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: S6T-00942

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of misuse of fireworks and pyrotechnics on Bonfire Night.

Question reference: S6F-01506

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2022

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to mitigate the impact and prevalence of fires in Scotland caused by accelerating climate change such as those seen during the high temperatures last summer.

Question reference: S6F-01502

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2022

To ask the First Minister what measures are in place to protect Scotland from any potential risks to cyber security.

Question reference: S6F-01504

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the reported comments by Highlands and Islands Enterprise that cheaper air travel for business passengers could help to strengthen the viability of island routes.

Question reference: S6F-01498

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2022

To ask the First Minister what urgent steps are being taken to ensure safe staffing across the NHS, in light of recent reports of staff shortages potentially contributing to patient deaths.

Question reference: S6F-01491

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01490

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-11556

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many P1 children it expects will undertake a Scottish National Standardised Assessment by the end of the 2022-23 school year.

The national standardised assessments are designed to be age and stage appropriate, and as inclusive as possible: there is no time limit for their completion; learners can undertake the assessments in more than one session; the system is compatible with a range of devices and assistive technologies; and teachers have the flexibility to decide how and when assessments are administered. As such, we expect most primary one learners to undertake the assessments, as has been the case in previous years*. As always, teachers’ presentation decisions should be made after considering the individual needs and wellbeing of children, the diagnostic purpose of national standardised assessment and the way in which teachers and schools intend to use information.

* 2019/20 exception, due to COVID-19 related school closures.

Question reference: S6W-11588

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 7 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason colleges and universities have reportedly not received confirmation of funding for counselling provision for the 2022-23 academic year.

Since 2019/20, the Scottish Government have invested more than £11.5 million to support our Programme for Government commitment to introduce more than 80 additional mental health counsellors in colleges and universities. We have now achieved that target, as the latest figures from the Scottish Funding Council show that an additional 89 FTE mental health counsellors have been appointed by colleges and universities through the programme.

We will shortly inform institutions, through the Scottish Funding Council, of their funding allocations for Academic Year 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-11598

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that suicide awareness is taught in schools.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government. We are committed to improving support for children and young people’s mental health in order to ensure early intervention and prevention of suicide.

Health and wellbeing is a core part of Curriculum for Excellence, and schools play a vital role in supporting pupils’ mental health. The Mental Health in Schools Working Group, on behalf of Ministers, produced a framework to support local authorities and schools embed support for children and young people's mental health and wellbeing across all aspects of the school environment. The group has also developed professional learning for school staff, which includes suicide awareness.

We continue to support local authorities with £16 million in funding to ensure that every secondary school has access to counselling services.

The Scottish Government and COSLA published a new Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan in September 2022. These include plans to further develop existing and new resources for schools which build understanding on mental health, self-harm and suicide prevention.