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: S6O-02425

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the latest paper in the Building a New Scotland series, for what reasons it considers that an independent Scotland would need a written constitution.

Question reference: S6O-02443

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which parts of the independent review of the skills delivery landscape it plans to implement.

Question reference: S6O-02447

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to end the marking and assessment boycott in Scottish universities.

Question reference: S6W-18946

Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow Southside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Infected Blood Inquiry Second Interim Report as it applies to Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-18534

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many free school breakfasts it has funded in the past year.

Question reference: S6W-18525

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with low Earth orbit satellite provider, Starlink, regarding any potential future participation in the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.

In 2021, Scottish Government officials began exploring with Starlink the possibility of becoming a Reaching 100% Programme Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) supplier.

At that time, Starlink chose not to register as a provider for the scheme.

Earlier this year, officials requested a further meeting with Starlink to explore whether they might reconsider their position.

Although not currently registered as an R100 SBVS supplier, Starlink do offer commercial services across most parts of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-18989

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will be able to assess whether the 1,140 hours expansion of funded childcare has led to (a) better outcomes for children and (b) increased opportunities for parents to work, study or train.

Working with our Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group, we have set out a multi-year strategy for evaluating the impact of the expansion of funded early learning and childcare to 1,140 hours on outcomes for children, parents and families. The bespoke Scottish Study of Early Learning and Childcare (SSELC) is the main vehicle for collecting evaluation evidence on child and parent outcomes. Baseline data for the SSELC was collected during 2018 and 2019 from children and their parents accessing 600 hours of funded early learning and childcare. During 2023 and 2024 data will be collectedfrom a sample of children and parents accessing 1,140 hours. The Final Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Evaluation Report is due to be published in late 2025. More information can be found in our Evaluation Strategy published in October 2022.

Question reference: S6W-18927

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are taken to monitor the cardiovascular health of women who have experienced pre-eclampsia.

All women diagnosed with pre-eclampsia should receive monitoring and management of their condition in line with local NHS Board clinical pathways for both antenatal and postnatal care.

The Women’s Health Plan 2021-2024 recognises the need to address inequalities for women with heart disease and includes an aim to provide opportunities to optimise cardiovascular health and risk reduction across a woman’s life course.

The Women’s Health Champion, Prof. Anna Glasier, has identified improving cardiovascular care for women who have experienced pre-eclampsia as an area she is keen to progress. She will work with stakeholders, including women with lived experience, and our heart health working group to identify opportunities to drive improvement in this area.

Question reference: S6W-18987

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost will be of the development of software to improve the management and monitoring of early learning and childcare services.

Question reference: S6W-18980

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to secure the early years sector, in light of reports that it "remains fragile" following the introduction of 1,140 hours of funded childcare.

I am proud of what we have achieved with the expansion to 1140 hours, and I was pleased to see Audit Scotland recognising that the Scottish Government, local authorities and partners did well to deliver the expansion despite the challenges of a global pandemic. I was also pleased to see Audit Scotland conclude that most parents are happy with the flexibility available as part of the expanded Early Learning and Childcare offer. Providers in the private, third and childminding sector have an important role to play in continuing to offer this flexibility.

Recognising the need to support the sector the Scottish Government made more than £35 million of dedicated financial support available to private, third and childminding sector services during the pandemic; we have legislated to continue the Nursery Rates Relief Scheme, which provides 100 per cent relief on Non-Domestic Rates to eligible day nurseries beyond the previous end date of 30 June 2023; and we have funded pilot programmes of targeted Business Gateway support to enable childcare providers to access tailored, specialist advice on strengthening their businesses.

Childminders are a valued part of our ELC sector, providing a unique form of high quality childcare in a nurturing home-based environment. We continue to work closely with the Scottish Childminding Association to support a successful childminder recruitment pilot aiming to recruit and train 100 new childminders in remote and rural communities. We are also supporting a second phase which is trialling this recruitment model in urban communities within Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and East Renfrewshire.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a diverse, sustainable and thriving childcare sector. However, I recognise there are real challenges facing the sector as a result of delivering an expansion in the face of the pandemic, Brexit and now the costs crisis. The Scottish Government is committed to working closely with every part of the childcare sector to understand and address these issues together. I hosted a round table with sector representatives on Tuesday 18 April to hear about challenges and opportunities for the sector, and I will be undertaking a programme of engagement over the next few months.

Alongside this Scottish Government officials are undertaking an update of the Financial Sustainability Health Check, which will be published this summer, to understand the impacts of these factors across all parts of the childcare sector. I will also carefully consider the findings of the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Review of Sustainable Rates when it reports this summer.