to promote land management practices which protect and enhance Scotland’s natural heritage, improve water quality, manage flood risk and mitigate and adapt to climate change.AECS has a …
5 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is carrying out to maximise the efficiency of household recycling systems.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government’s actions to improve the efficiency of household recycling systems are set out in the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map.In partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders, the Scottish Government is co-designing a ne…
5 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is carrying out towards the regulation of companies contributing to marine litter pollution.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government continues to develop policy and legislation to reduce marine litter pollution and grow our circular economy by reducing waste which can become litter.We know that a lot of our marine litter comes from single-use products and we are bui…
5 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is carrying out to reduce the use of single-use plastic.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Scotland's Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030 confirms the Scottish Government’s commitment to develop further measures to tackle consumption of problematic single-use items and promote uptake of reusable alternatives , prioritising action on …
21 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the cost to remove reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from four police stations in Scotland.
Answer · Angela Constance: An extensive programme of work has been undertaken across the Scottish public sector estate to identify the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and to ensure buildings are safe for all building users.Management of the Police Scotland est…
21 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the cost to remove asbestos from 177 police stations in Scotland.
Answer · Angela Constance: Management of the Police Scotland estate, including assessments of the condition of its buildings, is an operational matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. The Scottish Government supports Police Scotland’s …
21 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Scottish Police Federation to discuss the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in four police stations, and what was discussed.
Answer · Angela Constance: I meet regularly with the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), where we discuss a range of issues which affect their members. At our meeting on 19 December 2024, the SPF raised concerns about the condition of buildings in the Police Scotland estate, and we discu…
21 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by the former General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), Calum Steele, to the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing on 30 May 2019 that "the Ayr office was probably carved out of asbestos”, when it last met the SPF to discuss the reported presen…
Answer · Angela Constance: I meet regularly with the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), where we discuss a range of issues which affect their members. At our meeting on 19 December 2024, the SPF raised concerns about the condition of buildings in the Police Scotland estate, and we discu…
21 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to (a) consider how it connects and shares data with other public protection areas and (b) use data and evidence to support conversations to (i) prevent and reduce harm to and (ii) improve outcomes for (A) adult and (B) child victim-survivors of violence against wom…
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Violence against women and girls is a fundamental violation of human rights and has no place in our vision for a safe, strong, successful Scotland.Our Equally Safe Delivery Plan contains a range of actions to build a robust and joined up approach to the preve…
21 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to (a) identify any specific barriers preventing girls from feeling safe in public play spaces and (b) develop guidance for public bodies to address any such barriers.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Every child has the right to play under the United Nations Conventions of the Rights of the Child. The Scottish Government wants every child to be able to play across all stages and aspects of their life to support their social development, resilience, langua…
21 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the conclusions of the scoping exercise that it committed to undertake under the Equally Safe strategy of the qualitative and quantitative data on violence against women and girls that exists locally and nationally, to identify gaps and areas for futu…
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: As part of our Equally Safe governance arrangements, we have a progress reporting cycle in place which will see an annual progress report published by the end of this year, providing updates on the actions it contains and sets out the work that will be undert…
14 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to support initiatives that encourage workplace policies and practices that contain the values of Equally Safe.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Under Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls, we are progressing a range of activity to eradicate and prevent VAWG through the priorities identified in the Equally Safe Delivery Plan that we pub…
14 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when a national framework of trauma-informed training and workforce development on violence against women and girls will be implemented across the (a) public and (b) third sector.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39915 on 3 September 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-committ…
14 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether a new, sustainable long-term funding model for tackling violence against women and girls has been developed.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the specialist third sector services that provide crucial support to survivors of violence against women and girls.That is why the Delivering Equally Safe Fund has been extended into 2025-26, allowing fo…
14 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Sustainable Funding Project Board, and what was discussed.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government last met with the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Sustainable Funding Project Board on 14 November 2024.The items discussed were the Delivering Equally Safe Fund, the next steps for consideration of the funding recommendations …
14 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current (a) cost of and (b) spend on measures to tackle violence against women and girls.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: We are developing a Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Needs Assessment Tool which will help build a robust picture of the specific needs of women, children and young people experiencing VAWG in the different local authority areas across Scotland. This f…
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is identifying the digital inclusion needs of women and girls who have experienced technology-facilitated violence against women and girls, and what it is doing to improve the support that is available to them.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: We are working closely with the Mhor Collective and specialist violence against women and girls (VAWG) services, to identify the digital inclusion needs of women and girls who have experienced technology-facilitated VAWG and improve the support that is availa…
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made regarding the public facing engagement campaign to work with men and boys to challenge misogyny, and how much money it has spent on this campaign to date.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Our Equally Safe Strategy Delivery Plan committed to develop a campaign to work with men and boys to recognise that we need to challenge misogyny to pave the way for the effective dismantling of the gender-based structures and attitudes which enable and suppo…
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made regarding developing an approach to address extended family abuse.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: We have undertaken a literature review and engaged with a range of specialist organisations to understand the issue and what is required to address it. We are currently developing a policy definition of extended family abuse, including exploring how it intera…
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to devise a statutory definition of honour-based abuse, and when it plans to introduce that definition.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Defining an issue is a vital first step towards creating a shared understanding of the problem. This lays the foundation for ensuring our collective response is more effective and leads to better outcomes for victim-survivors. This is particularly important i…
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to questionS6W-38052 by Kaukab Stewart on 9 June 2025, how many secondaryschools in each local authority area are still to be registered with theEqually Safe at School programme.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: There are 360 secondary schools in Scotland recorded in the 2024 school census. The following is a table of how many of these are currently signed up to ESAS, broken down by local authority area.Aberdeen City Council5Aberdeenshire Council2Angus Council8Argyll…
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made regarding improving access to justice services for women and girls with learning disabilities.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government fund the Gender-Based Violence and Learning Disabilities Steering Group facilitated by the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD).The Steering Group’s Action Plan for 2024 – 2027 aims to reduce the…
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) options it has explored and (b) progress it has made regarding developing and implementing options to improve the pathway between emergency departments and Police Scotland for people who present in circumstances where spiking is suspected.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government were aware of concerns that the link between health professionals and Police Scotland has not always been clear when victims of spiking present to emergency departments.Through the collaborative work of the multi-agency Spiking Roundta…
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the implementation forum to promote awareness of a public health approach to preventing violence against women and girls has met to date, and what recommendations or findings have arisen from any such meetings.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Forum, established as part of our Equally Safe Delivery Plan commitment to develop a collaborative programme of support to enable local and national partners to adopt a public health approach to preventing violence against women and girls (VAWG), has met …
11 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will equip education settings to strengthen pupil understanding of relationships and violence against women and girls, and what work it has undertaken to achieve this.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Abuse, violence or harassment of any kind, particularly violence against women and girls (VAWG), should not be tolerated in our society. We are taking forward a range of actions in schools to address VAWG and sexual harassment.Our Equally Safe strategy for pr…