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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.

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Question reference: S6W-36279

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been supported to pursue (a) certified ethical hacker (CEH) and (b) offensive security certified professional (OSCP) qualifications through Scottish public sector organisations.

Question reference: S6W-36847

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a list of all Scottish higher education institutions currently forecasting deficits, broken down by their projected shortfalls for the next academic year.

Question reference: S6W-36833

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether any guidance has been issued by (a) it, (b) Education Scotland and (c) the Scottish Qualifications Authority to teachers and schools on how to teach about the Holocaust.

Question reference: S6W-36836

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that all pupils in Scotland are taught about the Holocaust.

Question reference: S6W-36430

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any modelling that shows how the Scottish Child Payment, in isolation, can deliver the 2030 child poverty target, or, if no such modelling exists, what its position is on whether there is a need for wider reforms to skills, jobs and enterprise policy.

The Scottish Government published economic modelling on 27 March 2025 which estimates the impact of Scottish Government policies on child poverty in Scotland. The report finds that Scottish Government policies will keep an estimated 70,000 children out of relative poverty in 2025-26, including 40,000 through investment in the Scottish Child Payment alone. The impact of Scottish Government policies is estimated to grow over time to keep 100,000 children out of poverty by 2028-29.

As set out in Best Start, Bright Futures, the Scottish Government recognises that a balanced approach is needed to effectively tackle child poverty and to meet the 2030 targets. This includes action focused across the three drivers of child poverty reduction: income from employment, the cost of living and income from social security and benefits in kind. On this basis, the Scottish Government has no current plans to publish economic modelling focused on how the Scottish Child Payment in isolation can meet the 2030 targets.

We know that employment can offer a sustainable route out of poverty for many families, and we remain committed to doing everything within the scope of our powers and budget to support parents to access employment and to increase their earnings. This includes through action focused on ensuring parents have access to the right employability and skills interventions to support them on their journey into and within work, and through action focused on strengthening the labour market and promotion of fair work practices.

The Scottish Government will publish our third child poverty delivery plan by the end of March 2026. We are in the process of consulting with a wide range of stakeholders to inform its development, building on the considerable evidence and action taken to date. We are clear on the scale of the challenge faced to meet the 2030 child poverty targets and the plan will set out action to drive further progress.

Question reference: S6W-36521

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 11 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the Scottish Budget is currently allocated to civil service pay and administration, and how this compares with 2013.

The Total Operating Cost (TOC) budget for 2025-26 is set at £801.7 million, accounting for 1.3 percent of the overall Scottish Budget, as measured by Total Managed Expenditure.

In 2019-20, a change in approach to operating costs was implemented, which means a comparable figure for 2013 cannot be provided. Previously, costs, including staffing, were held centrally as part of the administration budget and also as part of portfolio budgets for staff who were implementing and delivering specific public services. Since 2019-20, Total Operating Costs have been aligned with the portfolio budgets they support, replacing the dual system where both administration and portfolio budgets funded operating costs.

Question reference: S6W-36466

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the (a) capital and (b) maintenance funding available to NHS boards is adequate to ensure that mental health facilities are safe and comply with Health and Safety Executive standards.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all NHS facilities, including mental health units, provide a safe and therapeutic environment that complies with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards, though the size, age and complexity of the NHS estate means this is a challenging issue to manage. The Scottish Government believe that current levels of capital and maintenance funding allocated to NHS boards are adequate to meet these essential requirements, as it is allocated on a risk-based approach and is there to support boards in maintaining their existing estate, addressing backlog maintenance, and investing in necessary upgrades and new developments for mental health services.

Question reference: S6W-36273

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-34827 by Neil Gray on 28 February 2025, what plans there are to restart the work on the National Treatment Centre in Livingston.

The draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget provides additional investment of £139 million for NHS infrastructure. This provides increased core capital funding for NHS Boards and, as a first step to lifting the capital pause, allows work on the replacement of some acute facilities to resume, as well as providing funding to address NHS Boards’ priority areas for infrastructure investment.

Despite this additional investment, the capital funding position remains challenging and there remains uncertainty in the longer-term funding position, as we await the outcome of the UK Government’s spending review. All due consideration will be given as to which projects are affordable, deliverable and provide best value, following the outcome of that review, this will include the National Treatment Centre in Livingston.

Question reference: S6W-36227

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 11 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of public procurement contracts awarded in the last two years have gone to businesses located outside of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-36225

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 11 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people are currently registered to vote in Scottish Parliament elections, and how many of those registered are foreign nationals.

At 1 December 2023:

the total number of people registered to vote in Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections was 4,241,800;
just under 189,500 qualifying foreign nationals resident in Scotland were registered to vote in Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections.

Updated information on the electoral register at 1 December 2024 is due to be published on the National Records of Scotland website: People registered to vote - National Records of Scotland (NRS) at 9.30am on 24 April 2025.

Fiscal Year (Apr-Mar)	Total Number Awards	Outside Scotland % of Contracts Awarded
2023-2024	12,506	31%
2024-2025	10,247	32%