Thursday, 21 January 2021
Good afternoon and welcome to this virtual meeting of the Scottish Parliament. The first item of business is a statement by Ivan McKee on the contribution of place-based economic development...
The next item of business is a statement by Fergus Ewing on the impact of leaving the European Union on Scotland’s rural economy. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his...
1. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to tourism businesses in the West Scotland region in light of the current Covid-19 restrictions. (S5O-04921)
2. To ask the Scottish Government what support it plans to provide to the tourism industry in light of the uncertainty that businesses face in their decision making for this year’s summer...
3. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the United Kingdom Government regarding the recommendations of Lord Bew’s agriculture funding review. (S5O-04923)
4. To ask the Scottish Government to expand on the discussions it has had with the United Kingdom Government regarding the continued operation of VAT-free shopping for international tourists...
5. To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to businesses in the food and drink sector whose operations have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5O-04925)
6. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the impact of Brexit on the salmon industry. (S5O-04926)
7. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the gene editing of crop varieties in order to deliver greater food production and achieve environmental targets. (S5O-04927)
8. To ask the Scottish Government what recent meetings it has had with representatives of the tourism industry, and what was discussed. (S5O-04928)
The next portfolio is transport, infrastructure and connectivity. I ask members who wish to ask a supplementary question to enter the letter R in the chat function during the relevant question.
1. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to redirect investment from unsustainable modes of transport and into modes that are considered more sustainable, including rail infrastructure....
2. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with dualling the A75. (S5O-04930)
3. To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to reduce the impact of any closures of the Queensferry crossing. (S5O-04931)
5. To ask the Scottish Government what additional support is being provided to protect front-line public transport staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5O-04933)
6. To ask the Scottish Government when soundproof fencing will be erected on the Uddingston section of the M74. (S5O-04934)
7. To ask the Scottish Government when the Edinburgh to Perth railway line will be upgraded. (S5O-04935)
8. To ask the Scottish Government when the next evaluation will be carried out of the M8/M73/M74 motorway improvements project, in line with the Scottish trunk road infrastructure project...
The final portfolio is justice and the law officers. I remind members that questions 2 and 6 have been grouped together. I will take any supplementaries on those questions after both of them have...
1. To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on security and safety in Scotland of no longer having access to EU security protocols and law enforcement organisations, including the...
2. To ask the Scottish Government how many house parties police have been called on to disperse since the current Covid-19 lockdown was imposed. (S5O-04938)
6. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on Police Scotland’s enforcement of the current Covid-19 restrictions. (S5O-04942)
3. To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has produced regarding the provision of education in prisons under the current Covid-19 restrictions. (S5O-04939)
4. To ask the Scottish Government what involvement the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and his officials had in the development of the draft guidance on collecting data on sex and gender. (S5O-04940)
5. 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. (S5O-04941)
7. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of providing naloxone for front-line police officers to respond to suspected overdoses. (S5O-04943)
8. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Prison Service’s annual report for 2019-20. (S5O-04944)
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-23917, in the name of Claire Baker, on the Culpable Homicide (Scotland) Bill at stage 1. I ask those who wish to speak in the debate to put an...
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-23916, in the name of Emma Harper, on the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill at stage 1. I advise members that we have...
There are two questions to be put as a result of today’s business. This is our first attempt at entirely remote voting. We will do it all through the chat box function of the BlueJeans app....
The Scottish Parliament is the national legislature of Scotland, located in Edinburgh. The Parliament consists of 129 members known as MSPs, elected for four-year terms; 73 represent individual geographical constituencies, and 56 are regional representatives.