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-30796

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider seeking to amend section 51 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to ensure that the assessment of the safety of safe walking routes to school is undertaken by an independent body.

As part of their statutory responsibilities in relation to home to school transport local authorities are also required by the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to have regard to the safety of pupils.

Where local authorities conclude a route used by pupils to walk to school is unsafe transport should be provided even though the distance falls short of their normal distance criteria. Existing guidance sets out that Ministers expect local authorities to keep their criteria for providing school transport under review and be flexible enough to take into account factors, relative to the nature of the route, which might affect pupil safety.

The Cabinet Secretary for Transport, the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity and I have commissioned an update to the Scottish Government’s school transport guidance for local authorities to provide further clarity on our expectations in relation to safety.

The statutory minimum walking distances set out in legislation are a long-standing feature of our education system and there are no plans to change them. The Scottish Government published guidance for local authorities regarding home to school transport in 2021.

Question reference: S6O-03985

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities will receive a fair budget settlement.

Question reference: S6W-30997

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many enforcement notices have been issued by the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team in each of the last five years.

Total number of Enforcement Notices issued by the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team in each of the last 5 years:

2020: 16

2021: 0

2022: 3

2023: 8

2024: 13

Enforcement Notices (ENs) are issued as a result of non-compliance with AWET correspondence. If an underpayment has been identified as a result of a wages inspection or complaint, ENs are used if an Employer fails to fulfil a request for payment. These act as the end of deliberation between the Employer and AWET, and now form a legal requirement for the Employer to provide reimbursement to an Employee.

Any further objection to the contents of an EN may now only be challenged via Employment Tribunal or an agreed settlement.

Question reference: S6W-30992

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many employers make deductions at (a) the maximum and (b) less than the maximum permitted level for accommodation other than a house from workers on the Seasonal Worker Visa scheme.

The number of employers and the amount they deduct is not a statistic (figure) that the Scottish Government collects or has access to. The amount deducted is a contractual agreement between employer and employee and would only be investigated during a wages complaint or routine inspection if the amount deducted was more than the maximum allowed under the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Order (AWO). The AWO does not differentiate between agricultural workers on the Seasonal Worker Visa scheme and other seasonal workers or permanent employees.

Question reference: S6W-30991

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) employers and (b) workplaces are monitored by the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team.

All agricultural businesses that have employees are required to comply with the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Order (AWO). The monitoring of compliance with the AWO takes the form of Control Test Inspection (CTIs). Each year, a selection of 120 businesses, encompassing employers and workplaces, are randomly selected from the information taken from the June Scottish Agricultural Census. In 2024, circa 8200 businesses were deemed to have employees covered by the AWO. In addition to CTIs, the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team will investigate all businesses where employees have raised complaints.

Question reference: S6W-30995

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many agricultural wages inspectors are (a) directly employed by it and (b) independent contractors.

There are currently 21 Scottish Government employees working as Agricultural Wage Inspectors. This role is conducted by Agricultural Officers who work for Rural Payments & Inspections Division and are responsible for other statutory functions in addition to agricultural wages inspections.

No independent contractors conduct the role of Agricultural Wages Inspector on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-30994

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staffed posts there have been in the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-30996

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what translation and interpretation support is provided to agricultural wages inspectors when they make visits to workplaces.

Question reference: S6W-30998

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 12 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what housing standards (a) caravans and (b) static homes that are provided by employers to workers employed on the Seasonal Worker Visa scheme are subject to.

Caravans and static homes provided by employers through a Service Occupancy Agreement are not subject to housing standards. Where agricultural land is used for the accommodation of people involved in farming operations on a seasonal basis, a site licence for a caravan is not required.

Employees’ rights will depend on what is written in their employment contract and will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. However, if an employee has a Private Residential Tenancy, then they will have the same rights as a private tenant.

Question reference: S6T-02170

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of any potential implications for accessibility, equality and safety for passengers and the public, whether it will permit the reduction in opening hours of ticket offices by ScotRail.

Financial Year	Full Time Equivalents
2020-2021	0.8
2021-2022	0.8
2022-2023	1.2
2023-2024	2.1
2024-2025	2.25