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: S5O-01623

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 20 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Scottish Land Commission.

Question reference: S5W-12933

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 7 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics suggesting that care-experienced young people in Skills Development Scotland Employability Fund scheme have a lower achievement rate than those who have not been in care.

The Employability Fund supports care-experienced young people through discretionary funding, which recognises the need to make additional support available for individuals who participate in the programme. Regional guides across each Local Authority area have been developed to assist providers in identifying the additional support services available in their local area to improve the chances of young people sustaining a job.

In addition, the Scottish Government funds a range of employability programmes specifically designed to help those who face barriers to moving into further education, training or employment opportunities, including young care leavers to get into positive destinations. In 2017-18 we are providing funding of £1.2 million to a third sector consortium to launch a new pilot programme – Discovering Your Potential – which is specifically aimed at providing long-term and intensive support to young care leavers with the most complex needs.

More widely, the Scottish Government continues to take measures to support care-experienced young people into improved educational outcomes in Further (FE) and Higher Education. The Scottish Funding Council introduced a national policy for Further Education bursaries in 2016-17 relating to care-experienced students, asking colleges to ensure this cohort receive the optimum award available, taking into account their wider circumstances.

In Higher Education, the Scottish Government has implemented the recommendation of the Commission on Widening Access for a full non-repayable bursary for care-experienced students from 2017-18 onwards, with over 500 students awarded the bursary to date. This is already making a real difference to some of Scotland’s most vulnerable young people. We also expect universities to ensure that every care-experienced young person who meets the entry requirements is offered a place at a Scottish university, in line with the Commission’s recommendation.

Question reference: S5W-12932

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics suggesting that there are fewer female than male starts in the Skills Development Scotland Employability Fund scheme.

The latest statistics on the Employability Fund indicate participation broadly in line with previous year’s figures.

Employability Fund provision is available to those who are referred to the Fund in relation to their specific needs and thus is not subject to open recruitment.

Participation in the Employability Fund is against a backdrop of higher academic attainment by girls than boys, higher level of participation in tertiary education and a lower unemployment rate for females.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with Skills Development Scotland to understand more fully the reasons why there are fewer female than male starts.

Question reference: S5O-01560

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in developing the delivery plan to tackle child poverty.

Question reference: S5O-01519

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how the Lord Advocate decides whether a matter is in the public interest.

Question reference: S5O-01507

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to fill vacant teaching posts and encourage the take-up of postgraduate teaching courses.

Question reference: S5W-12501

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures from Police Scotland that state that more than 150 children were caught with an offensive or bladed weapon in Glasgow over the last two years.

We are determined to tackle knife crime and, looking across Scotland, offences of possession of offensive weapons are down 69% between 2006-07 and 2015-16. However, we recognise that there is still more to do and that violence is a complex issue.

Alongside enforcement of legislation, we have invested more than £14 million in violence prevention measures and programmes since 2006-07, including over £8.7 million for Scotland’s National Violence Reduction Unit and funding of over £3.4 million for the No Knives, Better Lives programme. Much of our effort has been focused on children and young people and our partners, including schools and local authorities, are supporting us in the implementation of wider strategies to prevent knife crime and all other kinds of violence.

Question reference: S5W-12463

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help deliver strategic infrastructure to support new developments.

The ongoing review of planning aims to better align infrastructure planning and delivery with new development. As part of this, we are exploring options for an infrastructure levy as a means of supporting the delivery of infrastructure, a national delivery group to support improved co-ordination of development and infrastructure, and simplifying the system of development plans whilst also improving their focus on delivery.

Scotland’s National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3), published in 2014, sets out where nationally significant development and infrastructure is expected over the next 20 to 30 years. Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) states that early discussion should take place between local authorities, developers and relevant agencies to ensure that investment in necessary new infrastructure is addressed in a timely manner.

The Scottish Government will ensure that the future revisions of SPP and NPF are aligned with wider government policies and programmes, including the National Transport Strategy, Strategic Transport Projects Review and Infrastructure Investment Plan.

Question reference: S5W-12500

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the discussions it has had with the Violence Reduction Unit and the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools regarding the possession of offensive weapons among under-16s.

The Scottish Government remains resolute in our determination to tackle knife crime, with offences of possession of offensive weapons down 69% between 2006-07 and 2015-16, and we are continuing to work with schools and local authorities on anti-violence campaigns and curriculum programmes to reduce incidences further. We support the promotion of best practice, including what lessons we can learn from others as well as the interest from beyond Scotland in the pioneering preventative work of our National Violence Reduction Unit.

The Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviours in School (SAGRABIS) recommended that guidance on violence and weapons in schools was included in the recent Included Engaged and Involved Part 2 guidance. This was published in June 2017. http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/06/8877/0

SAGRABIS and the Violence Reduction Unit discussed the recommendations made by the independent report looking into the Bailey Gwynne tragedy. Both groups concluded that giving teachers the powers to search pupils would fundamentally change the teacher-pupil relationship, putting teachers on the same footing as the Police.

Question reference: S5W-12464

Asked by: Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the judgment of the Supreme Court to the case of Aberdeen City and Shire Strategic Development Planning Authority v Elsick Development Company Limited.

The Scottish Government will consider the implications of the Supreme Court decision as we take forward the review of planning. In consultations leading up to the introduction of the forthcoming Planning Bill, we have proposed introducing an enabling power for an infrastructure levy to support the delivery of strategic infrastructure. In addition, as part of planning reform we propose to review existing guidance to identify where improvements or clarifications can be made.