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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 34 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S7W-03311

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings it has had with COSLA to discuss the issue of local authorities ceasing the provision of cross-boundary funded childcare placements in the current calendar year, and on what date or dates those meetings took place.

The previous Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise and the First Minister both wrote to COSLA on the issue in March 2026 before the dissolution of Parliament, calling for action to address the concerns of affected families in relation to local decisions restricting the choice of cross-boundary provision and noting that cross-boundary provision would be a key issue for local and national government to consider during the next parliamentary term.

Following her appointment, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic highlighted concerns about cross-boundary provision to the COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People at their introductory meeting on 1 June 2026.

This issue remains a priority for Ministers, who have committed to exploring cross-boundary provision further with COSLA within the context of wider reform and the Scottish Government’s ambition to transform the wider childcare offer during this parliament.

Question reference: S7O-00317

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the uptake of the First Homes Fund since its introduction.

Question reference: S7O-00217

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the 2026 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) statistics.

Question reference: S7O-00195

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its proposal to reduce the number of NHS boards as part of its public service reform programme, what assurances it can provide that staffing and support for mental health and neurodevelopmental services will not be adversely affected.

Question reference: S7W-02350

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 31 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a timescale for the Scottish Land Court taking on jurisdiction for outdoor access cases under sections 14 and 28 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, as provided for in the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Act 2026.

Many of the measures in the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Act (Scotland) 2026, including the merger of the Scottish Land Court with the Lands Tribunal for Scotland and amendments to the jurisdiction of the Court, will be brought into force by secondary legislation and will therefore be subject to Parliamentary business and timetabling arrangements. It is intended that the expanded Court will be established and operationally ready before other changes to its jurisdiction such as those relating to the 2003 Act are brought in. Officials are currently taking forward the action required to commence the provisions in the Act relating to the Court, and timescales are still to be finalised.

Question reference: S7W-01787

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) 16- to 18-, (ii) 19- to 21- and (iii) 22- to 24-year-olds have not completed their apprenticeship in each year since 2018.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) collects and publishes Modern Apprenticeship (MA) data with the latest full year data covering 2025-26.

https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/josfrdus/modern-apprenticeship-supplementary-tables-quarter-4-2025-26.xlsx

Information on MA achievements and number of leavers is published by age band and year, but the age bands used by SDS are 16-19 and 20-24 and 25+.

Question reference: S7W-01784

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people aged (i) under 19 and (ii) 19 to 24 in further education did not complete their course in each year since 2017-18, and what information it holds regarding the reasons for this.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) collects and publishes information on withdrawal rates and reasons for withdrawal for further (FE) and higher (HE) education students at college in their annual ‘College Student Outcomes’ release. https://www.sfc.ac.uk/publications/college-student-outcomes-2024-25/

Information is published by age band, for courses lasting 160 hours or more, but this is not split by HE or FE nor by the age bands requested. The release also contains some information on reason for withdrawal.

Question reference: S7W-01783

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools use the Gatsby Benchmarks to assess their careers guidance provision, and what the average benchmark score achieved is.

The Gatsby Benchmarks are a careers guidance framework used in England.

Careers support is devolved and the Gatsby Benchmarks do not form part of Scotland’s approach. While individual schools may choose to use the framework if they consider it useful, the Scottish Government does not collect or hold information on its use. Information on the number of schools using the Gatsby Benchmarks, or on any benchmark scores achieved, is therefore not held centrally.

Question reference: S7W-01782

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what tools are used by schools to identify pupils at risk of having the status of not being in employment, education or training (NEET).

Each school works with partners, including the school-based Skills Development Scotland (SDS) career adviser(s), to identify the pupils who are most at risk of not transitioning to a positive destination post-school such as further / higher education, training or employment. Factors that are taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, whether the young person is care-experienced; has caring responsibilities; has any health issues or disabilities; has additional support needs; or has interrupted learning. The school and partners then discuss and agree the appropriate support for each individual.

SDS are responsible for managing the 16+ Participation Portal, a secure online portal which tracks the status of young people aged 16-24. By sharing information between partners, including local authorities, colleges, the Scottish Funding Council, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and the Department for Work and Pensions, SDS can identify those young people not in a positive destination and will proactively make contact with them to offer support.

Question reference: S7W-01786

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) 16- to 18-, (b) 19- to 21- and (c) 22- to 24-year-olds started apprenticeships in each year since 2018,