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 47277 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6F-03593

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03599

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

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

Question reference: S6W-31347

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the quality of primary school meals across local authorities, and how frequently these checks are carried out.

Local authorities have a statutory obligation to comply with the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 (Nutritional Regulations).

The nutritional quality of local authority school catering provision is evaluated as part of Education Scotland’s school inspection programme.

Specialist Health and Nutrition Inspectors (HNI) join some school inspection teams to evaluate compliance with the Nutritional Regulations, including the nutritional quality of school meals. This involves engaging with staff and reviewing documentation. In academic year 2023/24 HNI visited 100 schools.

If a school or local authority does not meet the expected standards, HNI provides clear advice on the improvements needed. Local authorities are required to provide evidence to HNI showing how they have addressed any areas of non-compliance

Question reference: S6W-31338

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what data it expects national standardised assessments to produce; whether it considers that the cost of these assessments matches the value of this data, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

National Standardised Assessments produce data at: classroom, school, local authority and national levels.

The primary purpose of NSA is to provide teachers with indicative, diagnostic information about learner strengths and development needs. They provide information directly to teachers on what individual learners can and cannot do in aspects of literacy and numeracy, at a particular moment in time. Data is broken down by curriculum content, for example in literacy, data includes information on “tools for reading” and “finding and using information”.

At school level, assessment data shows how well learners perform in relation to a number of characteristics, for example free school meal entitlement, and provides information about how learners progress over time.

NSA produces aggregated data that can help local authorities by providing information to inform conversations about school improvement. It can also help identify effective practice to disseminate, as well as areas for authority wide professional learning.

At national level, anonymised data is broken down by both curriculum content and learner characteristics, e.g. gender and ethnicity. It allows the Scottish Government to identify trends, strengths, and areas for improvement in literacy and numeracy. This informs national policy, improvement priorities, and the type and level of support provided.

The Scottish Government is clear that NSA and the data they produce represent good value for money. NSA data is also valued by school staff – our 2023-24 survey of school staff who use the assessments found that over 72% agree that NSA data informs teaching and learning in their school.

Question reference: S6W-31348

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the food used in primary school meals is sourced locally.

All local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure their menus comply with the standards set out in The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. What food and drink they choose to include on their menus, including locally sourced, is a matter for each local authority taking into account local needs and preferences.

We encourage local authorities to use local and sustainable produce in school catering, which is supported by the Scotland Excel procurement framework.

Question reference: S6W-31412

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee report, Remote and Rural Healthcare Inquiry, what action it is taking to increase the number of so-called earn as you learn opportunities.

Question reference: S6W-31422

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many qualified childminders are currently registered in the (a) Argyll and Bute Council, (b) Highland Council, (c) Moray Council, (d) Orkney Islands Council, (e) Shetland Islands Council and (f) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar area.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information, however the data can be found by contacting the Care Inspectorate directly or searching the Care Inspectorate datastore.

Scottish Government is committed to supporting and growing our childminding sector, which is why we launched the Programme for Scotland’s Childminding Future in June 2024, in partnership with the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA). The programme is supporting the recruitment of new professional childminders across Scotland, offering a package of funded support and training in addition to a £750 start-up grant, providing everything needed to establish a new childminding business from home.

The programme also includes a range of pilot measures to address the retention of the childminding workforce, delivering more practical support to ensure our existing professionals are supported with their workloads and professional development.

The recruitment support is available across 19 local authorities during 2024-25, and 12 local authorities are participating in the retention pilots. SCMA are currently in discussions with local authorities regarding participation for year 2 (2025-26), and we welcome their commitment to supporting the childminding workforce.

Question reference: S6W-31400

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to test for the use of any newer illicit substances by prisoners, such as psychoactive drugs, that are currently undetectable by urine tests.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Following the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, SPS took the decision to not seek to amend its mandatory drug testing policy to include testing for psychoactive substances. This was due to the continual changing compounds used within psychoactive substances and remains the position to date.

By working closely with partners such as Police Scotland, SPS must and does remain vigilant to the continuously evolving nature of drug use to ensure our use of technology and tactical measures remain current, adaptable, and capable of detecting and preventing drugs from entering our prisons; and we continue to consider what testing options may be most effective for the SPS to use.

SPS will continue to work with partners to prevent the introduction of contraband and seek convictions where appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-31420

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of three- to five-year-olds within (a) Argyll and Bute Council, (b) Highland Council, (c) Moray Council, (d) Orkney Islands Council, (e) Shetland Islands Council, (f) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and (g) Scotland have received 1,140 hours of funded (i) early learning and (ii) childcare in each year since the policy was introduced.

Information on the proportion of eligible children accessing funded ELC, both nationally and by local authority, is published each year in the ELC census. This includes uptake rates for all 3-4 year olds, and deferred registrations. The census does not record the proportion of their 1140 hours entitlement that each child is utilising.

The most recent publication includes the most recent uptake data by local authority area within Figure 26 at the following page:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-for-schools-in-scotland-2023/pages/early-learning-and-childcare-elc/

A breakdown for previous years can be accessed within the appropriate years publication, which are listed at: https://www.gov.scot/collections/early-learning-and-childcare-statistics/#earlylearningandchildcarecensus.

The Improvement Service also provide information on the number of eligible children accessing their full 1140 entitlement nationally. The most recent service delivery report is available at:

https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/52618/ELC-Delivery-Progress-Report-Apr-24.pdf

Question reference: S6W-31411

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it is increasing the number of locally accessible education routes for healthcare professions in rural and remote settings.

The Scottish Government are currently funding a dedicated resource in NHS Education for Scotland to scope the current skills landscape and identify where earn as you learn programmes could be expanded and where further development work is required with aim of widening the pathways into health and care careers, including in rural and island areas.

We already work collaboratively with professional bodies and higher education institutions (HEI) on the delivery of education programs that can meet the needs of the NHS workforce. Work is underway through the AHP Education and Workforce Policy Review to support the development of alternative delivery models of education such as part time and distance learning.