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-36119

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of EY's forecast that Aberdeen is expected to have the slowest gross value added (GVA) growth in the UK between 2025 and 2028.

EY’s independent forecasts set out their estimates of future GVA growth across different parts of the UK. They forecast that Aberdeen’s GVA will grow on average 0.9% per annum between 2025 and 2028. The pace of growth in the region is largely expected to be impacted by their assessment of the long term decline in North Sea oil production and its impact on growth in the UK mining and quarrying sector.

The Scottish Government continues to support a just transition for Aberdeen and North East Scotland through the Aberdeen City Region Deal and Just Transition Fund (JTF). Through the Deal we are providing up to £125 million over 10 years to strengthen and diversify the regional economy. JTF is another 10 year programme supporting projects and communities to create jobs, support innovation and secure a highly skilled workforce. From this, £75 million has been allocated to date.

This is in addition to our recently completed Energy Transition Fund, protecting jobs, skills and knowledge in the region while supporting the creation of new jobs. Meanwhile, Aberdeen City has also benefited from £12.9 million Scottish Government regeneration investment since 2014. It will additionally benefit from our £400,000 commitment to support Our Union Street over 2024-25 and 2025-26.

All while we continue working with regional partners and UK Government to support the North East Scotland Investment Zone. This will include funding of up to £160 million over 10 years and the ability of the region to benefit from 100% retention of non-domestic rates. It will give partners the opportunity to invest in regeneration and infrastructure to support further growth within the Investment Zone.

Question reference: S6W-36732

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee on 5 December 2024, on what date and at what time the official ministerial decision to mitigate the two-child limit was recorded in its electronic Records and Document Management system, and who made that decision.

Question reference: S6W-36729

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the £900,000 that was allocated to local authorities in March 2024 to provide professional learning for school support staff in response to distressed behaviour was distributed; what criteria were used to determine allocations; what proportion of support staff has received training; what assessment it has made of (a) the effectiveness of this training as a standalone intervention and (b) whether this was adequate to meet the training needs of support staff, and how the impact of this funding is being monitored.

Question reference: S6W-36718

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-31149 by Gillian Martin on 19 November 2024, within what timeframe after 2026 it expects to see the projected 2.5% increase to the household recycling rate.

Question reference: S6W-36371

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding what progress is being made to assist colleges in Scotland with the student sponsor licence to provide more flexibility for the sector.

Question reference: S6W-36721

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of its upcoming investment for the 2025-26 financial year in efforts to inform and educate the public on waste separation best practice.

Question reference: S6W-36733

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers Members of the Children’s Parliament to be representative of Scotland's children, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Question reference: S6W-36736

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made regarding whether the Children's Parliament is the most effective mechanism for children's engagement in policy making.

Question reference: S6W-36722

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it invested in battery reprocessing and recycling facilities in the 2024-25 financial year.

Question reference: S6W-36741

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Children's Parliament's initiative, Scottish Government Executive Team Takeover, had on the (a) productivity or effectiveness of its ministerial offices and (b) wider operation of government.