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-43251

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Alexander Dennis since September 2025 to establish the reasons for the company reportedly not having applied for any funding through the furlough scheme that was created to support it, and whether any conditions of the scheme have prevented or delayed access to the funding.

Question reference: S6W-43246

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when its (a) officials and (b) ministers last met the management at Alexander Dennis.

Question reference: S6W-43248

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that Alexander Dennis is meeting its obligations regarding the funding that it has made available to the company.

Question reference: S6W-43298

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason eligibility for the First Minister’s Start Up Challenge is restricted to only young people from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, and what assessment it has made of the impact this restriction will have on other entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30.

The First Minister’s Start-up Challenge is focussed on young people from disadvantaged or under-represented backgrounds because the evidence suggests that they are less likely to engage in entrepreneurship due to a lack of financial support, networks and role models. Ministers believe that unlocking this talent will have a significant economic impact.

An Equality Impact Assessment is currently being undertaken and will be published on the Scottish Government website prior to applications opening later in the year. Entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 are able to seek support for a variety of programmes and partners within the ecosystem, including via the Scottish EDGE Young EDGE awards, funded by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-43300

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much have electricity generators in Scotland been paid in constraint payments in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6O-05474

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the culture of whistleblowing in the NHS.

Question reference: S6W-43232

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42739 by Ivan McKee on 9 January 2026, what sources provided the evidence for the internal review to implement the 40% in-person working target, and whether it will set out what these sources advised.

Details of the sources of evidence used by, and related advice provided to, the Scottish Government’s Executive Team during an internal review of its hybrid working policy have been available on the Scottish Government website since July 2025 at: Scottish Government hybrid working policy evidence and findings: FOI release - gov.scot. In particular, the sources of evidence considered are set out at annex 6 and advice in annexes 1 to 5 of that publication.

Question reference: S6O-05448

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many new teachers, who qualified in the last three years, are now in permanent teaching posts.

Question reference: S6W-42729

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent skills shortages in priority sectors from worsening due to any contraction in college course provision.

The budget invests over £2.4bn in post school education and skills and reinforces our steadfast commitment to free education. It includes a significant real terms increase in our investment in Scotland’s College and University sectors so that people of all ages have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, while also ensuring that priority workforce needs are met.

The Scottish Government has committed to introduce a new approach to national skills planning, and strengthen regional skills planning.

Alongside setting up these new arrangements, we recognise the importance of tackling current skills needs in priority areas. We are providing targeted support across a range of sectors, including offshore wind, social care and engineering.

For example, we are providing funding to the college sector in 2025-26 to deliver an Offshore Wind Skills Programme, helping to create region-specific training hubs for offshore wind skills. We are investing almost £12 million over three years to deliver a targeted Offshore Wind Skills Programme. This new funding will enable us to deliver the most critical priorities in our action plan, while keeping the programme scalable as future funding decisions are taken.

We are also investing up to £2 million in 2025-26 to develop engineering skills in the Glasgow City Region through a programme led by Clyde Maritime Cluster with Skills Development Scotland. This is supporting industry-led action to increase the supply of engineering and advanced manufacturing workers and reduce levels of economic inactivity.

Operational decisions such as curriculum delivery are the responsibility of individual colleges.

Question reference: S6W-42841

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission to publish its final report, and whether it plans to make a statement to the Parliament on the Commission's recommendations following publication.