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-30887

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out a review of the recording of racist incidents in schools by local authorities and/or schools.

In February 2023, Education Scotland published the report of its thematic review on approaches to recording and monitoring of bullying incidents in schools. This report can be accessed at: Approaches to recording and monitoring incidents of bullying in schools (education.gov.scot).

In January 2024 Education Scotland published an online resource following a second phase of its thematic review, which looked at good practice in preventing and responding to bullying behaviour. This resource includes examples of schools responding to increases in prejudice-based behaviours. Information and case studies can be accessed here: Preventing and responding to bullying | Bullying | Resources | Education Scotland.

The findings from the thematic inspection are informing the work of the Racism and Racist Incidents workstream. This includes the development of resources which are focused on preventing and responding to racism and racist incidents, including strengthening approaches to recording and monitoring, and developing guidance on a whole-school approach to anti-racism.

Question reference: S6W-30889

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed its national approach for recording and monitoring bullying in schools.

We expect schools and local authorities to record all incidents of bullying and violence in schools.

In 2019 we introduced a consistent national approach to recording and monitoring bullying incidents in schools. HMIe carried out a thematic review of approaches to recording and monitoring incidents of bullying in schools and published its report in February 2023.

As part of its response to this review, the Scottish Government established a working group to review Respect for All, its national anti-bullying guidance as well as the supplementary guidance on recording and monitoring bullying incidents. The updated guidance will be published in November 2024.

Question reference: S6O-03969

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve data collection on gender inequality.

Question reference: S6W-30500

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will be designing employability programmes that consciously tackle any occupational segregation, and provide flexible opportunities for women in fair work jobs.

No One Left Behind is our national approach to devolved employability services in Scotland. This approach sees a move away from nationally contracted provision to a model which empowers Local Employability Partnerships to lead the design and delivery of services in each Local Authority area.

Local Employability Partnerships work with employers, educational institutions and organisations to ensure that participants enter a positive destination which is right for them, at that time. As well as employment; education, training and volunteering are seen as positive destinations for participants, allowing for the development of skills in preparation to enter the labour market.

Between April 2019 and June 2024, 30,280 female participants started receiving No One Left Behind support (45% of all participants). Female participants account for the majority of participants in the 25 to 34 age group (56%), the 35 to 49 age group (59%), and the parental cohort (72% of all parents). Additionally, 30% of all female participants entered employment (8,935), 13% entered full time or higher education or training (4,063) and 15% gained a qualification (4,423).

We ensure that information and advice on the benefits that flexible working and other fair work practices bring to protected groups and employers are promoted regularly. For example, a recent Fair Work social media campaign covered those benefits including that diverse and inclusive workplaces are more creative, innovative and better at problem-solving.

Question reference: S6W-30499

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to design targeted skills programmes that will tackle any occupational segregation and move low-paid women into higher-quality and better-paid jobs.

Consideration of all protected characteristics, including gender, will continue to inform the design and delivery of post school education and skills reform.

We will continue to build on our existing work to address barriers for women and girls, including:

A range of resources developed by Education Scotland to address gender segregation in subject choices in schools.
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to tackle persistent inequalities in the tertiary education sector. Their approach includes for institutions to have regard to significant imbalances on courses and take action to address it.
The refreshed Fair Work Action Plan which was published in December 2022 and aims to take an intersectional approach, where possible, to tackling the structural labour market barriers faced by disadvantaged groups in Scotland’s labour market including women.
The Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) created the Gender Commission, who developed recommendations that offer practical solutions to help address the gender imbalance across the Apprenticeship family. The Gender Commission published their report and recommendations, and SG are committed to integrate findings from the Commission into our reform work to ensure they become embedded in the skills system.

An initial Equalities Impact Assessment, Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA): Purpose and Principles (www.gov.scot) for the Purpose and Principles for Post-School education, research and skills Post-school education, research and skills - purpose and principles - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) was published on 4 July 2023.

Question reference: S6W-30657

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which licences to trade and permissions could potentially be in the scope of any decision to make eligibility for licences to operate conditional on payment of the real Living Wage, as set out in its Fair Work Action Plan, and how many licence holders could potentially be affected.

The Scottish Government is committed to using all levers at our disposal to extend Fair Work First conditionality with clear standards and minimum requirements to cover all forms of Scottish Government support within the limits of devolved competence.

We are currently focussed on implementing fair work conditionality in public sector grants, and the Scottish Government will be undertaking an evaluation of Fair Work First before exploring options to extend conditions to other forms of support such as licencing.

Question reference: S6W-30496

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address any undervaluation of women’s work in female-dominated sectors, such as childcare, social care and retail.

While employment law is reserved, our Fair Work approach seeks to improve workers’ rights and conditions and aims to address women’s workplace inequalities by encouraging employers to take action to tackle occupational segregation and reduce gender pay gaps across the labour market in Scotland.

Through our National Strategy for Economic Transformation and the publication of our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan in December 2022, we have committed to working with employers and trade unions to promote Fair Work and further reduce the gender pay gap. And in partnership with Living Wage Scotland, we continue to promote payment of the real Living Wage in sectors where low pay is most prevalent, including those with significantly female workforces.

In line with Audit Scotland recommendations and the 2024-25 Programme for Government, we plan to support the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) sector by focussing efforts on implementing payment of the real Living Wage for all staff delivering funded childcare. It is estimated that around 12,500 female practitioners and support workers who are working in private and third sector ‘day care of children’ settings that deliver funded ELC are currently benefitting from Scottish Government funding to allow staff to be paid at least £12 per hour. This means some full-time staff will have seen a £2,000 increase in their gross annual salary.

In the adult social care sector, which is over 80% female, social care workers delivering direct care in commissioned services also saw their pay increase from April 2024 to a minimum of £12 per hour. The Scottish Government have transferred £230 million to Local Government to deliver this uplift in pay. The Scottish Government is continuing to progress its work on introducing a sectoral bargaining framework for the commissioned adult social care sector in Scotland, once developed and introduced, sectoral bargaining will encourage improvements in pay, and terms and conditions, across the social care workforce.

Retail is Scotland’s largest private sector employer, employing more than 240,000 people – almost 10% of all employment in Scotland. As per ‘Getting the Right Change – retail strategy for Scotland’, in 2020, it was estimated that women made up 60.7% of those in employment aged 16+ in the retail sector in Scotland, up slightly from 60.5% in 2019.The Retail Industry Leadership Group (ILG) was created to drive and support delivery of the actions set out in the Retail Strategy, in particular on improving fair work across the sector. Members of the ILG continue to be committed to productive engagement around Fair Work and this is a key topic for the Group’s future discussions.

Question reference: S6W-30445

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 1 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to introduce a standardised booking system for accessible seats at entertainment venues.

Question reference: S6W-30447

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 1 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that entertainment venues provide (a) visual impairment awareness and (b) sighted guide training for all staff members.

Question reference: S6W-30655

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received from businesses and others regarding any consideration being given to making eligibility for business rates reliefs and licences to trade conditional on payment of the real Living Wage.

The Scottish Government has received representations on the principle of making eligibility for business rates reliefs and licences to trade conditional on payment of the real Living Wage from a range of stakeholders, including retail representative bodies like the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Grocers Federation and Association of Convenience Stores. Forums such as the New Deal for Business Non-Domestic Rates Subgroup, Retail Industry Leadership Group, Scottish Ratepayers Forum also provide a routine opportunity for stakeholders to make representations to Scottish Government.

The recently published Fair Work Convention Inquiry into the hospitality industry also made recommendations for the Scottish Government on fair work conditionality. The Scottish Government will undertake a programme of assessment and consider each of the recommendations carefully.