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-40024

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it had with civil service unions in advance of the reported comments by the Permanent Secretary regarding an ambition for civil servants to work in the office for at least 60% of their contracted hours.

Question reference: S6W-40023

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what equality impact assessments were carried out in advance of the reported comments by the Permanent Secretary regarding an ambition for civil servants to work in the office for at least 60% of their contracted hours.

A full Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) has been completed for the new hybrid working policy for core Scottish Government staff in hybrid-compatible roles should aim to spend 40% of their contracted hours working in person either in our workplaces, with stakeholders or in communities.

The EQIA has been published on the Scottish Government’s intranet for all affected staff to access, and will continue to be reviewed.

Diversity and inclusion have been central to the Scottish Government’s approach: alongside working with, and formally consulting, recognised trade unions, officials engaged Scottish Government staff diversity networks, who also input to the EQIA.

Question reference: S6W-40195

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of schools that have a dedicated family income advisor.

Specific data on school-based family income advisors, is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has invested £1.75 billion in the Scottish Attainment Challenge over the past decade, including over £1billion in Pupil Equity Funding, empowering headteachers to take the best approaches that suit the needs of their pupils and families. This funding is supporting significant numbers of additional staff, like family income advisors, to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.

Across the country we continue to trust and empower Scotland's headteachers to use this extra funding to support their pupils - whether through extra support staff, family link workers or family income advisors. As highlighted in the pupil_equity_funding_report_2025_.pdf, published in May 2025, we know that the majority of the funding supports staff with roles specifically designed to help children and young people impacted by poverty. This includes up to 3,000 additional staff - almost 700 of whom are teachers - with the remainder in roles such as family link workers, pupil support assistants, education psychologists, speech and language therapists and family income advisors.

The Scottish Government also continues to support free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services with £16.9 million invested in 2025-26, a significant increase on the £12.3 million invested in 2022-23, helping support families get the support they are entitled to.

Question reference: S6W-40194

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to expand income maximisation programmes as outlined in its 2022-23 Programme for Government, specifically in schools.

The Scottish Government continues to support free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services with £16.9 million invested in
2025-26, a significant increase on the £12.3 million invested in 2022-23.

This investment supports a range of advice and income maximisation services including the Advice in Accessible Settings Fund. Since launching in 2023 the Fund, which aims to increase the availability and accessibility of advice in places that people already go, has supported more than 13,000 clients and unlocked £27 million in financial gains. The fund supports and encourages partnerships between existing advice providers and a wide range of other community based services. This includes charities, housing and homelessness services, specialist health services, carers support services and 3 partnerships involving schools.

Question reference: S6W-40192

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 10 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what resources it is providing to SEPA to support the implementation of the Environmental Authorisation (Scotland) Regulations 2018.

The Scottish Government aims to resource all of its agencies to deliver on their key statutory duties and frontline services for the people of Scotland. In SEPA’s case, resourcing includes Grant in Aid funding, as agreed by Parliament, through the approval of annual budget bills as well as funding raised by SEPA through its various charging schemes.

It is for SEPA to determine how it allocates funding to deliver against each of its priorities. Implementation of the integrated authorisation framework, as set out under the Environmental Authorisation (Scotland) Regulations, was identified as a high priority in SEPA’s 2024-27 Corporate Plan. In each year that the Corporate Plan covers, SEPA’s annual operating plans will set out how resources will be allocated.

Question reference: S6W-40190

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to ensure that the new Scottish Aggregates Tax and Scottish Landfill Tax are aligned in a way that balances their respective impacts.

The Scottish Landfill Tax and the planned Scottish Aggregates Tax play complementary roles in encouraging the substitution of recycled and secondary aggregates for primary aggregates.

Research commissioned by the Scottish Government, Scottish Landfill Tax: Lower Rate Review (May 2025) highlights in particular that the introduction of the Scottish Aggregates Tax presents an opportunity to reassess how taxation influences the volume of lower-rate aggregates sent to landfill.

Further consideration of the alignment and interaction between the two taxes will be undertaken once the Scottish Aggregates Tax is operational.

Question reference: S6W-40191

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact in Scotland of the UK Government’s forthcoming changes to the Landfill Tax.

The Scottish Government is aware of the UK Government’s consultation on Landfill Tax reforms, and of the potential relevance for Scotland.

Any assessment of the impact in Scotland would depend on the detail of decisions taken following the consultation. The Scottish Government would therefore welcome early certainty from the UK Government on its plans, particularly regarding the arrangements for the lower rate of Landfill Tax.

Decisions regarding Scottish Landfill Tax policy will be announced as usual as part of the Scottish Budget.

Question reference: S6W-40189

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the implementation of the new Scottish Aggregates Tax, to what extent it has explored divergence from the UK Aggregates Levy.

In 2023, the Scottish Government consulted to inform the development of proposals for a Scottish tax to replace the UK Aggregates Levy. The consultation included questions on alignment with the UK Aggregate Levy and the tax rate.

Separately, in 2025, Scottish Government commissioned research on the role of alternatives to primary aggregates in reducing construction sector emissions examined how the tax rate could incentivise the use of such alternatives.

The Scottish Aggregates Tax will initially mirror key aspects of the UK Aggregates Levy, with flexibility to evolve in line with Scottish Government policy objectives.

Question reference: S6F-04275

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 September 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-40193

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether young people have access to accurate education on British and Scottish history, including on the British Empire and the UK's involvement in slavery.