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-10741

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many visa applications under its Super Sponsor scheme have been rejected since the introduction of the scheme.

Question reference: S6W-10754

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent to charter the ship MS Victoria to accommodate Ukrainian refugees for up to six months in Leith.

Question reference: S6W-10259

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) set-up and (b) running costs are for the newly-opened Scottish Government Copenhagen office, how many members of staff are employed by the Scottish Government in the office, and what the salary bands are for each of those members of staff.

The new Scottish Government International Office in Copenhagen operates from within the local British Embassy and is co-located with Scottish Development International.

It comprises three members of staff. Two are employed directly by the Scottish Government, while the third team member is locally employed via the British Embassy.

The two Scottish Government officials are on A-C pay bands. Due to the small number of staff members in this office, we are unable to disclose their specific pay bands as it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

The locally employed team member is not on the Scottish Government’s pay bandings and their salary is based on location.

The total budget for the Copenhagen office in Financial Year 2022-2023 is £598,000. This covers staffing, running costs and all activities of the Scottish Government’s office in Copenhagen including a programme of policy, trade and cultural events to promote investment and economic opportunities between Scotland and the Nordic countries.

Question reference: S6O-01350

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Police Authority about improving the accountability of policing in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-10526

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that teachers going through the Teacher Induction Scheme can access permanent roles.

Local councils are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff. This includes providing a complement of teachers which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils within the resources available.

During the pandemic, the Scottish Government provided an additional £240m to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional teachers and support staff.

We have since committed further permanent funding of £145.5m a year to support education staffing. This provides assurance of funding for councils, and removes any uncertainty as a barrier to employing staff on permanent contracts.

The Teacher Induction Scheme provides a one year probationary placement to allow teachers to meet the Standard for Full Registration. This does not, however, provide a guarantee of future employment with a particular local authority. Teaching posts should be advertised and filled in a fair and transparent manner by the local authority employer.

Question reference: S6O-01333

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-10070

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how the amount paid to hotel operators for accommodating Ukrainian refugees is calculated, and whether the amount varies depending on how many refugees are accommodated.

Question reference: S6W-10069

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what level of support it expects local authorities to provide to Ukrainian refugees housed in temporary accommodation.

Local authorities play a vital role in the success of the Scottish Government’s Super Sponsor Scheme. They are uniquely placed to provide the support required to ensure those arriving are given the warmest possible welcome. This includes working with displaced people to identify and meet immediate and longer term needs. This will see displaced people registered with GP and school, provision of local information on services and area, advice and support to access benefits, receipt of initial financial support if required until benefits are accessed and paid, and advice and support on accessing further/higher education.

A full description of local authority responsibilities in supporting displaced people from Ukraine can be found in the Local Authority Guidance published by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-10067

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities are using the reported “surge teams” for assistance in matching Ukrainian refugees into longer-term accommodation.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with COSLA to appropriately direct the deployment of Scotland’s National Matching Services.

The teams are currently active in supporting Edinburgh, West Lothian and more recently Renfrewshire.

Matching activity has increased with a team deployed on board the M/S Victoria I passenger ship in Leith, with further plans in place to deploy support in Aberdeen later this week.

Teams will continue to work in partnership with our local authority partners to consider how best we can respond to areas where there is a need for increased matching activity; including where there is a need to prioritise matching activity in hotels where temporary accommodation arrangements are coming to an end.

Question reference: S6W-10068

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received from local authorities regarding the reported use of “surge teams” for supporting Ukrainian refugees.

Scotland’s response to the crisis in Ukraine is a round-the-clock operation, supported by multi-agency teams, local authorities, CoSLA and the third sector to ensure individuals displaced from Ukraine are treated with care and respect and their complex needs are met.

Scottish Government continue to benefit from a good working relationship with local authorities where we are, jointly with COSLA, providing additional matching resource to support local authority activity.

Feedback to date from local authorities and other partners regarding the use of matching teams has been positive.