Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-26047

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 March 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what improvements it is seeking from ScotRail as a result of it scoring one out of five for the (a) "station staff" and (b) "station ticket offices" service schedule in each Service Quality Inspection Regime (SQUIRE) inspection since March 2023.

As noted in S6W-26045 on 18 March 2024, the SQUIRe regime is one of the toughest performance regimes in the UK. It is an operational matter for ScotRail to investigate and rectify areas where performance has not met the standards expected by the Scottish Government. By doing so the overall scoring for ScotRail should improve.

The scoring shows that the SQUIRe regime is operating as expected by highlighting areas where ScotRail is not performing as expected and where improvement is required.

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/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-26046

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 March 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with ScotRail regarding it scoring one out of five for the (a) "station staff" and (b) "station ticket offices" service schedule in each Service Quality Inspection Regime (SQUIRE) inspection since March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-26048

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 March 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the ScotRail framework agreement specifies that it should give "particular attention" to "identifying efficiencies in staffing levels" at railway stations.

The Framework Agreement between Scottish Ministers and Scottish Rail Holdings confirms under the Stations, Operational Plan section that “particular attention should be given to identifying efficiencies in staffing levels as well as focus on elements which will be monitored through SQUIRE”. This provides ScotRail with the ability to ensure that staff are deployed appropriately across the rail network to deliver a high performing service that passengers rightly expect.

Question reference: S6O-03214

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration it is giving to the establishment of a permanent memorial to Michael "Mick" McGahey in the Parliament.

Question reference: S6O-03223

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support public interest journalism.

Question reference: S6W-25963

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what research it or its agencies have undertaken regarding the current rates of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), including the Additional Dwelling Supplement, and whether it will make the findings of any such research publicly available.

Revenue Scotland publish monthly data for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) which sets out the number and value of transactions for residential LBTT, the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) and non-residential leases and conveyances. These publications can be found on Revenue Scotland's website at the following link: Monthly LBTT Statistics | Revenue Scotland

Revenue Scotland also publish an Annual Summary of Trends in the Devolved Taxes which sets out detailed data and commentary for LBTT and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT). The latest publication covering 2022-23 was published in November 2023 and can be found at the following link: Annual Summary of Trends in the Devolved Taxes 2022/23 | Revenue Scotland

Question reference: S6W-25966

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it or its agencies have done on modelling for a tax based on land value in Scotland, and whether it will make the outcomes of any such work publicly available.

In 2017, the Scottish Government asked the Scottish Land Commission to look at the potential for introducing a form of land value based tax in Scotland. One of their key findings was that, although the theoretical case for the introduction of a land value tax is strong, there is a lack of empirical evidence that land value taxes have actually delivered the theoretical benefits attributed to them. They went on to note that to date no country has ever replaced existing taxes on land and property with a single tax and most people today accept that the idea of a single tax is not practical in the 21st century. These findings were published by the Scottish Land Commission in October 2018.

Following the publication of these findings, the Scottish Government has not carried out any further modelling of a land value tax. However, the Scottish Government has continued to engage with academics and stakeholders with an interest in this topic.

Question reference: S6W-25965

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it or its agencies have done on modelling for a tax on wealth in Scotland, and whether it will make the outcomes of any such work publicly available.

We believe that the power to tax wealth should be devolved to this Parliament, so that it can be designed to work fairly and effectively in a Scottish-specific context. Any analysis of wealth taxes, therefore, must consider the limits of powers currently devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

We will continue to consider any tax proposals in line with our core tax principles which are set out in the Framework for Tax and believe that those with the broadest shoulders should contribute the most.

Question reference: S6W-25967

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it or its agencies have done on modelling for a tax based on carbon emissions on landholdings in Scotland, and whether it will make the outcomes of any such work publicly available.

At the 2024-25 Scottish Budget, the Scottish Government announced that it will work with our partners in COSLA and local government, and other stakeholders, during 2024-25 to examine how further policy measures – regulatory and fiscal – can support existing policies and interventions to improve a wide range of land management outcomes, including the restoration of peatlands and the creation of more woodlands. This will also include consideration of a proposal for a Carbon Emissions Land Tax, as has been suggested by the John Muir Trust.

The Scottish Government will provide an update on its progress against this commitment before the end of the 2024-25 financial year.

Question reference: S6W-25433

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the inpatient bed capacity of the Monklands Replacement Project was, as submitted in the outline business case.