John Mason

31 May 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a report by Step Change Debt Charity Scotland, which highlighted that clients' average arrears on essential bills had increased by £659 to £2,961.

18 May 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the impact of minimum unit pricing of alcohol.

29 Apr 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Glasgow.

20 Apr 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan have arrived in Scotland since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

16 Mar 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to demonstrate the viability of apprentice programmes as an alternative to a university education, in light of a UCAS report published in 2021 reportedly showing that young people are advised against apprenticeships.

8 Mar 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received an additional £290 million from the UK Government to support households facing financial difficulties as a result of the reported cost of living crisis.

2 Mar 2022 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, in light of the symbols of solidarity seen across the world, whether it will, and has the equipment necessary to, light the Scottish Parliament building in the colours of the Ukraine flag at night.

25 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the lifting of some COVID-19 restrictions, whether it will provide an update on when it anticipates the requirement to wear face coverings in places of worship will be lifted.

18 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people whose biological sex is male are currently in women’s prisons in Scotland.

30 Nov 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the resolution at the recent SNP conference reportedly calling on the Scottish Government and COSLA to work together “to ensure that the pay and conditions for councillors will significantly improve”.

9 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role Passivhaus homes and off-site manufacturing have in the Glasgow Shettleston constituency in supporting its aim to achieve net zero by 2045.

9 Nov 2021 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether members' annual reports can be delivered after 4 February 2022 and, if not, what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

26 Oct 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will give an assurance that Glasgow Kelvin and Clyde colleges will not be taken over by the City of Glasgow College in connection with the review of tertiary education.

19 Oct 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its policies and actions across government will help support local authorities to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

14 Sep 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the current basic annual salary of £18,604 for local councillors is fair when many are working full time in the role.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government is committed to fair income for our councillors, which is why we introduced a new mechanism in 2017 that ensures Councillors' pay is increased annually in line with the percentage increase in the median annual earnings of public sector…

5 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with ScotRail regarding the public release of the recent internal report that is reportedly recommending service cuts, ticket office closures and a reduction in the workforce.  

Answer · Graeme Dey: Professor Iain Docherty’s report was commissioned by Abellio ScotRail to look at the future of rail across Scotland’s railway and the challenges and options facing the railway as the industry recovers from the pandemic. The Scottish Government was therefore n…

8 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to tackle violence against women, particularly in relation to prostitution and purchasers of sex.

9 Mar 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Aggreko is to become another large-scale, Scotland-based listed company to lose its independence through a takeover.

1 Mar 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the UK Budget.

24 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its welfare policies have supported low-income families with children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent representations it has made to the UK Government regarding trade deals with countries linked to genocide.

26 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on a recent University of Sheffield report, Interventions to reduce the public health burden of gambling-related harms, which recognises that gambling should be treated as a serious public health concern.

18 Jan 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what her response is to the announcement that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be operated by the UK Government and not by the Scottish Government and the other devolved administrations.

15 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent Savanta ComRes poll of people in Scotland, which suggested that 68% had concerns about at-home abortions and 86% had concerns around the relationship between these procedures and domestic abuse.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has noted the findings of the Savanta ComRes poll. The Scottish Government launched a public consultation on the future arrangements for early medical abortion at home on 30 September 2020, which closed on 5 January 2021. All the evid…

12 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision by the Lord President to reduce the number of criminal trials, what further support it will provide to victims.

29 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill will give increased protection to people of any religion.

23 Sep 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to each ministerial portfolio to support the policy response to the COVID-19 emergency.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government publishes its Autumn Budget Revision at 14:30 today. (Document no SG/2020/161) This represents the second phase of the Scottish Government’s financial response to the COVID 19 emergency, building on the Summer Budget Revision publishe…

22 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how COVID-19 has impacted on disabled people.

31 Aug 2020 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what advice services are available to people across Scotland, and whether it considers that such services are adequate.

11 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of people having been discouraged from using public transport in recent months, how it plans to encourage the use of trains and buses once again.