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: S6F-04057

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to water scarcity alerts issued by SEPA for the east of Scotland, in light of low rainfall and warm temperatures.

Question reference: S6F-04052

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-37260

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to increase the uptake of Funeral Support Payment since its introduction in 2019.

Social Security Scotland is committed to tackling funeral poverty and increasing take-up of all Scottish benefits. Since its introduction in 2019, Funeral Support Payment has been promoted across a wide range of channels including advertising on radio, in print and online, as well as through articles in media outlets and content on our own social media channels.

Social Security Scotland works with funeral directors and other stakeholders to increase their awareness of the payment so they can identify people who might need help to pay for funeral costs. This work includes provision of print information and attending events to raise awareness. Social Security Scotland also ensures there is accessible information available to people if online at mygov.scot.

When Funeral Support Payment launched, the Scottish Government substantially widened eligibility compared to the UK Government equivalent. Since launching in 2019, the Scottish Government has provided £56.9 million to over 29,000 people to help pay for funeral costs at a time when they need it most.

Question reference: S6W-37151

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of any parental disengagement from school behaviour policies on classroom discipline and teacher wellbeing.

We recognise the importance of schools and families working together to promote positive relationships and behaviour in schools. A strong partnership between home and school helps create a consistent, supportive environment where children feel safe, respected, and are better able to learn and thrive.

The Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research published in 2023, highlighted a desire from some staff for greater engagement with parents, as not all parents were perceived as being supportive of schools’ efforts to address behaviour.

In response, the relationships and behaviour in schools action plan 2024-27 emphasises the vital role of parents and carers in supporting positive behaviour. As part of the action plan, we are currently developing guidance on responding to behaviour in schools. The guidance will be available later this year and will include advice for schools on working with parents to support positive relationships and behaviour.

Question reference: S6W-37135

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all public bodies and agencies under its control are subject to meaningful parliamentary scrutiny and accountability.

Public bodies are reviewed quarterly as part of the Scottish Government’s Assurance cycle to ensure they are operating efficiently and effectively. We also set frameworks and provide guidance documents. One of the key aims of our Public Service Reform (PSR) programme is to drive efficiency and effectiveness across government and public bodies, making sure we have the public body landscape to deliver the services the people of Scotland need.

Scottish Government also ensures public bodies within our remit are subject to parliamentary scrutiny and accountability through a combination of legislative instruments, oversight bodies, and ongoing engagement with the Scottish Parliament. These include:

Ministerial Accountability: Where appropriate, Ministers will update the Scottish Parliament on the actions and performance of relevant public bodies during debates, written and oral parliamentary questions and committee appearances. However, Ministers are not the Accountable Officers for Public Bodies, and, although Ministers may appoint the Chair and members of some boards, they do not influence how boards function.
Parliamentary Committees: Scottish Government and its public bodies are scrutinised through the current 16 parliamentary committees, such as the Public Audit Committee and the Finance and Public Administration Committee which regularly hold inquiries into the activities of public bodies.
Annual Reports and Audits: Public bodies and agencies are required to submit annual reports and accounts to the Scottish Parliament. These reports and accounts are also subject to audit by the Auditor General for Scotland, who reports to Parliament on the financial health and governance of these bodies. This independent scrutiny ensures transparency and accountability.
Legislative Oversight: The Scottish Parliament has the power to introduce and pass legislation that sets the framework for the governance and scrutiny of public bodies. This includes legislation such as the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. The Scottish Government’s annual budget process provides further structures for scrutiny and accountability.

Additionally, members of the public can contact their MSP to raise concerns and have the following mechanisms to scrutinise public bodies:

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman: The SPSO provides an independent process for investigating complaints about public bodies. This ensures individuals have a mechanism to question public bodies on their decisions and actions.
Freedom of Information: All public bodies and agencies are required to be transparent about their activities. This allows the public to access information about their operations, further increasing accountability.

Question reference: S6W-37132

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its targets for teacher training enrolments in key subjects such as maths, physics, chemistry and computing in 2024 have reportedly been missed.

Teaching is a rewarding and exciting career, with opportunities to share passion and expertise to inspire young people on their future pathways. While it is encouraging that intakes for primary teaching are overall above target, we are taking action to encourage more people into teaching, including in the hardest to fill teaching subjects.

These are long-term systemic challenges being faced globally, and we are committed to working together with partners, including teachers, unions, and COSLA, to develop solutions.

With COSLA, we are committed to working together to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels, freeze learning hours and make meaningful progress towards reducing class contact time for teachers.. This will help ease teacher workload and improve outcomes for our children and young people.

Work is being taken forward through the joint Education and Childcare Assurance Board with COSLA on pupil behaviour and workload to overcome some of the challenges facing the profession and encouraging more people to consider teaching as a career.

Question reference: S6W-37136

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when universal and equitable access to pulmonary rehabilitation will be available to people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and similar conditions, as set out in the Respiratory Care Action Plan 2021-26.

The Scottish Government recognises that pulmonary rehabilitation is an important element of respiratory care and acknowledges the significant impact this treatment can have on people living with respiratory conditions.

In 2024 we worked with stakeholders, including many respiratory physiotherapists and nurse specialists, to develop a service specification for effective pulmonary rehabilitation services across Scotland. These recommendations have been shared with NHS Boards.

We will continue to work with NHS Boards and key partners, including the Centre for Sustainable Delivery, to ensure these recommendations are implemented.

Question reference: S6W-37087

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what instructions it has issued to the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding the replacement or non-replacement of any compromised qualification materials.

Question reference: S6W-36914

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Fiscal Commission's projection that the number of people aged over 85 in Scotland will almost double in the next 25 years, and what implications this may have for public finances.

We welcome the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s analysis and recognise the impact that changes in Scotland’s population health and demographics could have on fiscal sustainability, and we are taking steps to mitigate this.

The Ministerial Population Taskforce is committed to delivering our Population Strategy to ensure that Scotland has a balanced population, which meets the needs of our communities, economy and public services now and into the future. This includes delivery of Scotland’s Migration Service, to support people and employers to navigate the UK immigration system and ensure that Scotland is able to be as attractive and welcoming as possible, and delivering the commitments in the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan to empower local communities to address the factors leading to population decline. We are also working with COSLA on plans to prioritise prevention and our medium-term approach to health and social care reform will be published by the summer.

Question reference: S6W-37013

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will engage with the board of Wood Group PLC to explore all alternative options to refinance the firm and prevent a takeover by the Dubai-based, Sidara.

Whilst the issue raised is a commercial matter for Wood Group and any prospective partner, the Scottish Government and Enterprise Agencies aim to work with businesses in Scotland, domestic and overseas owned, to ensure Scottish operations are not only secured here but opportunities for growth are pursued.

Growing the economy has been identified as one of the Scottish Government’s four strategic priorities. Our approach to growing Scotland’s economy requires balance. It is important that we focus on both strengthening Scotland’s domestic industries and ensuring our economy is open and internationally focused.

It must also be noted that the powers required to legislate in respect of company acquisition between private sector organisations are reserved to the UK Parliament.