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: S7O-00300

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it consulted MSP staff trade unions on the contents of the employer pledge that MSPs were asked to sign up to.

Question reference: S7W-02897

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to introducing breakfast clubs across all special schools from August 2027.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the ambition set out by the First Minister which will see children in primary school and all children in special school able to benefit from our national breakfast club policy.

Breakfast club provision must be inclusive and responsive to individual needs, in line with equalities legislation, and inclusive of disabled children and children with additional support needs. Work is continuing through the Equality Impact Assessment process and wider stakeholder engagement to inform the most appropriate approaches to breakfast provision in special school settings. The national breakfast offer will focus on delivering equitable access, with provision shaped locally to meet the needs of children and their families.

Question reference: S7O-00243

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that students who are enrolled in, but not regularly attending college courses, are accurately classified in statistics on young people who are not in education, employment or training.

Question reference: S7W-01283

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration is being given to ensuring that local authorities that have already implemented bans on mobile phones in schools do not incur additional costs when any national guidance is introduced.

Question reference: S7W-01289

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its news release of 14 January 2026, Expansion of breakfast clubs, whether it will clarify the difference in wording between the references to the “introduction of universal breakfast club services by August 2027” and “a national breakfast club programme across all primary and special schools from August 2027”, including the distinction between “by” and “from”, and confirm (a) which description most accurately reflects its policy intention and (b) when the services will begin.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring access to breakfast clubs for all primary school age children in Scotland by August 2027. Around 50% of primary schools in Scotland already have breakfast provision in place. To support further expansion, the Scottish Government is investing £15 million in 2026-27. From 2027-28, £44 million will be invested annually to support implementation of the national breakfast clubs offer.

The policy intention is that a breakfast club offer will be available nationally across all primary and special schools from the academic year 2027-28 beginning in August 2027. As part of the additional £15 million investment in 2026-27, to support a phased delivery of that offer, many children will have access to a breakfast club before that date.

Question reference: S7W-01292

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many extra school staff it anticipates local authorities will need to recruit in order to support the delivery of universal breakfast clubs in all primary and special schools.

Question reference: S7W-01277

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done in the short term to mitigate any risks for children where there is a lack of safe alternative accommodation

Question reference: S7W-01290

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of any work force planning issues to support the delivery of universal breakfast clubs in all primary and special schools.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a universal breakfast club offer for primary school age children by August 2027.

Engagement with COSLA, Local Government and other key stakeholders is underway as part of ongoing work to support delivery, which includes assessment of workforce planning. This is being informed by existing delivery models, how these could be expanded and enhanced and how provision can be established where none currently exists. Engagement and analysis of existing data will inform workforce planning to support implementation of a national offer.

Question reference: S7W-01294

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding will be allocated per pupil to support the delivery of universal breakfast clubs in all primary and special schools.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a universal breakfast club offer for primary school age children by August 2027.

To support this offer, we are investing £15 million this financial year to enable the phased expansion of breakfast clubs across Scotland and a recurring investment of £44 million from next financial year to fund national provision.

Decisions have not been finalised on funding distribution. Work is ongoing with COSLA, Local Government and wider partners to agree a fair and proportionate distribution model for funding across financial years 2026-27 and 2027-28.

Question reference: S7W-01276

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 14 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that social workers are taking children home to ensure their safety due to a lack of alternative accommodation, (a) what action it it taking and (b) how it will ensure that this does not become normal practice

In line with Getting It Right For Every Child and The Promise, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that any child or young person who cannot live at home must be able to stay in a safe, stable and caring environment.

Last year the Scottish Government ran a national recruitment campaign to increase the number of foster carers and we are providing an additional £22.2 million investment to support foster carers and kinship carers. To help ensure more places are available for local authorities in Scotland, new legislation was brought forward in March 2026 to regulate cross-border placements in residential care. Earlier this year the National Social Work Agency was launched, to strengthen and support the social work profession.

Chief Social Work Officers have overall responsibility for ensuring quality and oversight of decisions, ensuring effective governance arrangements for the management of the complex balance of need and risk to children and social workers, in accordance with professional standards. The National Social Work Agency regularly meets with Chief Social Work Officers to understand what appropriate care arrangements are available for children and that professional supports are available for the social workers that surround them.

I met with Chief Social Work Officers, Social Work Scotland and COSLA representatives on 16 June to discuss the challenges around child placements. There was broad agreement that solutions do not lie solely with one organisation and require coordinated action across national and local government. I will co-chair a cross-sectoral roundtable alongside Councillor Buchanan, COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People in early August, to consider what short, medium and long term actions are required to address these challenges.