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-33297

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 28 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many play parks have been upgraded in each local authority area in each year since 2021.

The Scottish Government is investing £60 million to renew play parks in Scotland, so children have access to free, high-quality outdoor play in their own communities. Since funding began in 2021, a total of 887 play parks have been renewed or are in the process of being renewed by local authority partners, up to April 2024. Local authority partners will be reporting on progress in 2024-25 in April 2025. Local authority partners have confirmed that all funding provided to date is allocated to the current and future renewal of play parks that have been identified by the local authority in need of improvement.

Local Authority	Play parks renewed in 2021-22	Play parks renewed in 2022-23	Play parks renewed in 2023-24
Aberdeen City	11	46	28
Aberdeenshire Council	15	13	20
Angus Council	6	3	8
Argyll and Bute Council	0	0	0
City of Edinburgh Council	14	16	22
Clackmannanshire Council	1	2	6
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Council	0	0	0
Dumfries and Galloway Council	0	28	18
Dundee City Council	0	4	18
East Ayrshire Council	12	40	57
East Dunbartonshire Council	1	3	8
East Lothian Council	1	1	24
East Renfrewshire Council	3	4	4
Falkirk Council	2	7	9
Fife Council	12	9	10
Glasgow City Council	1	5	8
Highland Council	0	38	16
Inverclyde Council	6	5	5
Midlothian Council	2	18	14
Moray Council	1	6	6
North Ayrshire Council	0	29	19
North Lanarkshire Council	7	4	12
Orkney Islands Council	1	1	2
Perth and Kinross Council	3	10	21
Renfrewshire Council	2	3	7
Scottish Borders Council	1	1	4
Shetland Islands	0	1	4
South Ayrshire Council	6	4	4
South Lanarkshire Council	0	0	12
Stirling Council	9	6	8
West Dunbartonshire Council	5	5	9
West Lothian	42	6	22

Question reference: S6W-33296

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 28 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many students from (a) Scotland have accessed apprenticeship courses in English institutions and (b) England have accessed apprenticeship courses in Scottish institutions in each year since 1999.

1.The Scottish Government do not hold this information on Modern Apprentices centrally.

2.Skills Development Scotland (SDS) have operational responsibility for apprenticeships in Scotland. They have supplied the following data:

	Modern Apprenticeships Total Starts	England volumes with Scottish Employer based on trainee postcode	% England volumes with Scottish Employer based on trainee postcode
2008-09	10,579	31	0.29%
2009-10	20,216	52	0.26%
2010-11	21,561	42	0.19%
2011-12	26,427	69	0.26%
2012-13	25,691	55	0.21%
2013-14	25,284	51	0.20%
2014-15	25,247	41	0.16%
2015-16	25,818	74	0.29%
2016-17	26,262	65	0.25%
2017-18	27,145	52	0.19%
2018-19	27,270	79	0.29%
2019-20	27,875	66	0.24%
2020-21	18,655	70	0.38%
2021-22	25,401	96	0.38%
2022-23	25,447	71	0.28%
2023-24	25,365	83	0.33%
Total	384,243	997	0.26%

Eligibility criteria for apprenticeships in Scotland can be accessed on the SDS website https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/dnif1kfl/modern-apprenticeship-programme-specification.pdf

SDS were formed in 2008 so they do not hold data prior to this date.

Question reference: S6W-33310

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports of children and young people being exploited have been recorded by Police Scotland in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-32878

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 28 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-02268 by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 January 2025, what work it has carried out with partners to deliver greater advocacy for children who are victims of sexual exploitation, including as part of the decision-making processes on this issue.

Question reference: S6T-02302

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of unauthorised absences from schools.

Question reference: S6F-03762

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will join HM The King and other world leaders in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz extermination camp and offer his reflections on the theme of this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, "For a Better Future".

Question reference: S6F-03764

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent CBI report, which reportedly suggests that businesses are preparing to “cut staff and raise prices”.

Question reference: S6F-03746

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03773

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2025

To ask the First Minister, in light of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, UK Poverty 2025, whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government's actions to tackle poverty in Scotland, including in relation to any potential impact of planned UK Government welfare reforms.

Question reference: S6F-03751

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2025

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.