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-36531

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the potential fiscal impact on Scotland’s economy of exploration and drilling in the North Sea being curtailed prematurely.

Offshore oil and gas licensing, consenting and the associated fiscal regime are all matters that are currently reserved to the UK Government. As such, estimates of future production from North Sea oil and gas fields are a matter for the relevant UK regulator – the North Sea Transition Authority.

The Scottish Government has consistently called on the UK Government to approach decisions for North Sea oil and gas projects on an evidence-led, case by case, basis – with climate compatibility and energy security key considerations.

Question reference: S6W-36205

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the teaching of Latin in state schools.

Question reference: S6W-36540

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a detailed assessment of the delivery outcomes from the four previous NHS recovery plans launched since 2016.

The NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 was published in August 2021 with a commitment to provide annual reports on progress through the delivery outcomes set out in the plan. These reports are published online and can be found at:

NHS Recovery Plan: annual progress update 2022 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-recovery-plan-annual-progress-update/

NHS recovery plan: progress report 2023 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-recovery-plan-progress-report-2023/

NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026: annual progress update report 2024 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-recovery-plan-2021-2026-annual-progress-update-report-2024/

In line with previous years, an further annual progress report for 2025 will be published by the end of this year.

Question reference: S6W-36525

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent data it has on what proportion of people who register with an employment agency, on average, are in sustained employment six months after a placement.

The Scottish Government does not collect or hold statistics specifically on sustained employment for people who register with an employment agency.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to Scottish Government funded employability support, No One Left Behind and Fair Start Scotland, including data on sustained employment by participants.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-36224

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on the average cost of childcare provision of increasing childcare staff-to-child ratios.

Adult to child staff ratios are set by the Care Inspectorate as the regulatory body for the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) sector and as experts in assessing high quality, safe and nurturing ELC provision.

The Care Inspectorate has no plans to update the current guidance, published 2018. Therefore, the Scottish Government has made no assessment of the potential impact on the average cost of childcare provision relating to ratios.

Question reference: S6W-36489

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report in The Scotsman on 29 March 2025, SNP ministers examine measures to help Scots have more children amid "fertility gap", what its position is on whether the adoption of Nordic-style family policies would have a measurable impact on Scotland’s birth rate.

Question reference: S6W-36807

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents involving (a) patient and (b) staff exposure to sewage leaks in NHS hospitals have been reported in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S6W-36808

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address any (a) pest infestations and (b) basic hygiene failures in NHS buildings.

Question reference: S6W-36573

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with legal experts regarding any (a) constitutional and (b) ethical implications of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

Scottish Government decisions are informed by appropriate analysis of any legal considerations. All legal advice is confidential. It is a long-established convention that legal advice provided to the Scottish Government is not disclosed, and that the Scottish Government does not disclose the source of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.

The Scottish Government set out its position on the constitutional implications of the Bill, as well as that, given the strong feelings and deeply felt views on this matter, Scottish Ministers would be given a free vote at Stage 1, in a Memorandum to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on 30 September 2024. This can be accessed at: Assisted Dying Bill for Terminally Ill Adults SG Memorandum (parliament.scot)

Question reference: S6W-36574

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that any consideration of assisted dying legislation does not erode protections for life-affirming palliative care services.

As stated in response to S6W-36570 on 17 April 2025, it is for the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to scrutinise the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill and it will be for the Scottish Parliament to decide on whether or not to pass it.

The Scottish Government has been clear about its commitment to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access timely and high-quality palliative care, care around dying and bereavement support based on what matters to them.

In October 2024 we published our draft palliative care strategy for consultation. The consultation closed on 10 January 2025 and we are now in the process of analysing the responses. The final strategy and delivery plan will set our direction of travel for the next five years.

Further to that, the Scottish Budget 2025-26 identified funding of £5 million to help support independent hospices deliver pay parity with Agenda for Change (AfC) levels for this and future years.

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