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-30394

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 10 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to expand the eligibility criteria for the Key Worker Fund to landlords in the private rented sector.

The Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund is a five year demand led fund of up to £25 million from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme budget and is available to local authorities and registered social landlords to purchase existing suitable properties in rural and island areas to provide affordable homes for key workers where there is identified need. The fund will run from 2023-24 to 2027-28. There are no plans for the fund to be made available to landlords in the private rented sector.

Question reference: S6W-30514

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in each of the last five years, how many students who received funding to undertake paramedic courses in Scotland subsequently found employment in order to complete their one-year newly qualified paramedic programme in (a) Scotland and (b) England or Wales.

Question reference: S6W-30529

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to allocate towards third sector organisations dealing with domestic abuse in the next funding round, broken down by organisation.

Question reference: S6W-30139

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 9 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what plans it has to create a system of universal free childcare that is flexible and Scotland-wide.

Scotland is the only part of the UK that already offers 1140 hours (equivalent to 30 hours per week in term time) of funded ELC to all 3 and 4-year-olds regardless of whether their parents are working or not because we are committed to promoting equality for all Scotland’s children, putting their interests first. We also make 1140 hours available to around a quarter of 2 year olds and to all children whose entry to primary school is deferred.

It is far from clear that a universal system of ‘free’ childcare for everyone would deliver either value for money for the Scottish taxpayer or the best outcomes for our children and young people. Despite the unprecedented financial challenges facing the Scottish Government we have prioritised tackling child poverty and expanding access to funded childcare for those families who stand to benefit most.

That is why over the next two years we are investing £16 million within six early adopter communities to continue our work to understand what it takes to design and deliver local childcare systems that support those families most at risk of living in poverty.

In addition we are also continuing to support the ‘Extra Time’ Programme, investing £4 million in a partnership with the Scottish Football Association to deliver before, after school and breakfast clubs, providing 3,000 targeted free places each week for children and their families.

We have also invested close to £1 million to deliver free or subsidised school age childcare services through our Access to Childcare projects. These projects are also considering specific challenges for families including remote and rural childcare provision, and specialist provision for children with disabilities or complex additional support needs.

We remain committed to expanding funded ELC to reach more younger children and to building a system of School Age Childcare, and we are going as far and as fast as we can to deliver that.

Question reference: S6W-30138

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to increase the number of (a) teachers and (b) teaching assistants.

Local authorities have statutory obligations in respect of the delivery of education, which includes ensuring they have a complement of staff to meet local needs.

In Scotland we have the most teachers per pupil and highest paid teachers in the UK. We are once again providing £145.5 million to local authorities for the purpose of protecting teacher numbers. We are also continuing to provide £20,000 bursaries to incentivise career changers to train in the hardest to fill teaching subjects. Since the introduction of the scheme, 659 bursaries have been awarded.

I have also asked the Strategic Board for Teacher Education, which is made up of a range of key education stakeholders, to look at issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, including geographical and subject-specific issues, as well as how we can increase diversity within the profession and improve support for early career teachers.

We have 17,330 pupil support staff in Scotland, the highest level on record and an increase of more than 2,000 since 2020. This is a direct result of our continued annual investment of £15 million to councils.

Question reference: S6W-30146

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to establish an accessible, affordable, safe and integrated public transport system, which would improve women’s transport options.

As set out in our recent Programme for Government, we will provide nearly £2.5 billion in 2024-25, to support public transport, making our transport system available, affordable and accessible for all. We also committed, in the PfG, to work with local authorities to ensure as many children as possible can access their free bus entitlement, cutting travel costs and making sustainable travel a more attractive option.

The safety of all public transport users is crucial, and we are working with industry stakeholders to develop actions to tackle antisocial behaviour on the bus network. This includes a process for temporary suspension or withdrawal of concessionary travel entitlement.

Ministers continue to work closely with ScotRail to develop measures to tackle and prevent antisocial behaviour while maximising the safety of all rail passengers and staff. ScotRail has taken several steps to enhance the visible presence of staff on trains, especially on key routes identified as needing additional support. Initiatives such as the "Safer Shores" campaign demonstrate a collaborative approach, with ScotRail working alongside Local Authorities and British Transport Police to provide extra staff on trains to popular seaside destinations during peak times. ScotRail has invested £1.6 million to triple the number of body-worn cameras for frontline staff. ScotRail have also invested in improved CCTV with intelligent video analytics.

To remove barriers to public transport, we have supported operators to accept contactless payment, with about 98% of buses now enabled. We delivered on our PfG commitment to launch a new Traveline Scotland journey planning website and app on 17 September. This improves the quality and availability of travel data to provide a journey planner that is fit for the future.

Much progress has been made in recent years to improve smart, integrated ticketing and payment on public transport, as detailed in the Smart Integrated Ticketing Delivery Strategy, which was published in August this year. This strategy also outlines a programme of work and strategy for the next 5-10 years, building on this progress and including exploring options for a new national integrated ticketing system, reflecting passenger's desires for integrated contactless and digital ticketing.

Question reference: S6W-30513

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to create a transition course for paramedics who graduate but cannot find employment in a paramedic position in Scotland due to any oversaturation of the job market.

Question reference: S6W-30499

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to design targeted skills programmes that will tackle any occupational segregation and move low-paid women into higher-quality and better-paid jobs.

Question reference: S6W-30487

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations of Shelter Scotland and Engender's recent joint report, Gender and the Housing Emergency, what action it is taking to create targeted streams of the Scottish Welfare Fund to support (a) marginalised women and (b) women with no recourse to public funds.

Question reference: S6W-30490

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations of Shelter Scotland and Engender's recent joint report, Gender and the Housing Emergency, what action it is taking to provide appropriate, safe housing and accommodation solutions for women who have no recourse to public funds.