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-30852

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £1.3 million 2023-34 Connecting Scotland funding was spent.

In 2023-24, total Scottish Government funding for Connecting Scotland and Ethical Digital Nation combined was £1.3 million. This was allocated as follows:

Grant funding to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) to develop digital training, continue support for existing clients and deliver existing projects. This funding covers support for a wide range of digital inclusion initiatives including:
- ‘Digital Champion’ training, delivered through Mhor Collective, which equips individuals to support others in engaging safely and meaningfully online, building digital confidence within communities;
- Offboarding support for existing Connecting Scotland users, including temporary extension of connectivity with further support for users to transition to other means of connectivity;
- Supporting the delivery of three digital inclusion programmes - lending libraries, social housing, and place-based initiatives - helping more people to get online through access to devices, connectivity, and technical support, and providing public and third-sector organisations and their staff with support in digital inclusion provision;
£100,000 for the Digital Participation Charter Fund to promote and recognise digital inclusion amongst organisations. Some of the projects funded include:
- Budding Engineers (£10,000 award) to provide access to digital skills and teaching for people with additional support needs in several areas of Scotland;
- Deaf Action (£10,000 award) to provide digital and employability support for people experiencing hearing loss across Scotland;
- Milan Senior Welfare Organisation (£9,850 award) to provide basic digital skills and digital support for older people and their carers from the South Asian community in East Lothian and Edinburgh;
Programme incidentals (e.g. software licences, training, stakeholder engagement, advertising and marketing);
Staffing costs to support the ongoing management of both programmes

Question reference: S6W-30871

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many college and university course places have been developed to date to help address any skills shortages in the renewables industry workforce.

Our education and skills system is already adapting in response to the transition to net zero with colleges and universities acting as key anchor points for research, innovation, and training.

Due to the depth, breadth and variety of interrelated programmes of teaching for net zero skills run by both colleges and universities, it is not possible to provide an exact figure for courses specifically designed for and only catering to skills shortages in the renewables industry workforce at this stage.

A range of work is underway to help address need. For example, the Energy Skills Partnership, Built Environment - Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) Innovation Centre and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, all funded by the Scottish Funding Council, support colleges and universities in developing their capability, capacity and curriculum pathways for the transition to net zero.

SFC have been leading collaborative regional pathfinders, in both the North-East and the South of Scotland, which have identified a range of important best practices for institutions which will help improve the system and ensure provision is more responsive to Scotland’s strategic skills needs.

A number of sector-based initiatives are also in place to inform system improvement. For example, the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) is taking forward crucial work that will help both industry and the public sector to identify and address future skills and workforce gaps.

Question reference: S6W-31442

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline any progress that it has made on establishing regional land use frameworks across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has supported four pilot regions in the development of bespoke Regional Land Use Frameworks (RLUFs). This work was taken forward through a co-development approach with a range of stakeholders. It tested a natural capital-led approach to identifying land use opportunities and priorities, whilst maintaining place-based principles to understand the potential for delivering mutual benefits to all land users.

This work covers the South of Scotland (Scottish borders and Dumfries and Galloway) The Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Parks and the NorthWest 2045 region of the Highlands. More information on the individual RLUFs can be found at the links below:

South of Scotland region: Delivery & Strategies | South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership
North West Highland region: Land+ Project | NORTHWEST2045
Cairngorms National Park region: Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan 2022-27
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park region: Read The Plan - Here. Now. All of us. - Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park

We are now working with the RLUPS to consolidate this learning in order to refine our understanding of the role that RLUFs could play in supporting/delivering land use change and informing wider Scottish Government policy.

Question reference: S6W-31340

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government in light of the commitment in the Framework For Tax and Scottish National Party 2021 manifesto, what the cost would have been in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23, (c) 2023-24 and (d) 2024-25 of bringing the Higher Property Rate into line with that in England, broken down by industry sector.

Question reference: S6W-31326

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the proportion of funding between tiers 1 and 2 of the future agriculture support framework.

Funding certainty and market stability for farmers is absolutely crucial and we want to do all that we can to try to ensure that that is the case in Scotland. As announced at February’s NFU Scotland Conference, Tiers 1 and 2 will receive at least 70% of the available budget. Work on the future framework is continuing to be developed and any announcements will be made in due course. As always, we are committed to working with the industry to co-develop the new payment framework to ensure there are no cliff edges.

Question reference: S6O-04032

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to the nightclub industry, in light of the Night Time Industries Association’s launch of The Last Night Out campaign.

Question reference: S6O-04036

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the potential impact on Scotland's finances, how much it estimates will be raised in increased taxes in Scotland in 2025-26 as a result of the UK Autumn Budget.

Question reference: S6O-04030

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that students with additional support needs receive adequate resources and tailored educational support.

Question reference: S6O-04031

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to address the reported shortage of forensic pathologists across Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-04034

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Cross Border Connection proposals for the Scottish Borders.