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-44359

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the gap was between the proportion of school leavers from the most and least deprived areas entering a positive initial destination, in each of the last five years, for each local authority area.

The information requested is included in the National Improvement Framework Interactive Evidence Report (NIFIER). This can be accessed via the following link: National Improvement Framework Interactive Evidence Report

To download the data go to the Data tab. Under Select Outcome choose "NIF Key Measures" and under Select Measure choose "Percentage of secondary school leavers in a positive initial destination".

Currently there is only LA level data published for this indicator for 2023-24. There is a planned update to the NIFIER on 14 April 2026 and at this point data will be added for 2024-25 and earlier years.

Question reference: S6W-44377

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the most recent figures on the disability employment gap in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-44376

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards halving the disability employment gap by 2038, and whether it remains on track to meet this target.

We are making progress to meet our commitment to halve the disability employment gap by 2038 to 18.7 p.p. The disability employment rate gap is estimated to have reduced by 5.8 percentage points (p.p.) from 37.4 p.p. in January to December 2016 (our baseline year) to 31.5 p.p. in January to December 2024, and the interim milestone to increase the employment rate for disabled people to 50 per cent by 2023 was met one year early in 2022. Between 2018 and 2024 the Workplace Equality Fund (WEF) provided over £3.1 million funding to 71 projects to reduce labour market barriers for priority groups - providing support, training and advice on workplace culture, to enhance retention and progression of disabled staff.

We have also developed a Fair Work digital resource hub, designed to provide information and signpost to support on the implementation of fair work practices within organisations across Scotland. This includes information on inclusive recruitment and reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. We have provided investment of £5 million in 2025-26 for the delivery of Specialist Employability Support in every Local Authority area, and this is protected in our draft budget for 2026-27. This budget ensures every Local Employability Partnership has funding to implement place and train approaches to support for disabled people and people with long term health conditions.

Question reference: S6F-04786

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2026

To ask the First Minister, in light of the reported rise in protests and rhetoric aimed at immigrants and minority groups, what action any future Scottish administration can take to restore kindness, decency and tolerance to politics.

Question reference: S6W-44356

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the funding allocated to the Techscaler programme that has supported companies headquartered in each local authority area, since 2022.

The Techscaler programme does not directly invest in businesses as it is our national programme for creating, developing and scaling tech startups. Members can access the national network of tailored education, mentorship, investment access, community infrastructure, and international opportunities available through the programme. A fuller breakdown of regional participation has recently been published in the Techscaler Annual Report 2025.

Question reference: S6W-44087

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost of addressing school maintenance backlogs has been in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities have statutory responsibility for maintaining their school estate, including determining the investment needed to address maintenance backlogs.

However, the latest School Estate Statistics, published in September 2025, show that the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has reached a record 92%, a substantial rise from 62.7% in 2007 when this Government first took office. We are driving further improvement by providing significant ongoing investment to local authorities through the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme.

Question reference: S6W-44086

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in Inverclyde, (a) how many school pupils aged 4 to 18 have been on waiting lists and (b) what the average waiting time has been for an assessment for additional support needs, in each of the last five academic years.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Support should be put in place to meet a child or young person’s requirements based on need and not dependent on a formal diagnosis.

Information on the number of pupils with additional support needs, planning approaches and types of need are collected and published within national statistics.

Classes and pupils - Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2024 - gov.scot

Question reference: S6W-44088

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what dosage is specified in the national clinical pathway for responsiveness testing with the drug sapropterin in individuals with phenylketonuria (PKU) in Scotland, and whether that pathway aligns with the recommendations of the British Inherited Metabolic Disease Group (BIMDG).

In Scotland, the national clinical pathway for sapropterin use in individuals with phenylketonuria (PKU) applies the UK best-practice consensus guidelines developed by the British Inherited Metabolic Disease Group (BIMDG). This ensures a consistent approach to dosing and assessment of treatment response across the UK’s metabolic services.

The pathway specifies a starting dose of 10 mg per kilogram of body weight per day for the period of responsiveness testing.

The decision to prescribe a medicine, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of a person’s care, having taken into account their clinical condition, safety and any relevant clinical guidance.

Question reference: S6W-43831

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on island communities of the extended annual maintenance of the MV Glen Sannox, and whether such repairs will impact the delivery of the MV Glen Rosa.

The Scottish Government itself has not undertaken any assessment of the impacts associated with extended overhaul periods. We are not aware of any detrimental effects on delivery dates or build costs for MV Glen Rosa.

CalMac are responsible for and manage the planned series of vessel overhauls, and they work with the yards to establish timelines and, where necessary, extensions. In the case of MV Glen Sannox, this has also been done in collaboration with colleagues in Scottish Government working with Fergusons given the element of warranty work to be included.

Arran services throughout this period have continued from Ardrossan and Brodick and cover has been provided by MV Isle of Arran, MV Caledonian Isles and MV Alfred at various times during the planned overhaul and the extension. Additional services have also been provided with the extension of the service to Arran from Claonaig over the winter period.

Question reference: S6T-02931

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture has had with the UK Government regarding any assistance that the Scottish Government could provide, within devolved competence, to support anyone resident in Scotland who might be affected by the escalating situation in Iran and the Gulf region.