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-02152

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on what progress it has made towards delivering the Bute House Agreement commitment to ensure that every child has access to mental health and wellbeing support, including counselling services, in primary school.

Question reference: S6O-02141

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Scottish Law Commission regarding its review of the law on homicide, in relation to culpable homicide.

Question reference: S6W-16448

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15827 by George Adam on 23 March 2023, whether it will provide an update on progress towards the objectives outlined in the FOI Improvement Plan, including the 95% target on compliance with timescales.

Work on the FOI Improvement plan continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government. Progress has been made in a number of areas contained in the Improvement Plan to strengthen internal processes and delivery of this statutory function. In his evidence to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on 23 March the Scottish Information Commissioner noted that unlike most other Scottish public authorities, the Scottish Government has seen a sustained increase in FOI request volumes since the pandemic. The Scottish Government is continuing to see persistent yearly increases in numbers of FOI requests. Efforts are therefore also underway to establish a sustainable case-handling model for the Scottish Government.

Revised guidance for case handlers is now live and this is complimented by increased case handler training, as well as a push on the mandatory FOI awareness training for all staff. Officials are also undertaking internal audits on cases ensuring that responses comply with our internal control and assurance procedures as agreed with the Commissioner. Lessons learned are being shared widely and several directorates are undertaking local improvement activity with advice and assistance from trained Quality Improvement practitioners.

FOI performance figures are published on a monthly basis on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/freedom-of-information-foi-reporting/ . The Scottish Government remains committed to the principles of open and transparent government.

Question reference: S6W-16474

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Deloitte since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.

Question reference: S6W-16353

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that support for widening access to colleges and universities is being targeted appropriately across Scotland.

This Government firmly believes that every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education.

Funding for widening access to colleges and universities is allocated to institutions via the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) through a number of mechanisms. For colleges, this includes the Access and Inclusion Fund and student support funding. For universities, this includes the Widening Access and Retention Fund, which is currently allocated to eight post-92 institutions with a higher proportion of widening access students; and embedded additional funding for widening access places. Monitoring is undertaken to focus on outcomes achieved in return for these funds.

The SFC also funds work to support the intake of widening access students, including the National Schools Programme and the Scottish Wider Access Programme, which use a range of eligibility criteria for participation.

Officials are working with stakeholders from the college and university sectors through a Short-Life Working Group on widening access data to ensure that we are best able to identify widening access students across Scotland. Recommendations are expected to be made by the group in Autumn 2023.

Officials are also actively engaging with stakeholders on the interim Purpose and Principles that were published last December which consider how we can deliver a post-school education, research and skills system that is supportive and equitable, which would include our approach to widening access. The final Purpose and Principles will be published later this year.

Question reference: S6W-16349

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that colleges receive parity of esteem with universities.

The Scottish Government values the tertiary education sector, with each part making a crucial and unique contribution to Scotland. The 2023-24 budget allocates nearly £2 billion to colleges and universities, which continues the trend of a year-on-year increase of that budget in cash terms.

The Scottish Government recognises the essential role that colleges play across all learner pathways including their role in further and higher education provision and will further clarify that in the forthcoming Purpose and Principles. The Scottish Government is actively engaging with stakeholders on the interim Purpose and Principles that were published last December. The Scottish Government is focussing on developing the implementation plan, system level outcomes and metrics, evidence and insight papers and impact assessments to support a final publication in late Spring.

The Scottish Government recognises and celebrates the fact that everyone’s learner pathway is different and it is important that everyone has the opportunity to undertake the learner pathway that best matches their abilities and aspirations. The employer led DYW network and DYW School Coordinator role, currently operates in every secondary school. The programme has a key part to play in enabling the recommendations within the Ken Muir review by helping to create employer led experiences and parity of esteem between academic and vocational learning. The SCQF School Ambassador programme also offers schools the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of the SCQF levels and the wider ways in which it supports learners, including in demonstrating the diversity of provision on offer and the parity of these pathways.

Question reference: S6W-16251

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a review of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045: Tackling the Nature Emergency in Scotland, in light of the new assessment report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and, if so, when it anticipates any such work will take place.

The draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy reflects the interdependence of climate, biodiversity and the close linkages between climate change adaptation, mitigation, ecosystem health, human well-being and sustainable development in the same way as the IPCC’s 6 th Synthesis Report. We are currently reviewing the draft Strategy in light of the outcomes of COP15 and in doing so, we will take into account other significant developments such as the IPCC’s assessment report. A consultation on the Strategic Framework for Biodiversity in Scotland, comprising the Strategy and its first Delivery Plan, will take place in summer 2023, followed by publication of the final Strategy later in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-16138

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to make an announcement on future funding allocations for regional Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) groups.

Question reference: S6W-16121

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that compulsory redundancies are being implemented by colleges.

Question reference: S6W-16510

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Scottish Trades Union Congress since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website. The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met with, as well as the subject discussed.

Scottish Government Ministers meet STUC regularly (list of meetings is available at the link above), reflecting the important role that unions play as key social partners in sustaining effective democracy in society, and contributing to economic competitiveness and social justice.

The First Minister meets STUC on a biannual basis, where current issues are discussed. Recent topics in this forum have included: Cost of Living Crisis, National Care Service Bill and Public Sector Pay disputes. The previous Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work engaged with STUC and affiliate unions regularly on workplace safety and other issues during the pandemic and initial recovery period. Other Ministers meet STUC regularly on issues relating to their own portfolios for example Budget, culture, transport, health etc.