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-18569

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many referrals of cases to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have been made by Marine Scotland in each year since 2009.

Question reference: S6W-18549

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the provision of indigenous minority languages in the education sector.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of supporting the provision of indigenous minority languages in the education sector. There are a range of measures in place to support the varied needs of Gaelic and Scots in our schools and the use and learning of both languages. These measures to promote the use and learning of both languages include initiatives that improve access, classroom delivery, teacher support and more. Good progress has been made recently with the Scottish Government’s published consultation report on Gaelic commitments and the report prepared by the Short Life Working Group on Economic and Social Opportunities for Gaelic. We also expect to make further progress with the forthcoming Scottish Languages Bill.

Question reference: S6W-18654

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider providing additional financial support for local authorities to help tackle council tax debt, including forgiving or wiping debt.

Council tax is a local tax, set and collected by each local authority, with every council financially and administratively accountable to their electorate. It is important that local authorities retain the tools to enforce the payment of council tax by those who have the means to pay but choose not to do so, whilst the Council Tax Reduction Scheme ensures nobody has to meet a council tax liability they cannot be expected to afford.

Question reference: S6W-18533

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on its work to reduce teachers' class contact time.

We will continue to explore with the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) how we might progress this commitment which is, at least in part, linked to the commitment to recruit additional teachers. In doing so, we will need to be cognisant of financial sustainability given the requirement to fund the recent pay deal for teachers.

An update on timescales will be provided to the Scottish Parliament by the end of this session.

Question reference: S6W-18571

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17413 by Mairi Gougeon on 9 May 2023, what the level of underspend referred to was in (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23; how many hectares of peatland were restored with grant support in each of those years; what the average cost per hectare to restore peatland is estimated to be, in the light of experience from the peatland restoration scheme, and what any factors identified as preventing targets from being achieved are.

As per our delivery partners’ published accounts ( Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park - Annual Report & Accounts , Cairngorms National Park Authority Annual Reports and Accounts , Forestry and Land Scotland Annual reports and accounts , NatureScot Annual Reports and Accounts , Scottish Water Annual Reports ), the level of underspend for the years 2020-21, 2021-22 was around £12 million and £7.4 million respectively. Final capital and resource spend figures for 2022-23 have still to be confirmed and will be available in due course.

Figures for restoration in 2020-21 and 2021-22 can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200314966/ . For 2022-23 our current estimate is 7,468 ha, however we are awaiting final validation of these figures

Based on provisional financial outturn figures, in 2022-23 the average cost of restoration was around £2,326 per ha. However, as an average, this number tells us very little. There is significant variation in the actual cost to restore peatland depending on site specific factors like the size and location of the site, level of degradation and required work to remedy, and accessibility.

The factors preventing targets from being achieved are physical limitations imposed by weather, access and ecological constraints and gaps in contractor availability and skill shortages. We have identified these in light of our experience of delivering restoration schemes and are putting in place mitigating actions to help resolve these constraints.

Question reference: S6W-18617

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many seal licences have been granted for "imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including those of a social or economic nature", and how many seals have been killed or taken by licence holders of this type, in each year for which data is available.

Question reference: S6W-18496

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it makes available to care experienced young people when they become parents.

Support for care experienced young people when they become parents is threaded through a number of Scottish Government policies.

These include the Family Nurse Partnership where first time parents aged under 20 are supported by family nurses from early pregnancy until their child’s second birthday. This intensive, relational based support helps address social and economic factors, such as housing stability, welfare, education, employment and money advice. Over the next few years the Scottish Government has committed to extending this programme to young parents aged 21 and under, and to target parents aged 25 and under who have experience of care..

Through Early Learning and Childcare, parents with experience of care can access up to 1140 hours a year of funded childcare for their child from their second birthday. There is evidence of the particular benefits of high quality ELC for children from disadvantaged circumstances, which includes children with experience of care or whose parents have experience of care. We are continuing to work with local authorities to maximise uptake of the existing offer of funded ELC for eligible two-year-olds.

Support is also available through the five family payments: the Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Foods and the three Best Start Grants. These payments could be worth around £10,000 by the time an eligible child turns six years old.

As part of our commitment to Keeping the Promise, we will continue to develop and invest in policies to support care experienced parents.

Question reference: S6W-18495

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nursery sector regarding the current funding agreement.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the views of the private, voluntary and childminding sector are heard and reflected in national policy. For example, the Scottish Government consulted on different funding models before the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) expansion to 1140 hours.

I hosted a meeting with sector representatives on Tuesday 18 April to hear about challenges and opportunities for the sector, and I will be undertaking a programme of engagement over the next few months.

Senior Scottish Government officials also engage regularly with the sector, including through the Childcare Sector Working Group and the National Childcare Providers Forum.

The Scottish Government and COSLA have engaged with providers as part of the work on the joint review of the process for setting Sustainable Rates in 2022-23. I will consider the findings of this review carefully when it reports this summer.

Question reference: S6W-19068

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on the National Innovation Strategy.

Question reference: S6O-02389

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the newest developments are in the creation of Scottish Parliament apps to allow the public easier access to parliamentary business papers and other resources.

Year	Cases referred to COPFS
2009	No Data
2010	15
2011	18
2012	1
2013	10
2014	9
2015	17
2016	13
2017	27
2018	4
2019	11
2020	4
2021	1
2022	15
2023 to 7 June 23	3

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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