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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6F-04237

Asked by: Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee City West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Sarcoma UK report, Unique Among Cancers.

Question reference: S6F-04214

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-04215

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-38954

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the timeline for curriculum improvement and qualifications reform will be published.

In this year’s Programme for Government we committed to setting out a single combined timeline for reform to curriculum and qualifications in June 2025, with the aim of providing clarity about next steps for the education system. The Scottish Government has worked closely with our lead delivery partners Education Scotland and the SQA to produce a timeline for the Curriculum Improvement Cycle and Reforms to Qualifications and Assessment. The document sets out progress to date and next steps and was published today (23 June 2025): Curriculum, Qualifications and Assessment Reform – Progress to Date and Next Steps - gov.scot.

The publication provides an initial timeline to give clarity to partners and practitioners across the education and skills system, as well as to parents and carers and young people, about when they will start to see changes in teaching and assessment.

While change to curriculum, qualifications and assessment should be expected, the focus will remain on the enhancement of excellent learning and teaching as we know this will make the greatest impact on outcomes for our children and young people.

The work aims to support more consistent teaching, learning and assessment experiences, and improved attainment and achievement of our children and young people.

The Scottish Government is actively delivering a programme of reform that is coherent, realistic, practical and deliverable.

Question reference: S6W-38539

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it has measured any return on investment at Prestwick Airport since it was brought into public ownership.

Scottish Government officials have commissioned an Economic Impact Assessment of the value delivered by our investment in Glasgow Prestwick Airport. As previously set out to Parliament, a market testing exercise evaluating the potential for returning the airport to private ownership is ongoing and I will update Parliament when a significant development has been made.

We will publish key findings from the Economic Impact Assessment when the market testing exercise has been concluded.

Question reference: S6W-38534

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reported findings from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) survey that 44% of teachers work the equivalent of an extra day each week.

The Scottish Government values the teaching profession and the important work that teachers do.

We are clear that reducing teachers’ class contact time by 90 minutes per week will help address critical concerns around teacher workload, thereby creating the space to drive improvement and reform in our schools and improve outcomes for pupils.

Reduction of teachers class contact time is ultimately a matter which will require agreement from the whole Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, and we will continue to work with COSLA and the teaching unions to make meaningful progress on this important commitment.

Question reference: S6W-38502

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last asked the UK Government when the results of the UK National Screening Committee consultation on offering HPV self-sampling will be released.

The Scottish Government is represented on the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) and receives updates regarding significant developments in the Committee’s work. It is expected that the UK NSC will be issuing an official update later this month on the potential for self-sampling to be introduced to the cervical screening programme. The update will be published on their website.

In the event of a positive recommendation, the organisations that oversee screening will move at pace to begin realising the potential benefits of self-sampling.

Question reference: S6W-38189

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the revenue received by bus operators is currently generated from (a) full-fare-paying passengers and (b) concessionary fares subsidised by the Scottish Government; how this compares with the equivalent average figures for the last (i) three, (ii) five and (iii) 10 years, and what percentage of the subsidised fares charged by bus operators it (A) currently funds and (B) has funded on average in the last (1) three, (2) five and (3) 10 years, also broken down by operator.

Transport Scotland provides reimbursement to bus operators in Scotland for providing free bus travel to those eligible through the National Concessionary Travel Schemes (NCTS). Reimbursement is paid to operators at a level which aims to ensure they are left financially no better and no worse off as a result of their participation in the schemes, and is therefore not considered as a subsidy payment.

Details of total operator revenue over the past 10 years, including passenger revenue and concessionary travel reimbursement can be found in Scottish Transport Statistics tables 2.8 and 2.9, available at: Chapter 2 - Bus and Coach travel | Transport Scotland

Question reference: S6W-38480

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the Scottish Prison Service allows prisoners to watch 18-certificated films that contain graphic violence, and that the Prison Officers’ Association is calling for a review of the films available to prisoners.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS are committed to prepare those in our care for a return to their communities and, for some, this includes access to personal items and various forms of media.

As defined in The Prisons and Young Offenders Rules (Scotland) 2011, the Governor in Charge (GiC) must establish a System of Privileges, taking into consideration a number of factors, including security.

Access to watching DVDs is at the Governors discretion and remains a privilege and not a right.

Currently, there are no plans to review this current practice.

Question reference: S6W-38493

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will encourage regularly funded organisations to adopt the use of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) Fair Work for Freelancers Checklist within the STUC report, Freelance and Forgotten: a report on worker exploitation in Scotland’s creative industries.

The Scottish Government’s Fair Work First Guidance already explains the Scottish Government approach, provides good practice examples to guide employers’ approaches and, importantly, explains the benefits of fair work for workers and organisations.

This guidance has been developed through engagement with key stakeholders, including trade unions and the STUC, the Fair Work Convention, Flexibility Works, CIPD Scotland, and business, public and third sector partners.

In addition organisations applying for funding from Creative Scotland are already referred to a range of existing best practice as part of Creative Scotland application guidance and are expected to demonstrate how they will meet fair pay requirements.

The current evaluation of Fair Work First by the Scottish Government is providing an opportunity to look closely at how effectively Fair Work First is delivering our policy intent, and to consider what more we can do to shape the future direction of the policy and strengthen our approach.

This includes an examination of appropriate resources and guidance to deliver the intended outcomes together with how Fair Work First conditions could be extended to other forms of support, and to different types of workers, ensuring all have the opportunity to participate in fair and respectful work environments.