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: S7W-01787

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) 16- to 18-, (ii) 19- to 21- and (iii) 22- to 24-year-olds have not completed their apprenticeship in each year since 2018.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) collects and publishes Modern Apprenticeship (MA) data with the latest full year data covering 2025-26.

https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/josfrdus/modern-apprenticeship-supplementary-tables-quarter-4-2025-26.xlsx

Information on MA achievements and number of leavers is published by age band and year, but the age bands used by SDS are 16-19 and 20-24 and 25+.

Question reference: S7W-01786

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) 16- to 18-, (b) 19- to 21- and (c) 22- to 24-year-olds started apprenticeships in each year since 2018,

Question reference: S7W-01784

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people aged (i) under 19 and (ii) 19 to 24 in further education did not complete their course in each year since 2017-18, and what information it holds regarding the reasons for this.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) collects and publishes information on withdrawal rates and reasons for withdrawal for further (FE) and higher (HE) education students at college in their annual ‘College Student Outcomes’ release. https://www.sfc.ac.uk/publications/college-student-outcomes-2024-25/

Information is published by age band, for courses lasting 160 hours or more, but this is not split by HE or FE nor by the age bands requested. The release also contains some information on reason for withdrawal.

Question reference: S7W-01872

Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the Respect for All anti-bullying framework in reducing bullying experienced by children with additional support needs in primary schools.

I am clear there must be a zero tolerance approach to bullying. Respect for All provides an important framework to support local authorities, schools and other settings to prevent and respond to bullying behaviour.

The guidance was updated in 2024 to reflect the latest evidence and good practice, and includes updated guidance on prejudice-based bullying, including bullying experienced by children and young people with additional support needs.

Question reference: S7W-01780

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of secondary school pupils eligible for free school meals has been recorded as being persistently absent from school in each year since 2017-18, and what analysis it has commissioned or carried out on the impact that this might have on the likelihood of them subsequently having the status of being classified as not being in employment, education or training (NEET) aged 16 to 24.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on pupil’s eligibility for free school meals (FSM). However, data on pupils eligible for, and in receipt of, free school meals are held.

The following table sets out the percentage of secondary school pupils each year where data was available who were persistently absent, by their free school meal registration status.

Table 1. Percentage of secondary school pupils persistently absent by free school meal registration, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25.

FSM Registration	2018-19	2020-21	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
Not Registered	26.4	21.5	35.9	35.2	31.9
Registered	53.8	47.9	64	64	61.4

Prior to 2022-23, absence data was only published every 2 years.

These statistics exclude pupils whose attendance records could not be matched to a pupil census record.

Pupils who are eligible but not registered for free school meals will be included in the not registered figures.

The Scottish government is clear that attendance is linked in many ways to attainment and thus to achieving positive outcomes. We welcome recent statistics that demonstrate 95.7% of young people are in a positive destination 3 months after leaving school and that the poverty related attainment gap has narrowed by almost two thirds for initial destinations in the last 15 years.

Question reference: S7W-01782

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what tools are used by schools to identify pupils at risk of having the status of not being in employment, education or training (NEET).

Each school works with partners, including the school-based Skills Development Scotland (SDS) career adviser(s), to identify the pupils who are most at risk of not transitioning to a positive destination post-school such as further / higher education, training or employment. Factors that are taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, whether the young person is care-experienced; has caring responsibilities; has any health issues or disabilities; has additional support needs; or has interrupted learning. The school and partners then discuss and agree the appropriate support for each individual.

SDS are responsible for managing the 16+ Participation Portal, a secure online portal which tracks the status of young people aged 16-24. By sharing information between partners, including local authorities, colleges, the Scottish Funding Council, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and the Department for Work and Pensions, SDS can identify those young people not in a positive destination and will proactively make contact with them to offer support.

Question reference: S7W-01873

Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Highland Council in the last three years regarding bullying in primary schools and support for pupils with additional support needs who experience this.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with local authorities on a wide variety of issues, including pupil wellbeing and support for Additional Support Needs. However, you will be aware responsibility for the delivery of education and support for children and young people, including responding to incidents of bullying, rests with local authorities and schools.

In 2024, we updated our national anti-bullying guidance Respect for All. We expect all local authorities, schools and organisations to develop and implement anti-bullying policies in line with Respect for All.

In 2026-27, we are providing £310,480 to respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service to provide advice, resources, and training for schools, local authorities and parents to help prevent and address bullying.

Question reference: S7W-01886

Asked by: Steven Bonnar, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding a coordinated oversight framework for large-scale data centre and AI infrastructure developments, in light of the cross-cutting issues that such developments raise across devolved planning powers and reserved matters, including energy and digital infrastructure.

Question reference: S7W-02496

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Skills Development Scotland regarding the provision of targeted apprenticeship funding for traditional building crafts such as heritage joinery, stained glass-making and traditional sign-writing, to ensure that the domestic supply chain can support a national rollout of traditional shopfront design standards.

Question reference: S7W-02161

Asked by: Julie MacDougall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that high levels of E. coli have been found in the water around Kinghorn Harbour and, whether it considers that a previous decision by it to overturn a SEPA enforcement notice issued to Scottish Water in 2024, regarding the identification and elimination of sources of contamination in the Kinghorn area, has had any bearing on the current situation, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.