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: S6F-02377

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2023

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will consider writing off school meal debts, in light of reports of local authorities instructing sheriff officers to pursue families for unpaid school meal debts.

Question reference: S6O-02537

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updated details of its Learning Estate Investment Programme.

Question reference: S6O-02518

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is regarding levels of attainment in Modern Studies in the most recent SQA exam results in Renfrewshire.

Question reference: S6W-19887

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what happens when recipients of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland 2015 Fund return any unused funds for any reason, including death.

Unused recipient funds, including those in consequence of the death of recipients, are returned to ILF Scotland who in consultation with SG officials, decide whether to use it for spending priorities associated with ILF or to offset ILF Scotland’s monthly drawdown on its annual funding allocation. In the past funds have been used to cover the cost of Scottish Living Wage uplifts for personal assistants employed by ILF recipients, reductions in contributions from recipients towards the cost of their support and a Digital Transformation for ILF Scotland IT systems.

Question reference: S6W-19884

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what portion of the funding allocation for the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland, as agreed with the UK Government, has been spent by it on activity other than ILF in each year from 2016 to date.

Funding for the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland is transferred each year to ILF Scotland to meet existing commitments to the current ILF population under the ILF Scotland policy framework. These policies are set by Ministers and can be found on the ILF website: ILF Scotland Policies | ILF Scotland .

The Scottish Government receives £53.3 million per year from the UK Government to help maintain support for the former ILF/UK population transferred in July 2015. The following table shows the funding allocated by SG to ILF Scotland annually since the first full financial year of 2016-17. In addition, the annual outturn of ILF Scotland can be found within their published accounts (linked here: ILF Scotland Annual Accounts )

Year	ILF Funding Allocation £’000
2016-17	£48,515
2017-18	£47,700
2018-19	£46,220
2019-20	£46,101
2020-21	£49,923
2021-22	£47,740
2022-23	£47,724

Question reference: S6W-19885

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what financial modelling it has carried out to calculate its cost basis projection for re-opening the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland 2015 Fund.

A financial modelling exercise for the cost of re-opening the Independent Living Fund (ILF) 2015 Fund was carried out for the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (IRASC) and explored the number of people in receipt of care packages over a range of support costs. This analysis suggested £32 million per annum was required to re-open the ILF 2015 Fund based on an indicative care package value of £600 per week.

Subsequently the SG undertook further analysis to better understand the data relating to the costs of care packages offered by Local Authorities (LAs). This identified significant variations in how these costs are recorded and therefore uncertainty around likely costs of reopening the ILF 2015 Fund. Work is ongoing to improve social care data more broadly to support the establishment of the National Care Service in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-19886

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it plans to re-open the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland 2015 Fund.

Scottish Ministers are committed to re-opening the Independent Living Fund (ILF) 2015 Fund on the basis of affordability and sustainability. The Scottish Government will continue to actively consider re-opening the Fund as part of the annual budget setting process. Stakeholder engagement opportunities are planned in the coming months to strengthen communication, explain the funding position and stress that future options for the ILF Scotland 2015 Fund would be developed in co-design with disabled people and their representative organisations.

Question reference: S6W-19871

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources have been allocated to support people who experience digital exclusion (a) in general, (b) and who are disabled and (c) and who have poor mental health, to contact Social Security Scotland.

Social Security Scotland is committed to ensuring that the experience of applying for the benefits it administers is accessible and inclusive to support people who experience digital exclusion. In designing the social security system, Scottish Government worked closely with stakeholders, support groups and clients to ensure that the service we create works for the people who will use it, regardless of their geographical location, background or experience of the welfare system.

By design, all Social Security Scotland benefits are accessible through a variety of channels. In addition to the digital options on offer, clients can make contact by telephone or in writing to get support or information on Social Security Scotland benefits. Claims can be made on clerical forms and are available in braille and a variety of languages other than English on request, as are our information leaflets.

Specially trained Client Support Advisers based in each of the 32 Local Authority areas across Scotland, provide a local, accessible service to that area. Advisers can provide clients with face-to-face support to claim Social Security Scotland benefits, gather and provide supporting information, report change of circumstances or provide general benefit advice. Appointments can be arranged for clients in their home, in local outreach venues, or by video or telephone, ensuring that the service is as accessible as possible, at a time and place that meets clients' individual needs, especially for those that are digitally excluded.

Question reference: S6W-19872

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support measures have been implemented to address the reported significant telephone waiting times for people trying to contact Social Security Scotland.

Social Security Scotland listens to feedback from clients and continually evaluates call handling processes and systems.

The agency has made changes to the way in which they handle calls, including better real-time monitoring of call volumes to enable more efficient queue management and a simplified options menu that makes it easier for clients to connect with the correct agent to support or deal with their enquiry more quickly.

Question reference: S6W-19508

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on its policy position regarding the implementation of individual payments for Universal Credit.