Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-39025

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of families currently being charged for education services for children and young people staying in hospital.

Question reference: S6W-39027

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many probationary teachers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have not completed their placement in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-39046

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Part 5, section 126, subsection (1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 should be amended in order to insert an exemption to House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) licensing requirements for properties managed by co-operatives, in order to provide housing co-operatives in Scotland parity with their counterparts in England, which are already exempt from HMO licensing.

I recognise the importance of housing co-operatives and the need to support and encourage them. While we already have powers to make amendments to this section, given the importance of HMO licensing in protecting tenants in Scotland, any decision to make such a change should not be taken lightly, and certainly not before full consideration of any unintended consequences and mitigations had been undertaken. On that basis, the Scottish Government has no immediate plans to change the legislation relating to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing requirements.

England and Wales operate a different HMO licensing regime from Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-39142

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many compulsory redundancies it anticipates there will be within its workforce by the end of 2025.

In support of the Budget and wider Public Service Reform agenda, the Scottish Government is proactively addressing the need to control workforce size.

From March 2022 to March 2025, the total workforce in the Scottish Government has reduced by 5%. This reduction has been achieved through prioritising reductions in contingent workers, natural attrition and enhanced recruitment controls. There are currently no plans for redundancies for this financial year.

As the Public Service Reform Strategy is taken forward we will establish how this will shape the future workforce plan for the Scottish Government organisation and the wider Civil Service.

Question reference: S6W-39143

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the total anticipated cost is of any severance, redundancy and pension liabilities resulting from its planned reductions to its workforce.

Question reference: S6W-38981

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the public consultation process committed to in its announcement in February 2025 on building consensus on council tax reform, when the public will be invited to submit their views on how to make the council tax system fairer, and (a) when in the autumn and (b) where the public events or "town hall" meetings will be held.

Question reference: S6W-38969

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement of £40 million to support the University of Dundee, from which part of the Scottish Budget this will be allocated.

Question reference: S6W-39263

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38588 by Richard Lochhead on 17 June 2025, whether it will provide comparative data for each year since 2015.

Data are available on the number of SMEs operating in Scotland, that are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, broken down by Scottish parliamentary constituency. These estimates, sourced from the Businesses in Scotland 2024 publication, are shown in the following table.

Table 1: Number of registered SMEs operating in Scotland, by Scottish Parliamentary Constituency, March 2015-2024

Scottish Parliamentary Constituency	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Aberdeen Central	4,515	4,440	4,315	4,235	4,315	4,265	4,065	3,915	3,930	4,170
Aberdeen Donside	2,430	2,405	2,310	2,250	2,285	2,270	2,245	2,115	2,045	1,995
Aberdeen South and North Kincardine	3,420	3,380	3,255	3,200	3,185	3,175	3,050	2,850	2,680	2,660
Aberdeenshire East	4,505	4,490	4,430	4,415	4,330	4,280	4,115	4,030	3,890	3,875
Aberdeenshire West	4,635	4,635	4,555	4,480	4,620	4,575	4,455	4,305	4,145	4,110
Airdrie and Shotts	1,485	1,525	1,565	1,545	1,570	1,595	1,635	1,650	1,660	1,725
Almond Valley	2,075	2,140	2,190	2,235	2,275	2,260	2,245	2,195	2,175	2,220
Angus North and Mearns	3,275	3,235	3,185	3,150	3,150	3,155	3,085	2,975	2,860	2,850
Angus South	2,210	2,275	2,290	2,285	2,295	2,275	2,270	2,290	2,260	2,225
Argyll and Bute	3,205	3,185	3,210	3,155	3,150	3,160	3,175	3,260	3,270	3,245
Ayr	2,135	2,205	2,260	2,195	2,270	2,185	2,225	2,170	2,195	2,190
Banffshire and Buchan Coast	3,405	3,420	3,460	3,455	3,500	3,515	3,455	3,390	3,305	3,290
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross	3,965	3,995	3,935	3,930	3,950	3,880	3,845	3,725	3,630	3,625
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley	2,295	2,340	2,345	2,375	2,350	2,420	2,345	2,335	2,320	2,320
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane	1,800	1,825	1,835	1,825	1,810	1,775	1,730	1,695	1,715	1,715
Clydebank and Milngavie	1,735	1,820	1,840	1,820	1,805	1,810	1,800	1,735	1,720	1,725
Clydesdale	2,595	2,650	2,650	2,660	2,680	2,645	2,605	2,605	2,595	2,615
Coatbridge and Chryston	1,440	1,530	1,585	1,605	1,625	1,610	1,610	1,610	1,590	1,595
Cowdenbeath	1,560	1,650	1,960	2,175	2,115	1,980	1,795	1,570	1,555	1,545
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	1,435	1,510	1,565	1,495	1,555	1,570	1,530	1,490	1,435	1,435
Cunninghame North	1,970	1,975	2,020	1,980	1,965	1,945	1,955	1,900	1,840	1,830
Cunninghame South	1,275	1,300	1,370	1,365	1,375	1,430	1,390	1,285	1,290	1,275
Dumbarton	1,640	1,670	1,705	1,690	1,685	1,805	1,790	1,655	1,620	1,615
Dumfriesshire	3,350	3,320	3,320	3,355	3,380	3,390	3,375	3,410	3,405	3,460
Dundee City East	1,545	1,580	1,575	1,550	1,550	1,565	1,585	1,590	1,560	1,570
Dundee City West	1,830	1,810	1,890	1,850	1,935	1,985	2,005	2,040	2,030	2,055
Dunfermline	1,955	2,020	2,090	2,065	2,085	2,090	2,040	1,965	1,920	1,895
East Kilbride	1,895	1,915	1,955	1,985	2,000	1,975	1,990	2,000	2,015	2,015
East Lothian	2,430	2,545	2,580	2,615	2,660	2,645	2,595	2,565	2,550	2,580
Eastwood	2,030	2,125	2,180	2,170	2,175	2,170	2,180	2,175	2,120	2,155
Edinburgh Central	7,045	7,265	7,365	7,540	7,785	7,840	7,710	7,585	7,535	7,580
Edinburgh Eastern	1,450	1,580	1,690	1,705	1,785	1,775	1,735	1,735	1,720	1,745
Edinburgh Northern and Leith	3,070	3,235	3,280	3,250	3,330	3,360	3,175	3,100	3,085	3,130
Edinburgh Pentlands	1,375	1,475	1,520	1,505	1,560	1,630	1,555	1,520	1,465	1,470
Edinburgh Southern	2,465	2,540	2,575	2,535	2,585	2,610	2,500	2,350	2,260	2,215
Edinburgh Western	2,325	2,455	2,545	2,565	2,685	2,715	2,525	2,420	2,390	2,370
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire	3,230	3,205	3,185	3,180	3,180	3,150	3,165	3,215	3,205	3,205
Falkirk East	1,710	1,740	1,755	1,695	1,700	1,755	1,710	1,645	1,600	1,605
Falkirk West	2,070	2,135	2,160	2,170	2,175	2,130	2,105	2,055	2,050	2,065
Galloway and West Dumfries	3,155	3,115	3,080	3,060	3,065	3,020	2,975	3,005	2,980	2,955
Glasgow Anniesland	1,245	1,335	1,395	1,395	1,355	1,335	1,305	1,295	1,275	1,250
Glasgow Cathcart	1,365	1,415	1,530	1,535	1,520	1,500	1,520	1,525	1,515	1,505
Glasgow Kelvin	6,820	7,060	7,125	7,420	7,670	7,720	7,670	7,630	7,710	7,870
Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn	1,270	1,280	1,370	1,390	1,410	1,420	1,410	1,425	1,410	1,380
Glasgow Pollok	1,185	1,240	1,370	1,340	1,395	1,415	1,440	1,455	1,430	1,405
Glasgow Provan	875	945	1,015	1,005	1,105	1,125	1,150	1,150	1,105	1,105
Glasgow Shettleston	2,080	2,180	2,275	2,320	2,360	2,380	2,400	2,435	2,440	2,455
Glasgow Southside	2,505	2,595	2,695	2,710	2,820	3,200	3,240	3,325	3,225	3,225
Greenock and Inverclyde	1,340	1,380	1,415	1,390	1,370	1,370	1,340	1,295	1,295	1,270
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse	1,760	1,835	1,890	1,910	1,975	1,990	1,990	1,955	1,930	1,945
Inverness and Nairn	3,150	3,230	3,185	3,195	3,245	3,200	3,200	3,240	3,240	3,290
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley	2,190	2,220	2,300	2,245	2,275	2,285	2,285	2,315	2,270	2,240
Kirkcaldy	1,715	1,720	1,695	1,705	1,755	1,990	1,915	1,760	1,730	1,745
Linlithgow	2,370	2,490	2,540	2,540	2,640	2,610	2,575	2,560	2,550	2,605
Mid Fife and Glenrothes	1,635	1,655	1,695	1,685	1,705	1,680	1,665	1,630	1,620	1,620
Midlothian North and Musselburgh	2,175	2,235	2,320	2,330	2,250	2,305	2,270	2,340	2,320	2,385
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale	2,585	2,635	2,665	2,645	2,790	2,815	2,790	2,800	2,780	2,770
Moray	2,655	2,715	2,720	2,710	2,775	2,765	2,710	2,685	2,690	2,660
Motherwell and Wishaw	1,560	1,625	1,695	1,690	1,710	1,735	1,740	1,775	1,760	1,775
Na h-Eileanan an Iar	1,190	1,180	1,175	1,205	1,200	1,200	1,200	1,205	1,210	1,225
North East Fife	2,405	2,440	2,375	2,365	2,415	2,430	2,385	2,425	2,425	2,395
Orkney Islands	1,510	1,490	1,485	1,515	1,525	1,490	1,460	1,500	1,490	1,490
Paisley	1,900	1,920	1,975	1,970	2,040	2,040	2,080	2,070	2,045	2,090
Perthshire North	3,230	3,205	3,225	3,210	3,295	3,245	3,235	3,280	3,240	3,285
Perthshire South and Kinross-shire	2,940	2,990	3,055	3,105	3,030	3,030	3,010	3,045	3,055	3,050
Renfrewshire North and West	1,970	2,060	2,095	2,100	2,030	2,055	2,065	2,035	2,000	1,960
Renfrewshire South	1,395	1,415	1,445	1,425	1,515	1,495	1,495	1,485	1,470	1,490
Rutherglen	1,680	1,760	1,845	1,805	1,850	1,855	1,850	1,915	1,900	1,900
Shetland Islands	1,440	1,480	1,510	1,530	1,515	1,520	1,565	1,600	1,605	1,595
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch	3,905	3,930	3,930	3,965	4,070	4,050	4,035	4,130	4,140	4,215
Stirling	3,235	3,310	3,260	3,240	3,280	3,335	3,315	3,310	3,270	3,280
Strathkelvin and Bearsden	1,985	2,095	2,135	2,100	2,125	2,090	2,055	2,020	2,000	1,985
Uddingston and Bellshill	1,970	1,990	2,070	2,055	2,090	2,155	2,120	2,150	2,150	2,125
Scotland Total	168,040	171,630	174,035	173,915	176,355	177,020	174,735	172,835	170,995	171,660

Source: Businesses in Scotland 2024

Notes:

1.Excludes central and local government.

2.Excludes unregistered businesses. Unregistered businesses are the smallest businesses that have a turnover below the VAT threshold (£85,000) and do not employ others, and so are registered neither for VAT nor for PAYE.

3.SMEs are Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, that is businesses with fewer than 250 employees. Enterprise size is defined based on the number of employees that the business employs across the UK.

4.Business counts are rounded to the nearest five. Totals may not equal the sum of the constituent parts due to rounding.

5.Each business is counted once in each area it operates in. The sum of the area business counts does not equal the overall Scotland total because each business is only counted once in the Scotland total.

Question reference: S6W-38980

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the expert and independent analysis that it announced it would commission as part of its announcement in February 2025 on building consensus on council tax reform, when this analysis was commissioned; what the timeline is; who is conducting it; when it will be published, and what the budget is for it.

The Scottish Government is working with COSLA through the Joint Working Group on public engagement on Council Tax Reform. We have procured the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) to carry out expert and independent analysis to support this work.

The analysis is planned to be published in September 2025, in advance of any engagement activity. The budget for this independent analysis is £49,750, and is being managed within the existing resources.

Question reference: S6W-37254

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct an immediate strategic audit of any potential implications for (a) public bodies, (b) infrastructure and (c) energy systems in Scotland of (i) Chinese investment in offshore wind and (b) the use of Hikvision cameras by public sector bodies.

The UK Government is responsible for national security, the regulation of international trade, elements of critical national infrastructure including energy, and the application of the National Security and Investment Act.

It is a priority for us to secure inward investment where it is possible to do so. We are engaging closely with the UK Government to understand the progress it is making in considering the security implications of Chinese and other potential foreign investment in energy-related infrastructure.

Regarding the use of Hikvision cameras by public sector bodies, councils and public bodies are separate from the Scottish Government. Therefore, as long as they act lawfully, each public body is accountable for its own decisions in relation to day to day business, including procurement competitions.

Public procurement regulations specifically allow for companies to be excluded from tendering, where it can be demonstrated by appropriate means that they are guilty of grave professional misconduct. The Scottish Government expects all public sector bodies to undertake appropriate due diligence on companies in receipt of public money. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of public sector bodies to make decisions on how best to deliver services to their communities.

Chamber and committees