Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-37779

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what options are available to private landlords who are considering issuing a tenant with a notice to leave on the grounds of abandonment because they are no longer believed to be living at a property, but mail is occasionally collected from the building.

Question reference: S6W-37780

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what options are available to private landlords in circumstances where a tenant is the liable person for council tax but they are not making payments to ensure that the bills are covered and any situation of arrears can be addressed.

Question reference: S6W-37778

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average timescale is for an application that is submitted by a private landlord to evict a tenant to be heard at the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber).

Question reference: S6W-36031

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will legislate to ensure that all local authorities observe a "10-minute parking grace period" in their car parks, similar to that implemented in England.

Local authorities in Scotland have the powers to issue Penalty Charge Notices if the vehicle has been left beyond the period of parking which has been paid for, as per the Road Traffic Act 1991. Legislation to allow an additional 10 minutes grace period has not been considered in Scotland as there has not been sufficient interest from members of the public or local authorities to do so, however all local authorities can use their own discretion whether to apply a grace period or not.

Question reference: S6W-36034

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it offers to local authorities to ensure that disabled, older and infirmed people are supported, when required, to park their vehicles in local authority car parks without incurring a penalty charge notice, and when any such guidance was last reviewed.

It is the responsibility of each local authority, who operates Decriminalised Parking Enforcement to ensure their parking attendants are issuing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) lawfully and the level of discretion that can be applied in individual situations. It is not for the Scottish Government to specify when discretion should be applied. Stringent appeals processes are also in place to assist those who feel they may have been issued a PCN unfairly.

Question reference: S6W-36032

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what instructions it expects local authorities to provide to parking attendants regarding the issuing of penalty charge notices in situations where a car is not displaying a ticket but the driver states that they were collecting a prepaid voucher from a machine and that this is the only reason why it was not affixed to the vehicle.

It is the responsibility of each local authority, who operates Decriminalised Parking Enforcement, to provide guidance to ensure their parking attendants are issuing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) lawfully and the level of discretion that can be applied in individual situations. It is not for the Scottish Government to specify when discretion should be applied. Stringent appeals processes are also in place to assist those who feel they may have been issued a PCN unfairly.

Question reference: S6W-36033

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed the approach of local authorities to issuing parking fines, and what its position is on whether any local authority has introduced policies in relation to penalty charge notices specifically to make a profit and not to respond to illegal or inappropriate parking.

A public consultation was undertaken in 2021, which looked at levels of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs). Following this, on 1 April 2023, the maximum PCN amount was raised to £100. Local authorities must ensure that they issue PCNs only when it is lawful to do so. It is important to note that PCNs are a penalty for illegal parking and are not to be used specifically to generate income, though any profit from PCNs is ring-fenced and must only be used by the local authority for transport related purposes. Local authorities also report the income and expenditure annually and these reports are published on the Transport Scotland website.

Question reference: S6W-35594

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 31 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to allow people who received Zostavax when they became eligible for a shingles vaccination in recent years, before it was replaced by Shingrix, to receive a further inoculation with Shingrix, in light of reports that it provides a greater level of protection and for a longer duration.

Question reference: S6F-03762

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will join HM The King and other world leaders in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz extermination camp and offer his reflections on the theme of this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, "For a Better Future".

Question reference: S6W-33231

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 24 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has evaluated what positive or negative impact the Bright Start Breakfasts programme may have on breakfast clubs within schools that are organised by not-for-profit providers for primary school pupils.

The Draft Scottish Budget on 4 December 2024 announced plans to invest £3m in 2025-26 in Bright Start Breakfasts.

At this stage the Budget remains subject to Parliamentary approval and therefore, more detail about Bright Start Breakfasts will be provided ahead of the fund launching in Spring 2025.

Recent mapping work carried out by the Improvement Service and Assist FM shows that nearly half of all primary and special schools in Scotland are already providing breakfasts at the start of the school day, with a range of delivery models and service providers supporting delivery. Bright Start Breakfasts aims to enhance and expand provision across Scotland, building on this existing local delivery.

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