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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-35678

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 26 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any staffing shortages in the early years sector that may be impacting the delivery of 1,140 hours of funded childcare.

The single most important driver of quality in a child’s Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) experience and improved outcomes is a dedicated, highly skilled, and well-qualified workforce. The ELC profession is therefore critical to the successful delivery of our 1,140 hours offer. We will continue to support a sustainable, diverse and thriving workforce.

Although staffing of funded ELC services is the responsibility of local authorities and their funded partners, in order to support a sustainable ELC workforce, the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with an additional £9.7 million in 2025-26 to increase the pay of ELC workers in the private and third sectors delivering funded hours, so that they are paid at least the Real Living Wage from April. Building on last year’s recurring investment of £16 million, this funding for the further increase to at least £12.60 per hour demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to the Fair Work agenda.

Joint Scottish Government and COSLA guidance, published on 20 February, confirms that the additional funding will be passed to all funded ELC providers (including childminders) in 2025-26 through a minimum 3.75% increase in sustainable rates. This means an average increase of over £1,000 per year in gross salary for the eligible staff who are working full time.

Beyond pay, the Scottish Government is taking forward a range of actions to support the ELC profession. These include investment in continuous professional learning (CPL) resources and a dedicated CPL portal for the childcare profession, providing funding to Skills Development Scotland to support Modern Apprenticeships in childcare, providing funding for 100 childcare professionals to study for Masters qualifications each year and working with Skills Development Scotland to pilot a new programme to improve staff access to paid time off the floor.

Question reference: S6W-35674

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 26 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with the UK Government to ensure that reserved policy areas, such as social security and asylum, align with Scotland’s commitments under The Promise.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials regularly meet with counterparts in the UK Government to discuss reserved issues. Senior officials who lead on The Promise have recently engaged with their counterparts in both the UK and devolved governments regarding the Scottish Government’s work to keep the Promise.

I met with Angela Eagle, the UK Government Minister for Border Security and Asylum, on 11 December 2024 to discuss their shared interest in ensuring that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UAS children) are supported. Officials from the Scottish Government are in regular contact with UK Government officials on issues relating to UAS children, and are represented on the steering group of the UK Government’s UAS Children Task force.

While the Scottish Government has limited powers over Universal Credit, we have welcomed the UK Governments plans to carry out a complete review.

For too long Universal Credit has been failing those who need it most and the Scottish Government have repeatedly raised a number of issues which must be addressed, issues like the removal of the young parent penalty for example.

We have made it clear that we would welcome the opportunity to work with the UK Government to make these needed improvements and work towards creating a Social Security system which works for everyone, including our families and carers.

The Scottish Government continues to support access to, and understanding of the benefits provided by Social Security Scotland, and;

continue to support Kinship Care through the Best Start Grant Best Start Foods and Scottish Child Payment
provide continued mentoring, work experience and employment opportunities through the Social Security Corporate Parenting Plan
continue to work with people with care experience to design our services and support access to and understanding of the benefits provided by Social Security Scotland; provide mentoring, work experience and employment opportunities.

Question reference: S6W-36022

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-04484

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle long-term economic inactivity in Fife.

Question reference: S6W-35344

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people on remand and awaiting a court date have been held in prison due to a lack of safe and adequate housing provision in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally. Decisions on whether or not to grant bail are for the independent courts based on the individual facts and circumstances of each case. As set out in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, in any given case, bail may, subject to very limited exceptions, only be refused where the court determines there is good reason to do so having regard to a list of specific grounds and the wider public interest.

The bail reforms in Part 1 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 will be brought into force on 14 May 2025. This includes a new duty on the court to state the grounds on which it determines that there is good reason for refusing bail in accordance with the new bail test and have those grounds added to the record of proceedings. This will help improve understanding over time regarding the use of remand.

Local authorities are obliged by law to offer advice and assistance to people who are at risk or who are experiencing homelessness, and temporary accommodation if it is needed.

Question reference: S6W-34484

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will report on the progress that it has made on implementing the relevant recommendations from the Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people (the Cass Review).

The Cass Review only considered services offered by NHS England, and the report’s 32 recommendations are made to NHS England. As such, NHS England holds responsibility for implementing these recommendations.

The Scottish Government did, however, commit to closely consider the Review’s findings in the context of NHS Scotland services. Accordingly, the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland convened a multidisciplinary team to consider the Review’s recommendations and how they might be applicable to Scotland, which published its findings on 5 July 2024. The Scottish Government has accepted this report and its recommendations.

A “Task and Finish” group, supported by the Scottish Government’s Chief Operating Officer’s Directorate, has now been convened to design a sustainable model for young people’s gender identity services, and the work of this group will be shaped by the multidisciplinary team’s recommendations. Additionally, as recommended by the report, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde ended self-referrals to the Sandyford Gender Identity Clinic in August 2024, and the health board is taking forward work to move young people’s gender identity services into a paediatric clinical setting.

Question reference: S6W-34592

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people from each NHS board area have had a thrombectomy in each month since November 2020, broken down by thrombectomy hub.

Question reference: S6O-04355

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action to counter the reported proliferation of child sex abuse images online.

Question reference: S6O-04320

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it can take to challenge the UK Government’s inheritance tax changes for farmers.

Question reference: S6T-02322

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the COVID-19 lockdowns might have left a generation of children in Scotland with damaged eyesight.