- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 14 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many of its public agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities, currently operate single-sex services based on gender identity rather than biological sex, and what steps are being taken to address this.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government and is a matter for individual public bodies. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the body responsible for regulating and enforcing the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Government is already undertaking a review of existing policies, guidance and legislation impacted by the recent Supreme Court judgment but will require to fully consider the revised Guidance and Code from the EHRC when it is issued, along with the Supreme Court judgment itself, before any changes could be made.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 14 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party 2021 manifesto commitment to abolish non-residential care charges, for what reason the number of local authorities introducing or raising such fees has reportedly increased since 2022.
Answer
Under Section 87(1A) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, a local authority may charge for the adult non-residential, non-personal care it provides such as day care, lunch clubs, meals-on-wheels, community alarm and help with shopping and housework.
Local authorities have the powers to develop their own charging policies for non-residential social care and support. These charging policies are designed with the primary objective of offsetting the costs of providing services at a local level.
COSLA produces annual guidance to help promote consistency in policies, however variation often exists due to local accountability and conditions. COSLA and the Scottish Government recognises that local authorities require autonomy and flexibility to adapt to their local circumstances.
COSLA guidance recommends that charges should be reasonable and must be no higher than the cost to the local authority of providing the service. In reality most charges are much lower than the cost of providing the service.
The Scottish Government recognises that the cost of care can be high for people particularly in the current financial climate. We are committed to working with COSLA to review non-residential charges.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 14 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued any guidance or expectations to university governing bodies regarding executive pay restraint during periods of public funding pressure, in the last five years.
Answer
The Minister addressed the issue of executive pay and the need for restraint when he attended the Meeting of the Committee of Scottish University Chairs on 27 March 2025.
Universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own pay and remuneration decisions.
However, the Scottish Government expects universities to exercise restraint in setting senior pay, and senior pay packages should be in step with the salary, terms and conditions offered to other university staff.
Universities are also required to comply with the terms of the Scottish Funding Council’s Financial Memorandum as a condition of grant funding. This includes compliance with the principles of The Scottish Code of Good HE Governance, such as the expectation that universities’ remuneration committees seek the views of student and staff representatives in relation to the remuneration packages of Principals and senior executive teams, represent the public interest and avoid any inappropriate use of funds.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the conduct of NHS Fife, in
relation to the ongoing employment tribunal, is consistent with the principles
of transparency and accountability in public service.
Answer
This matter is still subject to ongoing judicial proceedings, as such, it would not be appropriate for Scottish Government officials or Ministers to comment.
We expect all NHS Scotland Boards to operate with the highest standards of transparency, accountability and compliance with employment and equalities legislation.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons are for its reported position that an independent Scotland would be better able to mitigate the impact on Scotland of economic and financial uncertainty, and what evidence informed its position on the matter.
Answer
I refer the member to the publication, A stronger economy with independence, which sets out detailed proposals on how the Scottish Government would use the full powers of independence to build an inclusive, fair, wellbeing economy that works for everyone in Scotland, and will allow us to replicate the success of many neighbouring countries which are more prosperous, productive and fairer than the UK.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many public body equal pay claims are outstanding, and what assessment it has made of the financial implications of these.
Answer
The information requested is not routinely gathered or held centrally by the Scottish Government. Any outstanding liabilities to settle equal pay claims will be reflected in a public body's annual accounts. Information of this nature can be obtained by approaching individual public bodies.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the current projected total cost for the Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme is, and how much of that total it has committed to date.
Answer
The total expected cost put forward by Falkirk Council in 2015 for the Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme in 2015 was £108 million. The scheme as put forward includes a range of components providing protection to both residential and industrial areas.
Falkirk Council currently estimate the cost to complete the entire Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme as originally proposed is between £450 million and £672 million. This has increased significantly from the estimate of £108million provided in 2015.
The Scottish Government has provided almost £23 million to date to Falkirk Council to support them in development of the Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-34000 by Angela Constance on 7 February 2025, and in light of the recent judgment by the Supreme Court on the legal definition of "woman”, whether it plans to publish a bill to implement the recommendations of the Working Group on Misogyny in the current parliamentary session, and, if so, when.
Answer
As set out in answer to question S6W-37425, which was answered on 2 May 2025, due to the short amount of time left in this parliamentary session, there is insufficient time for a Misogyny Bill to be finalised and introduced. Therefore, the Scottish Government has decided not to proceed with this Bill in this parliamentary session.
However, in order to allow for the protected characteristic of ‘sex’ to be added to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 so that women and girls have the same protections as other groups protected by that Act, we will lay before the Scottish Parliament in September a proposed draft of an SSI under the powers within the Act. This will allow for views to be offered on the approach taken before a finalised SSI is then subsequently laid which will, if agreed, result in new protections for women and girls being introduced.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is appropriate for an NHS board to seek to restrict public scrutiny of a tribunal involving matters of significant public interest.
Answer
Employment tribunal matters are independent and administered by HM Courts and Tribunal Service. It is for the Employment Tribunal to determine whether it is appropriate to restrict public scrutiny of a tribunal involving matters of significant public interest. Accordingly, it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the risk of any project delay or reduction in scope for the Grangemouth Flood Prevention Scheme arising from financial uncertainty over future years' allocations.
Answer
The Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme (GFPS) as proposed by the council, is exceptional in terms of scale and financial cost and requires careful consideration to ensure that it delivers for the local community.
The Scottish Government must weigh up any investment decision both in terms of the impact to the individual project, but also to the impact any individual project has on its ability to invest in other areas. As such, in 2023, Ministers and Falkirk Council agreed that the Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme would be removed from consideration as part of the existing national funding agreement with local authorities for flood protection schemes because its size had a distorting effect on the affordability of the overall programme.
A Task Force approach has instead been used to examine how to take forward improved and affordable flood resilience for Falkirk and Grangemouth residents and local communities.
