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-34332

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Christine Grahame (on behalf of the SPCB) on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will make a representation to the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth requesting that it reviews its Standing Rules and considers admitting devolved parliaments and legislative assemblies to its membership.

The Parliament seeks to engage with other legislatures, inter-parliamentary bodies and international organisations in line with the SPCB’s International Strategy. This engagement is kept under regular review, with the Parliament’s International Relations Office providing six-monthly updates to the SPCB. Invitations to any event are a matter for the organisers. The International Relations Office constantly reviews opportunities for the Parliament to develop its engagement and maintains contact with event organisers, including of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth, and will seek involvement for the Parliament where appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-35130

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-34446

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many exit interviews have taken place for teachers leaving the profession in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-34450

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding arrangement with local authorities has been developed to support learning for pupils whilst they are receiving treatment in children’s hospitals.

Local authorities have the statutory responsibility for delivering education and the statutory duty to make special arrangements for any affected pupils to receive education elsewhere than at a school or other educational establishment as a result of prolonged ill health. The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities primarily by means of a block grant and it is for local councils to manage the allocation of their resources and the level of services that are delivered, including for education. In the 2023-24 financial year, the latest figure available, spending by local authorities reached a record high of over £1 billion from the Scottish Government for additional support for learning. This represents an increase from the £540 million spending allocated for this purpose in 2012-13.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government has published guidance on the education of children and young people unable to attend school due to ill health. The purpose of our guidance is to provide advice and information for local authorities in relation to their statutory duty to make special arrangements for any affected pupils/ This includes guidance on making alternative arrangements in instances where a child or young person is either staying in hospital, or they have a health condition which means they are often in and out of hospital. Our guidance is available through the following web link: Introduction - Education of children unable to attend school due to ill health: guidance - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-34444

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on supply teachers in primary schools in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-34442

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have been signed off work as a result of having been attacked in school in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-34441

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have been signed off work due to mental ill health in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-34613

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much electricity has been generated by any solar panels installed on government-owned buildings in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-34595

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08765 by Tom Arthur on 10 June 2022, whether ATMs at retailers' premises are now exempted from non-domestic rates and, if so, on what date this exemption came into place; how many ATMs have been affected by this, and whether it has or will issue backdated refunds, similar to England and Wales.

The valuation of all non-domestic property, including sites of ATMs, is a matter for Scottish Assessors who are independent of local and Scottish Government.

Following the consideration of the valuation of ATMs as referred to in answer to question S6W-08765, Assessors removed most ATM sites from the Valuation Roll. In some circumstances however, ATM sites are still considered rateable and entered on the valuation roll.

On 1 April 2022, there were a total of 2,140 ATM site entries on the valuation roll of which 1,740 entries, just over 80%, had been removed by 30 March 2023. The numbers of entries are rounded to the nearest ten. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the reasons for the removal of any particular entry from the Valuation Roll, and it is likely that these figures will include some ATMs which were removed as a result of their physical removal and decommissioning.

Non-domestic rates bills are administered by local authorities and where a property is removed from the Valuation Roll, the ratepayer will be entitled to a refund of any overpaid rates back to the effective date of deletion.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-34454

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the independent schools sector regarding the impact of the implementation of VAT on school lunches.

Scottish Government officials have continued to engage with the Scottish Council of Independent Schools and Local Authorities on the impact of the removal of the VAT exemption for independent school fees on independent schools, their pupils, families and the state sector in Scotland.

I am advised that the independent sector has not to date raised school lunches as an issue with Scottish Government, however my officials remain open to discussions with the sector on any matters of concern. HMRC wrote to all Scottish independent schools in October 2024 to provide the following UK Government guidance on charging and reclaiming VAT on goods, services and payments. This included school meals: Charging and reclaiming VAT on goods and services related to private school fees - GOV.UK

As this is a UK Government policy, it is the responsibility of the UK Government to engage fully and clearly communicate the impacts of changes for Scottish independent schools, to support them through the VAT registration process and ensure they fully understand their new VAT liabilities.