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-20225

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what role it and/or its agencies should play in matching newly qualified teachers (NQTs), who have not been offered a teaching post in their "home" local authority, with local authorities that have a shortage of teachers, such as those in the north east.

The allocation of places on the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) is based on students selecting a preference of five local authorities in which they wish to undertake their probationary year. The system is set to ensure that all newly qualified teachers are, in the first instance, offered a place in one of their preferred choices.

As an alternative to selecting a preference of five local authorities, a student can opt for the Preference Waiver Payment whereby they waive their right to express a preferred local authority and will be prioritised to remote and rural local authorities in return for an additional payment.

TIS does not provide a guarantee of future employment within that council. The future employment of teachers is solely a matter for local authorities. While it is for councils to recruit and employ sufficient teaching staff to meet the needs and interests of children and young people living in their areas, we would expect them to fill posts in an open and fair manner.

Question reference: S6W-20164

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent survey findings of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland that almost two fifths of Scottish SMEs have limited or no understanding of government targets relating to net zero, including how these will impact their business, and how it plans to address these findings.

Question reference: S6W-20176

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the number of road deaths increased by 17% between April 2022 and March 2023, what assessment it has made of the Road Safety Framework and the Vision Zero goal for no serious injuries or road deaths by 2050.

The Scottish Government is clear that one life lost on our roads is one too many and along with partners is committed to eradicating fatal and serious collisions on our roads.

Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050. For the first time, a full range of mode and user specific targets for key priority groups such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and over-represented age groups have been created to focus our partners on key priority areas.

The framework is supported by annual delivery plans that includes a wide range of road safety initiatives from road safety partners. These initiatives are continuously monitored through our three tier governance structure, with progress and outcomes published within our annual reports on the Transport Scotland website.

In addition, our Road Safety Framework Fund gives road safety partners the opportunity to co-design and co-deliver road safety initiatives that support the delivery of the framework. A condition of the grant funding is that each project is independently evaluated to determine the impact it is having on road safety performance.

Question reference: S6W-20162

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent survey findings of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland that four fifths of Scottish SMEs have not engaged with any government support initiatives regarding the transition to net zero, and how it plans to address these findings.

Question reference: S6W-20196

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 24 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in total are currently being held on remand, and what the (a) longest and (b) average time spent on remand is among those people, broken down by ethnic group.

As of the morning of 1 August 2023 there were 2,275 people on remand. The following table shows the average (median) and longest (maximum) continuous time (expressed in days) spent on remand, by ethnic grouping.

The start date of this collection imposes an upper limit on the continuous time to date spent on remand of 1,225 days. Less than five individuals were at that limit, held under the Extradition Act 2003 (S8).

Ethnicity Group	Count	Median	Maximum
All	2,278	70	> 1,225
White	2,118	68	> 1,225
Asian, Asian Scottish Or Asian British	54	91	911
Other Ethnic Group	46	89	405
African, Caribbean Or Black	44	91	713
Mixed Or Multiple	13	75	257

Note: The average (median) and maximum values represent continuous days on remand to date and due to differences in the way the data are processed, they are not comparable with the "Time on Remand (to departure or transition)" reported in the Official Statistics'

Question reference: S6W-20447

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the role that it and relevant agencies and bodies have played regarding the UK and Ireland's joint bid to host Euro 2028.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with governments and football associations across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland on the joint bid to host EURO 2028. This bid was submitted jointly by the five football associations of the UK and Ireland on 12 April, 2023. The winning bid will be announced on 10 October, 2023.

Together with the Scottish Football Association and partners across the bid nations, we are continuing to develop legacy, sustainability and governance plans, in the event of a successful bid. UEFA EURO 2028 will have a significant global reach and has the potential to leave a positive lasting legacy in Scotland by generating significant economic, environmental and social benefits. The bid vision – Football for all, Football for good. Football for the future’ – is a promise to help the Football Associations and UEFA grow a more diverse and inclusive game.

Question reference: S6W-20540

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its evaluation of the four delivery model pilots for school swimming.

Question reference: S6W-20368

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to receive a response from the Lord Advocate regarding the reported review on the legal feasibility of safe drug consumption rooms, and whether it will propose the scheduling of time for a ministerial statement to update the Parliament on the progress being made, and, if so, when it will propose this for.

The decision on whether or not to issue a statement of prosecution policy in relation to the prosecution of users of any proposed safer drug consumption facility is for the Lord Advocate to consider in her position as independent head of the systems of prosecution and investigation of deaths. This decision is independent of Scottish Government so the timing of this response is unknown.

Once the Lord Advocate reaches a decision the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy will be able to respond appropriately, likely including a ministerial statement.

Question reference: S6W-20590

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Education for Scotland has reportedly been asked to support practitioners to complete annual health checks; whether it will provide the best practice information and guidelines for practitioners, including on the specific health needs of people with Down’s syndrome, and whether there will be consideration of distinct health checks, such as separate documentation, for people with Down’s syndrome or learning disabilities in order to further ensure consistency and efficacy.

Question reference: S6W-20510

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to widen student loan eligibility for those over the age of 61.

A policy decision has been made to link the student loan age cap in Scotland to the UK state pension age, ensuring a 5 year gap between the two. This was implemented to allow students sufficient time to complete their studies, enter repayment and pay back some/all of their student loan. The current age cap of 61 reflects the UK state pension age of 66 and will increase in line with any future changes.