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-33129

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which ideas suggested by the Young Islanders Network in relation to the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan were included in the final report.

The Addressing Depopulation Action Plan includes an action for Scottish Government to engage with Youth Scotland and the Young Islanders Network (YIN) to co-develop ideas to encourage young people to move to, or remain within our island communities.

Since publication, as part of this engagement the Scottish Government’s independent Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population have met with a cohort from the YIN, to gather their input into a forthcoming report on the mobilities of young working age people in rural and island areas. It is envisaged that recommendations from this report will be considered by Scottish Ministers after publication, and where appropriate these will inform the development of future interventions to support population attraction and retention in rural and island areas.

Additionally, engagement with the YIN around the development of the next National Islands Plan (NIP) has already been conducted by Scottish Government officials, highlighting that the next NIP plans to have an overarching focus on population attraction and retention. This engagement will continue prior to publication and delivery of the next NIP, planned for later this year.

Question reference: S6W-33158

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many junctions along the A90 conform to current road safety design standards.

The A90 is a trunk road with considerable history having been periodically improved over the last 60 years to its current alignment and arrangement. The various improvements will have been designed in accordance with design standards that were in force at that time. As standards evolve they are not retrospectively applied to existing sections of road, unless changes or improvements at a given location are considered necessary.

Question reference: S6W-33038

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on any incidents of theft from railway stations in Aberdeen over the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-33972

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the review of the home education guidance.

Scottish Government committed to reviewing the home education guidance in December 2019. This has now been updated following thorough consultation with stakeholders and the general public.

The updated guidance will be published on 23 January 2025 on the Government website here https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836911357

The updated home education guidance reflects the changing context in which home education takes place in Scotland and sets out a child’s rights-based approach to home education.

Scottish Ministers want all those involved in a child’s education to be informed and equipped regarding home education, to better understand the circumstances and choices made by parents, and the responsibilities that parents take on when choosing to home educate.

With this updated guidance, Scottish Ministers continue to encourage local authorities and parents to work together to develop trust, mutual respect and a positive relationship that functions in the best educational interests of the child.

Question reference: S6W-33293

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants (a) retired, (b) took voluntary redundancy and (c) were made redundant involuntarily, broken down by grade (i) A3, (ii) A4, (iii) B1, (iv) B2, (v) B3, (vi) C1, (vii) C2 and (viii) C3 in (A) 2021-22, (B) 2022-23, (C) 2023-24 and (D) 2024-25 to date.

(a) The number of civil servants in Scottish Government core directorates who retired in recent years are as follows:

	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024	April to September 2024
A3	16	11	14	5
A4	8	8	11	8
B1	10	9	6	8
B2	25	20	21	14
B3	27	28	32	21
C1	15	16	19	20
C2	14	16	15	8
C3	7	2	5	3

Please note that data is only available to September 2024.

(b) Under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, which the Scottish Government is entitled to follow, there are three categories of early departure: voluntary exit, voluntary redundancy, and compulsory redundancy.

No voluntary redundancy schemes have been run in 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, or 2024-25 to date in the Scottish Government. Therefore the number of civil servants who took voluntary redundancy in all years is nil.

(c) No compulsory redundancy schemes have been run in 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, or 2024-25 to date in the Scottish Government. Therefore the number of civil servants who took involuntary or compulsory redundancy in all years is nil.

Question reference: S6W-33312

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is addressing youth violence, in light of its Youth Violence Summit on 13 January 2025.

The Scottish Government is grateful for the bravery shown by the young people and their families who shared their experiences at the summit. It was extremely important to hear directly from those with lived experience on their views about possible solutions to address violence amongst young people.

We will publish a report of the summit that will highlight the key areas the participants raised.

A commitment has been made to hold a further meeting involving cross-party MSPs to discuss youth violence and the issues raised at the summit.

Over the last two years, we have invested more than £4 million to implement the actions set out in the Violence Prevention Framework, including tackling youth violence. This has included work to extend the support of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, to reach more individuals and communities across Scotland, extending the Medics Against Violence Hospital Navigator Programme in two Children’s Hospitals in Aberdeen and Glasgow and training teachers in schools to provide young people with key messages on violence.

The Scottish Government is also investing up to £20 million through our CashBack for Communities programme phase 6, which is funding 29 partners over 3 years to deliver early intervention and prevention projects targeted at working with and supporting young people at risk of being drawn into antisocial behaviour, offending or reoffending. This programme aims to reach a minimum of 33,976 children and young people between April 2023 and March 2026.

Question reference: S6W-33294

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided to neighbourhood watch schemes in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government has provided £1.19m to Neighbourhood Watch Scotland since 2014.

A breakdown of funding per financial year is provided in the following table.

Financial Year	Total
2024-25	£ 105,000.00
2023-24	£ 140,000.00
2022-23	£ 140,000.00
2021-22	£ 118,000.00
2020-21	£ 107,000.00
2019-20	£ 115,000.00
2018-19	£ 115,000.00
2017-18	£ 103,725.00
2016-17	£ 103,725.00
2015-16	£ 103,725.00
2014-15	£ 40,758.83
Grand Total	£1,191,933.83

Information on funding provided to Neighbourhood Watch Scotland prior to 2014 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost and has therefore not been provided.

Question reference: S6W-33321

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address the reported possibility of drug gangs attempting to profit from the opening of The Thistle facility, in Glasgow, by selling illicit substances nearby the facility to individuals who are already facing addiction issues.

The Thistle facility in Glasgow acknowledges the challenges posed by external factors, such as the potential for organised crime groups to exploit vulnerable individuals. To address this Glasgow HSCP are working closely with Police Scotland who are dedicated to disrupting organized crime groups and ensuring a hostile environment for their operations.

Police Scotland maintain operational independence to police the facility and surrounding areas, safeguarding the wider community, facility operators and users.

In addition, local policing teams will act on reports of drug use or supply by deploying community police and response officers to patrol identified areas, deterring criminality and enhancing public safety. Police Scotland will also continue patrols to address illegal acts around the facility. Public support around this facility is vital and Police Scotland would encourage the reporting of any concerns to them or Crimestoppers to help address any issues.

Question reference: S6O-04267

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed plans to reduce corridor care and the use of temporary escalation spaces with NHS boards.

Question reference: S6O-04270

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether feasibility studies and development expenditure for ports and harbours will be eligible for funding as part of the investment in maintaining and improving ports and harbours that is proposed in its draft Budget 2025-26.