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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-41229

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the children’s services workforce is currently employed through temporary or agency contracts.

Question reference: S6W-41222

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many social worker vacancies currently exist within children and families services across Scotland.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government have asked the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to run twice-yearly surveys to collect data on practising social workers and vacancy rates in local authorities. The most recent report may be found here: Social worker filled posts and vacancies six-monthly survey at December 2024 | Scottish Social Services Workforce Data.

Question reference: S6W-41268

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints Disclosure Scotland has received regarding delays in issuing Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificates in the last year.

Question reference: S6W-41513

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to the Scottish Government Online Safety Taskforce, which was announced in January 2025.

As referenced in the Scottish Government Programme for Government 2025-26: Building the Best Future for Scotland, the purpose of the Taskforce is to strengthen our approach to keeping children safe online, providing oversight and direction across Scottish Government and identifying what more can be done to protect children and young people. In meeting this purpose it will bring together work from across government to better effect, maximising the funding available across government to keep children safe online and help promote wellbeing through positive behaviours.

Question reference: S6W-41219

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the proportion of kinship carers who have reported relying on food banks or emergency grants to support the child in their care since May 2021.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the proportion of kinship carers who have reported relying on food banks or emergency grants to support the child in their care since May 2021.

However, we recognise the financial pressures faced by kinship carers and in August 2023 we introduced the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA), with £16 million additional funding, to provide a standard national allowance for kinship and foster carers. The SRA is intended to help meet the costs of caring for a child and reduce reliance on emergency assistance. The Scottish Government uprated the SRA earlier this year, providing an extra £1.9m which is expected to benefit more than 9,000 children.

Eligible kinship carers are also able to access Scottish social security family benefits and payments, such as the Scottish Child Payment and may get financial help with childcare and education. More information is available at: Children and families - Cost of Living Support Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-41249

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of parents who are eligible for 1,140 hours of funded childcare have accessed their full entitlement without restriction on session times since May 2021.

Question reference: S6W-41244

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many parents involved in child protection cases have not been offered advocacy support since May 2021.

The requested information is not held by the Scottish Government.

We want to ensure families can get the help they need, where and when they need it. That is why we are transforming holistic family support through the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) Programme.

Since 2022, we have invested over £148m in a programme of activity to transform family support. This includes a multi-year commitment to funding Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) to drive this work at the local level.

Funding for CSPPs will increase from £32m to £38.1m in 2025-26 and 2026-27.

WFWF is a critical part of how we will keep the Promise – by shifting investment towards early intervention and prevention activities to prevent Scotland’s families reaching crisis.

It is also an essential part of our mission to eradicate child poverty. By ensuring we provide holistic support that meets the needs of the whole family. This is the smarter, more compassionate way to help Scotland’s families, by putting their needs at the centre of our approach.

Question reference: S6W-41247

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many children whose situation has been flagged as at risk have not been allocated a named social worker within the recommended timescales since May 2021.

Question reference: S6W-41246

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many families have waited longer than six months for a child’s social care assessment to be completed since May 2021.

Question reference: S6W-41099

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to review the financial model for supporting private and independent providers of childcare, in particular the provision of sustainable rates, and what its position is on whether its financial modelling remains valid.

The Scottish Government and COSLA are continuing to progress the longer-term reforms to the sustainable rates setting process as set out in the 2023 joint Sustainable Rates Review.

The joint 2025-26 sustainable rates guidance, published 20 February 2025, reflects the recommendations of the Review – in particular by encouraging local authorities to introduce greater standardisation in the rate setting process. Local authorities are expected to make progress towards reflecting the changes outlined in this guidance during 2025-26.

Full implementation of these changes requires more robust and reliable data to improve the sustainable rate setting process, as recommended by the Review. To support this new national ELC cost surveys are being undertaken independently by the Diffley Partnership. When the survey data is available the Scottish Government and COSLA will consider carefully with the sector its potential implications for policy, guidance and funding in future years.