Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 1337 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6T-02771

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 24 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported concerns and frustration of the Educational Institute of Scotland about its four-day working week proposal for teachers.

Question reference: S6W-41769

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Teachers’ Side of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers has reportedly not received a response from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to its proposal regarding teacher class contact time, which was tabled at the committee on 18 September 2025.

The Scottish Government is represented at all meetings of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) by nominated government officials. Scottish Ministers do not sit on SNCT committees or sub groups and do not respond directly to tabled papers for these meetings.

I am pleased that earlier this year the SNCT subgroup on Reducing Class Contact Time agreed with the Scottish Government proposal to develop a workplan to deliver a route map towards reducing class contact time, at pace.

We will continue working with teacher union and local government colleagues through the SNCT to reach agreement on next steps towards the reduction.

Question reference: S6W-41767

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2021 manifesto commitment to reduce teacher class contact time to a maximum of 21 hours per week, whether it will provide an update on the work of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers Reduced Time Contact Time working group to implement this reduction.

The 2021 SNP manifesto included a commitment to give teachers more time out of the classroom to prepare lessons, undertake professional development and tackle the challenges of closing the attainment gap.

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering a reduction in teacher class contact time of 90 minutes per week, which we believe will create the conditions to achieve these improvements.

That is why we are working with teacher unions and COSLA through the SNCT to make meaningful progress towards delivering the reduction.

In October 2025 we were pleased that the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers subgroup on Reducing Class Contact Time agreed with our proposals to develop a workplan to deliver a route map towards reducing class contact time, at pace.

My officials are continuing work with COSLA and the teacher unions to achieve our joint objectives.

Question reference: S6W-41768

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to any potential risk of industrial action by teachers over the issue of the reduction of teacher class contact time, in light of reported statutory ballots being undertaken by the EIS and another teaching union.

Question reference: S6W-41722

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Developer Remediation Contract.

Question reference: S6W-41723

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many developers signed (a) its previous "in principle" agreement regarding the removal of unsafe cladding and (b) the Developer Remediation Contract by the deadline of 31 October 2025, as set out in the Cladding Remediation Programme: Next Phase Plan of Action.

Question reference: S6W-41721

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether an updated status was confirmed for all 512 high-rise buildings with known cladding by the end of October 2025, as set out in the Cladding Remediation Programme: Next Phase Plan of Action.

Question reference: S6W-41617

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30681 by Paul McLennan on 8 November 2024, how many live homeless applications there were in each local authority area on Christmas Day in 2024, and how many (a) adults and (b) children these related to.

The following table gives the number of live homelessness applications at 25 December 2024 for each local authority, along with the number of adults and children these applications refer to.

Live homelessness applications, refer to applications that have a recorded application date but no closure date, implying that these applications are open and not yet resolved.

	Live cases at 25 December 2024	Number of adults	Number of children
All	31,583	36,730	17,211
Aberdeen City	497	535	190
Aberdeenshire	242	287	112
Angus	668	721	156
Argyll & Bute	359	428	179
Clackmannanshire	333	375	156
Dumfries & Galloway	503	567	123
Dundee City	772	827	274
East Ayrshire	292	323	162
East Dunbartonshire	290	333	182
East Lothian	637	701	203
East Renfrewshire	633	796	448
Edinburgh	7,710	9,351	4,390
Eilean Siar	80	87	39
Falkirk	1,123	1,229	420
Fife	1,684	1,862	653
Glasgow City	6,605	8,019	4,652
Highland	867	975	388
Inverclyde	202	219	79
Midlothian	787	857	639
Moray	173	189	43
North Ayrshire	551	651	211
North Lanarkshire	923	1,029	499
Orkney	209	246	144
Perth & Kinross	182	197	28
Renfrewshire	412	450	87
Scottish Borders	503	607	289
Shetland	110	119	17
South Ayrshire	381	416	151
South Lanarkshire	1,592	1,797	1,102
Stirling	572	640	265
West Dunbartonshire	421	475	200
West Lothian	1,270	1,422	730

Question reference: S6W-41629

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 12 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the costs of illicit drug use since the publication in 2009 of its report, Assessing the scale and impact of illicit drug markets in Scotland, and what comparable research it has produced or commissioned since the publication.

No further assessment of the cost of illicit drug use has been made by the Scottish Government since this report was published in 2009, nor has comparable research been produced or commissioned. However, the harms of problem drug use are clear and well evidenced, and the human cost remains deeply concerning.

It remains clear that drug deaths in Scotland remain far too high, but we are building a system that is more compassionate, better resourced, and more accountable than what came before. As we approach the end of the National Mission, we remain committed to continuing to combat this challenge. We are working closely with stakeholders, including those with lived and living experience, to develop a future alcohol and drug strategic plan to follow the Mission.

Question reference: S6W-40974

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 28 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established remediation pathways for all buildings over 18m that were included in the High Rise Inventory and highlighted through other data sources, as set out in the Cladding Remediation Programme: Next Phase Plan of Action, and how many such buildings required direct intervention by the Scottish Government to bring them onto a funded and trackable remediation pathway.

We have made substantial progress in establishing remediation pathways for buildings over 18 metres in height that were included in the High-Rise Inventory and highlighted through other data sources, irrespective of tenure.

We continue to work closely with partners to determine, prioritise and drive the necessary action on assessment and mitigation, on which the Scottish Government is offering substantial financial support to the sector.

We expect to conclude the work to establish remediation pathways for high-rise buildings with known cladding by the end of October 2025.