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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2241 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-40948

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 24 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much it cost to install any instarinse products in the Scottish Parliament building.

Question reference: S6W-41031

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 24 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the Tay Cities Region Deal is supporting manufacturing firms.

Question reference: S6W-41003

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 24 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent report by Audit Scotland, Scotland’s Colleges 2025, which recommends that the funding model for colleges should better reflect equity and demand for courses, whether it will review the funding model.

The Colleges Tripartite Alignment Group, comprised of Colleges Scotland, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has been exploring issues in the sector. Informed by the Group’s discussions, the SFC introduced changes to the college funding model for Academic Year 2025-26 in response to requests from the sector.

The SFC has committed to undertaking a fundamental review of the funding allocation model over the coming year.

Question reference: S6W-41013

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 24 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support college staff wellbeing, in light of Audit Scotland’s findings in its recent report, Scotland’s Colleges 2025, that workforce reductions and curriculum changes have increased workloads and stress.

Colleges are responsible for operational matters, such as managing workforce restructuring and curriculum changes. This includes ensuring they meet their obligations as an employer, including providing appropriate support to protect the health, safety and overall wellbeing of staff.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the impact funding constraints, that to a significant extent flow from UK Government decisions, and associated workforce restructuring decisions will have on staff. The Scottish Government has been consistently clear that such decisions must be informed by Fair Work principles, following meaningful engagement with staff and trade unions.

Question reference: S6W-41451

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will name all the third sector organisations it has awarded a contract to in the last year.

Question reference: S6W-41452

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will name all the third sector organisations it has awarded grants to in the last year.

Question reference: S6W-41016

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 22 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of the impact of college campus closures on students from deprived communities, as noted by Audit Scotland in its recent report, Scotland’s Colleges 2025.

Colleges in Scotland operate as autonomous institutions, with governance frameworks that grant them independence in managing their operations including decisions about campus footprint, staffing, and curriculum.

This autonomy is designed to enable responsiveness to local needs and flexibility in delivering education. However, Ministers are clear that colleges are expected to ensure their strategic decisions reflect the needs of the people, the region, and the communities they serve.

In its development of the 10 year College Infrastructure Investment Plan, in collaboration with the sector and due to publish in autumn 2026, the Scottish Funding Council is looking at the whole college sector to ensure the approach to infrastructure is strategic and supports coherent provision.

Question reference: S6W-41006

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 22 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide inflationary uplifts to college budgets, in light of Audit Scotland’s finding in its recent report, Scotland’s Colleges 2025, that no such uplifts have been applied to budgets in 2025-26 despite rising costs.

At this point in the budget cycle no decision has been made on the funding that will be made available for colleges in financial year 2026-27. The Scottish Government recognises the critical role that colleges play in delivering high-quality education, is aware of the pressures colleges are facing and remains fully committed to working constructively with the sector. The College Tripartite Alignment Group has membership from a range of colleges, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Government and provides strategic direction on the pressures and opportunities facing colleges. You can read more about the Group’s activities here Colleges: Tripartite Alignment Group - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-41008

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 22 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reverse the reported 12.4% decrease in college enrolments in 2023-24 compared with 2022-23, as highlighted by Audit Scotland in its recent report, Scotland’s Colleges 2025.

The Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) funding allocation to Scotland’s colleges for the current academic year (2025-26) equates to a 2.6% increase in funding for teaching activity, and a 4.8% increase for capital maintenance funding, to support colleges to continue to invest in student’s learning experiences.

In 2023-24, there was a reduction in very short courses which contributed to the reported decrease in overall college enrolments.

Question reference: S6W-41000

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 22 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that apprenticeship funding reaches colleges more directly, in light of the recent report by Audit Scotland, Scotland’s Colleges 2025, which found that only 40% of Scottish Government funding reaches some colleges that deliver training.

We recognise that managing agents undertake a range of valuable services to support apprentices and employers. This includes pre-assessment, support materials, pastoral care and the delivery of final assessments (where appropriate).

The role, responsibilities and funding arrangements for managing agents are being considered as part of our work on apprenticeship reform. We are committed to working with Colleges Scotland, managing agents and key agencies including SDS and the SFC, to ensure that apprenticeship funding is sustainable for the future and focused on supporting apprentices to train and progress.

It is important that we retain all of the very best elements of the current system while maintaining best value for public funding.