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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: S6O-02135

Current Status: Withdrawn

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: S6O-02147

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people, who have been sentenced for a crime, were aged under 25 when they pled guilty, or were found guilty, since 26 January 2022.

Question reference: S6O-02146

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action to prevent child sexual exploitation.

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-16158

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of its Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24, whether Skills Development Scotland guidance is now to be updated to reflect that all employers should pay the real Living Wage, including in relation to apprentices (a) aged 19 and under and (b) in their first year.

The Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24 applies to staff in the Scottish Government and its associated departments, agencies, non-departmental public bodies and public corporations.

All organisations covered by our Pay Strategy are required to pay at least the real Living Wage rate to all their staff, including apprentices. Apprentices are employees and as such benefit from the same rights and protections offered to other employees through their employment. Skills Development Scotland will continue to encourage all employers outside our Public Sector Pay Strategy to pay apprentices at least the real Living Wage rate, including those aged 19 and under and those in their first year.

Question reference: S6W-16161

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a commissioning policy for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment for essential tremor.

The commissioning of NHS national services is the responsibility of NHS National Services Division (NSD), a sub division of NHS Services Scotland (NSS).Eligible patients for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for essential tremor can be referred to NHS Tayside in conjunction with the University of Dundee.

At present, no new application has been received to designate MRgFUS as a national specialist service to NHS Tayside. NSD will continue to work with the MRgFUS team in NHS Tayside in the meantime.

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.