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: S6T-01837

Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement by Aberdeen City Council that residents of approximately 500 homes in Torry face relocation as a result of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Question reference: S6F-02905

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister, in light of International Women's Day on 8 March, what steps the Scottish Government is taking to tackle gender-based violence.

Question reference: S6F-02904

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce waiting times for children referred for a neurodevelopmental assessment.

Question reference: S6F-02891

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government can take to help encourage children into sport and cultivate future world class athletes, in light of the recent successes of Josh Kerr and Jemma Reekie at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow.

Question reference: S6F-02896

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to promote community deer management on publicly owned land.

Question reference: S6F-02887

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what impact the Spring Statement will have on Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-02885

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02884

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-25826

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any products currently manufactured in Scotland that are exported to Israel and subject to open general export licences (OGELs) issued by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), which is part of the UK Government Department for Business and Trade.

Open general export licences (OGELs) are reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government does not hold data or information on OGELs.

In a wider context, the First Minister has recently asked the Prime Minister for a ban on licencing of arms exports from the UK to Israel, which would also extend to any relevant products currently manufactured in Scotland.

The UK Government publishes statistics on strategic export licences at: Strategic export controls: licensing data annual reports - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) However, these data sets do not identify where the licenced items are produced.

Question reference: S6W-25357

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scottish National Standardised Assessments and National Standardised Assessments for Scotland reportedly do not include a calculation of pupil reading age, in light of it being recommended during specification meetings in 2015 that a functional reading age test for P7 pupils was required.

When the National Standardised Assessments for Scotland were first being developed, it was agreed in consultation with Scottish literacy experts that the reading assessments should be based on specific organisers within the Curriculum for Excellence – these being “Tools for reading”, “Finding and using information”, and “Understanding, analysing and evaluating”. This was because the relationship between the assessments and CfE was deemed a more useful output for teachers than a notional reading age.

As learners can undertake the assessments at any time in the school year, teachers are able to compare learner outcomes against a cohort of learners who completed their assessments at a similar stage in the year, rather than by age. This comparison has been statistically validated through norming studies and provides valuable diagnostic information to teachers, helping to inform their wider assessment of learner progress in literacy.