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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: S6W-37267

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis on the cost per person to successfully transition an individual into employment through its Parental Employability Support Fund, and, if so, what that cost was.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach as a totality of all funding. Therefore, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support, including a cost per person, are available.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-37264

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals were supported into employment through its Parental Employability Support Fund in each of the last three years, and what this figure was as a proportion of all individuals supported through the programme in each of those years.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment. This includes a range of Scottish Government funding such as the Parental Employability Support Fund.

Since February 2022, statistics have been reported by totality of all funds and as such, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support are available.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-37263

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals were supported into employment through its No One Left Behind programme in each of the last three years, and what this figure was as a proportion of all individuals supported through the programme in each of those years.

Question reference: S6W-36732

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee on 5 December 2024, on what date and at what time the official ministerial decision to mitigate the two-child limit was recorded in its electronic Records and Document Management system, and who made that decision.

Question reference: S6W-37260

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to increase the uptake of Funeral Support Payment since its introduction in 2019.

Social Security Scotland is committed to tackling funeral poverty and increasing take-up of all Scottish benefits. Since its introduction in 2019, Funeral Support Payment has been promoted across a wide range of channels including advertising on radio, in print and online, as well as through articles in media outlets and content on our own social media channels.

Social Security Scotland works with funeral directors and other stakeholders to increase their awareness of the payment so they can identify people who might need help to pay for funeral costs. This work includes provision of print information and attending events to raise awareness. Social Security Scotland also ensures there is accessible information available to people if online at mygov.scot.

When Funeral Support Payment launched, the Scottish Government substantially widened eligibility compared to the UK Government equivalent. Since launching in 2019, the Scottish Government has provided £56.9 million to over 29,000 people to help pay for funeral costs at a time when they need it most.

Question reference: S6W-37259

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is in place for education practitioners regarding how to support children and young people who have been bereaved of a parent.

The Scottish Government recognises the significant impact that bereavement can have on young people and is committed to ensuring that schools are equipped to provide appropriate support.

We published a professional learning resource and a Whole School Approach Framework to assist school staff in supporting children and young people’s mental health. This framework encourages all schools to help young people develop resilience and personal coping skills while ensuring that measures are in place to support those who experience bereavement.

Education Scotland provides a range of materials, including resources specifically focused on bereavement, to aid teachers in delivering sensitive and effective learning on this topic. These resources are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect best practice.

Schools may also refer to the Seasons for Growth programme which contains support around bereavement and trauma. This is in addition to local policies in place for bereavement.

Question reference: S6W-36672

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the steps that it has taken to share the necessary information with the Department for Work and Pensions to support the progress of the Scottish Government’s 2017 policy commitment to introduce automatic split payments of universal credit in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-36670

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met officials from the Department for Work and Pensions regarding work to progress the delivery of automatic split payments of universal credit, as set out in part 6, section 94 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.

The Scottish Government provided a Policy Design Specification in October 2023 for formal impact assessment by the DWP, which set out how the Scottish Government would like the split policy to be delivered. I also recently met with Sir Stephen Timms MP, on 30 April, to discuss the UK Governments UC review, highlighting the work being carried out on split payments policy and the need for the UC review to include a gendered analysis. The Scottish Government remains committed to working with the DWP towards delivery of split payments for Universal Credit.

Question reference: S6W-36671

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates that automatic split payments of universal credit in Scotland, as it committed to in 2017, will be delivered by the end of the current parliamentary session, and, if so, by what date.

Question reference: S6O-04639

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on its own reported assessment that its target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 is at risk.