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-17018

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support has been provided to third sector and charitable organisations that provide support to patients in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-16928

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) staffing, (b) budgetary and (c) departmental resources will be available to the Minister for Independence to undertake their specific responsibilities for (i) independence strategy, (ii) parliamentary co-ordination and liaison and (iii) communication with people, businesses and organisations regarding devolution, independence and Scotland's constitutional future.

Question reference: S6W-16951

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any requests from Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding improvements to the A75.

Dumfries and Galloway Council were one of 165 organisations which responded to the consultation on the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) draft report, undertaken between January and April 2022. The Council’s responses covered a range of topics, including potential improvements to the A75. All responses were considered in production of the suite of final reports and statutory impact assessments, published on 8 December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-16947

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates the business plan on investment in the A75 that Transport Scotland and the Department for Transport are working on will be completed.

Question reference: S6W-16805

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support access to free internet (a) services and (b) devices in public spaces.

Every public library in Scotland provides access to free WiFi, networked devices and trained staff to offer digital support. The Scottish Government works with the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) to ensure public library staff have access to training to ensure the public receive the support they need. Library Services can apply for funding to develop digital services through the Scottish Government’s Public Library Improvement Fund and latterly (2021-22) through the Scottish Government’s Public Library COVID Relief Fund (£1.25M) both of which are administered by SLIC.

In addition to these routes, The Scottish Government also provided funding for public libraries to support the roll out of NHS Near Me services in public libraries in 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-16842

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many veterans have used and been encouraged to take up educational opportunities through the ADVANCE Network, previously known as the HE:FE Veterans Champions' Network.

Veterans are assets to our society and my ambition remains to make Scotland the destination of choice for Service leavers and their families, offering high living standards, great educational opportunities and a society that respects and values their contribution.

The work of Armed Forces and Veterans Champions throughout Scotland is crucial to ensuring veterans can access the right support, guidance and services. The Scottish Government supports fully the work of the Champions in public sector organisations including Police Scotland, Local Authorities, the NHS, Department for Work and Pensions and Higher and Further Education institutions.

The ADVANCE Network was established by the Veterans Group to provide a single point of contact in each of Scotland's colleges and universities for veterans, ex-armed forces and their families. While the Network is not specifically designed to provide educational opportunities to the armed forces community, it does have a role in promoting Higher Education and Further Education to those from within the armed forces community, and many institutions have educational options available for the armed forces community. The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of veterans who use the Network to access educational opportunities.

Question reference: S6W-16505

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to increase the number of modern languages (a) teachers and (b) teaching assistants to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, in light of the reported decrease in numbers.

The Scottish Government has clear commitments to improve education, and those include more teachers in our schools.

During the pandemic we provided £240 million of additional investment to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional education staff to support education recovery. We recently set out measures to Parliament making it clear that we will provide £145.5 million in next year’s budget to protect increased teacher numbers and support staff. Where this is not being delivered by a local authority, we will withhold or recoup funding that has been given for this purpose.

Additionally, we value the contribution of languages assistants who come to our schools through a variety of programmes. This is why we have provided funding to partners such as British Council Scotland and the University of Strathclyde to manage and promote such programmes.

Question reference: S6W-16811

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to money advice agencies to test improvements to ways of working with people with mental health issues.

In financial year 2021-2022 the Scottish Government provided £5,116 for the development of a Mental Health and Money Toolkit.

The toolkit, which was developed in partnership with the Money and Pensions Service and Change Mental Health is designed to help people understand, manage, and improve their financial health and wellbeing.

We continue to work with a range of partners, including mental health and money advice services, to ensure that people can access the right practical advice and support to help them cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-16648

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many mental health community link workers were recruited in each financial year from 2016-17 to 2021-22, broken down by NHS board.

Community Link Workers are generalists who support people with a range of social and economic issues which can include mental health. The Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF) funds Community Link Workers (CLWs) as part of primary care multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs). At March 2022, 249 WTE CLWs had been recruited to support GP practices.

The Scottish Government published information on the number CLWs recruited broken down by Integration Authority, on 21 June 2022.Further information, including the location by Integration Authority, of CLWs by both headcount and whole time equivalent, since 2018, can be accessed at: Supporting documents - Primary care improvement plans: summary of implementation progress - March 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This does not include CLWs recruited through funding other than PCIF funding.

The Scottish Government has already invested significantly to build mental health capacity including our Action 15 commitment to funding 800 additional mental health workers in key settings, including A&Es, GP practices, police station custody suite and prisons – ensuring local provision and support is at the heart of our plans. As at 12 July 2022, an additional 958.9 whole time equivalent (WTE) mental health roles have been filled using Action 15 funding, including 356.1 WTE posts in GP practices and a further 259.9 WTE mental health workers recruited under the Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF). A full performance report can be found here , Mental health workers: quarterly performance reports .

Question reference: S6W-16683

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has evaluated the outcomes of the specialist domestic abuse courts in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and, if not, whether it has any plans to do so.