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-37016

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for Scotland’s public finances, and in relation to the recent decision to equalise the MSP element of minsters' salary with that of MSPs who are not currently serving ministers, whether it will publish a full list of current ministers’ salaries, broken down by those who decided to (a) accept and (b) decline the equalisation of the MSP element of their salary.

Ministerial pay is set and administered by the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government has no role in this. You may, therefore, wish to direct any detailed questions on pay to the Scottish Parliament. A breakdown on Ministerial salaries is provided on the Scottish parliament website - MSP salaries | Scottish Parliament Website.

I can confirm that all Ministers accepted the equalisation of the MSP element of their salary, with the exception of the First Minister who chose not to do so to avoid any perception that he was personally benefiting from his own decisions on Ministerial pay.

Question reference: S6W-37674

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it spent £2,609.78 on belongto.org on 12 March 2025.

The Ireland Scotland Joint Bilateral Review 2021-25, co-produced by both Scottish and Irish governments, recognises the strong cultural and people-to-people links between the two countries and commits to strengthening these.

The funding from the Scottish Government to Belong To in Ireland is a contribution to the Empowering Voices project, which is also supported by the Welsh Government and British Council. The project is coordinated by Belong To (Ireland), and involves LGBT Youth Scotland (Scotland), Education Authority (Northern Ireland), The Proud Trust (England), and Viva LGBT+ (Wales). The project provides a platform for young LGBT+ people from each of the five nations to share their lived experiences.

Question reference: S6W-37621

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that any future phase of City and Regional Growth Deals is not hampered by what have reportedly been described by some MSPs on the Economy and Fair Work Committee as “slow and overly bureaucratic processes."

Question reference: S6W-37626

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any formal requests from the UK Government for collaboration on a second phase of Scottish City and Regional Growth Deals.

Question reference: S6W-37642

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any risk to patient safety from reported delays of up to four hours in NHS 24 call answering.

NHS 24 have robust practices in place to ensure patient safety is paramount and that the appropriate procedures are in place for assessing risk.

Scottish Government monitor the performance of NHS 24 and regularly engage with the service to discuss performance related issues. Should NHS 24 feel that their ability to meet demand was presenting any risk to patient safety we would expect them to contact Scottish Government immediately in line with agreed processes.

Question reference: S6W-37643

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the British Medical Association (BMA) about any clinical risk associated with reported delays in NHS 24 services.

Question reference: S6W-37622

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to reform governance arrangements for growth deals to ensure greater transparency and accountability to local communities.

We have put a number of measures in place to ensure transparency and accountability in the Growth Deals.

The activities supported by Regional Growth Deals are designed by Local Authorities in consultation with the communities they serve. The decision-making structures supporting the Deals include elected members chosen by communities to serve their areas.

Information on Deal delivery is provided through published annual reports and regular updates on specific projects and programmes, all made available on each individual Growth Deal’s website.

Question reference: S6W-37625

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of funding it expects to commit to growth deals in the next financial year, and how this funding will be distributed regionally.

Question reference: S6W-37624

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to ensuring that the small business sector is given a formal role in the design and delivery of any future growth deals.

Question reference: S6W-37623

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted of the economic outcomes achieved through the first round of City and Regional Growth Deals.

Each Deal is required to produce a Benefits Realisation Plan setting both quantitative and qualitative objectives and measures for the programme. Each Deal produces an annual report detailing progress made on the delivery of agreed projects and programmes and on their intended outputs and outcomes. We monitor progress on outcomes on a regular basis via Annual Conversations which involve senior staff from both governments and local authority partners to review the past year’s activity and look ahead to future milestones. Annual reports for all deals are made publicly available on each deal’s website enabling visibility of what is being achieved.