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: S5W-31238

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 1 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all of its current special advisers, broken down by (a) job title, (b) role and (c) salary scale.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26805 on 19 December 2019. In addition Mairi McAllan, Special Adviser, Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, was employed with effect from 6 January 2020, initially to provide maternity cover. Stewart Maxwell is no longer a Special Adviser. We will shortly publish the annual list of special advisers.

The Special Adviser pay bands, and numbers within each band are:

Pay Band	Pay Range	Number of SpAds in each Band
1	£39,445 - £52,904	1
2	£52,905 - £66,317	7
3	£65,017 - £88,564	5
3 (premium)	£86,965 - £100,942	0
4	£86,965 - £104,462	1

Question reference: S5F-04344

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 31 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2020

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that the Test and Protect system is functioning effectively.

Question reference: S5W-31319

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is being provided to schools on social distancing during transfers between classrooms in order to minimise the spread of COVID-19.

The published Guidance on preparing for the start of the new school term in August 2020 contains a section on minimising contact between individuals and groups (paragraphs 40 to 60). This section notes that within specific school settings, risk assessments should consider the ways in which busy corridors, entrances and exits could be avoided, with mitigations that could include one way and/or external circulation routes.

The guidance has been updated to note that face coverings should (unless exemptions apply) be worn by adults and young people in secondary schools when moving about the school in corridors and communal areas, where physical distancing is particularly difficult to maintain.

Question reference: S5W-31300

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure continued uptake of school milk, in light of its reported plan to leave the UK Nursery Milk Scheme.

Question reference: S5W-31299

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish information regarding the milk and healthy snack scheme that is planned to coincide with the expansion of funded early learning and childcare.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Scottish Ministers have postponed the introduction of the new milk and healthy snack scheme. Discussions with key stakeholders paused as public sector resource has been focussed on the Covid-19 response. Discussions with CoSLA and our wider stakeholders are expected to resume soon and we will publish information about the new scheme when a new timescale has been confirmed.

Question reference: S5W-31235

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-3085, S5W-30852 and S5W-30853 by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020, when it last asked the Water Industry Commission for Scotland to review its air travel policy for the conduct of its business, and what action it took to ensure that this policy was consistent with the published guidance.

Question reference: S5W-31231

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-30851 by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020, what its response is to concerns that the Water Industry Commission for Scotland has reportedly been routinely breaching the guidance on air travel to London, and whether it is aware of any other similar breaches by the Commission regarding air travel.

It is the responsibility for agencies, such as WICS, to determine their own travel policies. The Scottish Government has accepted that the Commission’s current policies are consistent with the business needs of the organisation and expects the Commission to keep these policies under review. I refer the member to the answer to S5W-30847 on 13 August 2020 for information on how WICS offsets the carbon footprint of its activities.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-31232

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-30851 by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020, what action it has taken to ensure that the Water Industry Commission for Scotland observes the guidance regarding air travel to London.

Question reference: S5W-31233

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-3085, S5W-30852 and S5W-30853 by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020, whether it considers the Water Industry Commission for Scotland's policy on the (a) use of economy, business and first class air travel and (b) air travel loyalty schemes is consistent with the published guidance.

Question reference: S5W-31236

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are in place for its agencies to seek approval for their staffing structures and the (a) number of promoted posts and (b) pay grades attached to such posts, and what routine periodic inspections of the staff and grading structures of its agencies takes place.

The continuing authority to determine the most appropriate staffing structures rests with the Accountable Officer within each Agency which is in line with the delegation of civil service terms and conditions of service by the Minister for the Civil Service under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992. For those Agencies which are staffed with employees on Scottish Government Main (SGM) terms and conditions of employment, the evaluation and grading of posts takes place via Scottish Government People Directorate guidance. Table 1 below details the current pay and grading structure within SGM. Table 2 details the Agencies within SGM showing the number of staff at each level. Promotion is available between all pay ranges within the SGM pay and grading structure from A3 onwards.

Table1 - SGM Pay and Grading structure with effect from 1 April 2020

	A3	A4	B1	B2	B3	BF	C1	C2	C3
Max-3			£26,155	£30,652	£38,541	£30,400	£48,930	£64,057	£74,038
Max-2	£20,064	£23,344	£27,150	£32,138	£39,663	£33,266	£52,478	£66,285	£74,884
Max-1	£21,148	£24,107	£28,172	£33,624	£42,194	£35,184	£56,122	£69,163	£75,728
Max	£22,232	£24,909	£29,192	£35,110	£46,599	£37,578	£61,006	£73,935	£76,574

Table 2 - staffing structure of SGM Agencies as at 31 July 2020

Agency	A3	A4	B1	B2	B3	BF	C1	C2	C3
Accountant in Bankruptcy	41		46	24	12		4		1
Disclosure Scotland	141	32	55	32	26	1	6	3	1
Education Scotland	31	7	11	21	48		42	146	18
Scottish Public Pensions Agency	19	135	80	31	13	1	10	4	1
Student Awards Agency for Scotland	113	15	46	21	25		8	3	2
Transport Scotland	34	26	41	98	139	7	79	38	10
Social Security Scotland	164	36	191	130	83	3	40	14	1

Those Agencies outwith SGM should be approached separately and will be able to provide the data specific and relevant to them.