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-06425

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05791 by Clare Haughey on 3 February 2022, which of the suggestions made by the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland in response to the consultation on the National Guidance for Child Protection were (a) taken into consideration and put into the guidance and (b) not taken into consideration, and, for any that were not taken into consideration, what the reasons were for this.

The Scottish Government welcomed engagement with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland during the revision of the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland. The Commissioner’s Office provided permission to publish their response to the formal Scottish Government public consultation on Citizen Space .

The Commissioner asked for a comprehensive re-draft of the guidance to ensure that children’s human and statutory rights are threaded throughout; a consistent application of a rights-based approach across health, justice and local authority Children’s Services and Planning Partnerships with greater clarity that children’s rights to protection apply to all those with a duty of care; extending a trauma-informed approach to children in conflict with the law; and a request that Children’s Hearings should be extended to all children under the age of 18.

The Scottish Government met with the Commissioner’s Office to discuss their response and incorporated suggestions into the final published guidance to further strengthen the focus on rights, relationships, collaboration and support for families, building on strengths. It was noted at this meeting that forthcoming Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) support materials will support improved consistency across Scotland in appropriately balancing rights to privacy and family life with rights to be supported and protected. The Commissioner’s Office subsequently reviewed and contributed to the Guidance Supporting Narrative which sets out how our approach to child protection in Scotland aligns with and supports strategic developments including UNCRC implementation.

Some suggestions made in connection with legislation and practice relating to 16 and 17 year olds are beyond the scope of the guidance which reflects the current legislative, policy and practice context. The Scottish Government has committed to review the guidance on an annual basis to ensure that it remains consistent with wider changes.

Question reference: S6W-07306

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the Shared Outcomes Framework for the work of Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council regarding collaborative projects that contribute to overarching skills outcomes.

The Shared Outcomes Framework is the means by which Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) will monitor and report on collaborative projects that contribute to overarching skills outcomes.

The projects in the framework support the skills actions set in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) and the missions of the Future Skills Action Plan, in particular around the alignment of economic demand with current and future provision. The actions outlined in this framework also contribute to delivery of the outcomes in the National Performance Framework and recognise the findings of the SFC’s review of coherence and sustainability in tertiary education and research.

The Framework defines the collaborative projects that are geared towards the strategic intent of supporting enhanced alignment of provision with economic need, resulting in a more agile and responsive system, including a more balanced

portfolio of provision where the evidence supports this being needed.

The Shared Outcomes Framework has been published today and is available here : https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804351789

The Shared Outcomes Framework is a live framework that is published here in its first iteration. It has been agreed with and is supported by the Chief Executives and Chairs of SDS and SFC and will form the basis for regular performance monitoring through the Shared Outcomes Assurance Group and through my regular 6 weekly meetings with the senior leaders of both agencies.

This document will be updated as we develop further measures to track the impact of the projects and will continue to evolve as the projects progress, and to align with the delivery and governance structures for the delivery of the NSET.

Question reference: S6W-07028

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to the National Performing Companies.

The Scottish Government has provided funding of £22.5m for the five National Performing Companies for 2021-22, and maintained their International Touring Fund of £350,000. The same amount of funding is in the 2022-23 budget.

The breakdown of funding is below:

National Performing Company	Amount
Scottish Ballet	£4.37m
Scottish Chamber Orchestra	£1.99m
Royal Scottish National Orchestra	£3.96m
National Theatre of Scotland	£4.17m
Scottish Opera	£8m

The five National Performing Companies also shared £2m in additional support for 2021-22 as a result of the recent Covid19 restrictions. This funding covers cancellations and also support to recover from the pandemic.