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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-28856

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) research it has carried out and (b) discussions it has had regarding pay weighting for public sector workers working in Edinburgh.

Research has focused on the wider challenges and opportunities associated with rapid localised population growth where it is occurring in parts of Scotland. This was discussed at the October 2023 meeting of the Population Taskforce and is a priority within the Population Balance strand of delivery of the Population Strategy. The minutes of the October meeting are published on the Scottish Government webpages: https://www.gov.scot/publications/population-taskforce-minutes-october-2023/

Our approach to public sector pay has provided support to public sector workers during COVID-19 and the cost of living crisis, balancing fairness, affordability and fiscal sustainability within an extremely difficult fiscal context. We have protected the lowest paid and encourage employers to take a progressive approach to pay. As a result, public sector salaries in Scotland after taxes are 6% higher on average than the rest of the UK, with median full-time pay around £1,500 higher, up from around £430 prior to the pandemic.

A short briefing note will be prepared on how the London weighting allowance is calculated and applied, which can be shared with Mr Briggs in due course.

Question reference: S6W-28634

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work on the prevention and detection of public sector fraud and corruption, what its definition is of (a) fraud and (b) corruption.

The Scottish Government’s (SG) definition of fraud is found within the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), under the section titled ‘Fraud’. The term ‘fraud’ is used to describe a wide variety of dishonest behaviour such as deception, forgery, false representation, and concealment of material facts. It is usually used to describe the act of depriving a person of something by deceit, which may involve the misuse of funds or other resources, or the supply of false information. Computer fraud covers the use of information technology equipment to manipulate programs or data dishonestly (e.g. by altering, substituting or destroying records, or creating spurious records), or where the use of an IT system was a material factor in the perpetration of a fraud.

The Scottish Government does not use a separate definition for ‘corruption’, as it is covered by its description of fraud. The general definition of ‘corruption’ describes actions that are fraudulent and carried out by those in a position of authority or control, often involving bribery. The SG has a definition for ‘bribery’, also contained with the SPFM, which aligns to the legal definition as contained within the Bribery Act 2010.

Question reference: S6W-28632

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28252 by Ivan McKee on 12 July 2024, who has been consulted as part of its collaborative cross-sector work to update the counter fraud strategy Protecting Public Resources in Scotland, and whether it will provide details of the membership of (a) the cross-government Integrity Group and (b) any other stakeholder groups that have been involved.

The Scottish Government Integrity Group permanent membership, as per its Terms of Reference, is as follows:

The Head of Counter Fraud Profession (Chair)
Strategic Lead, Risk, Control & Assurance Division
Propriety and Ethics
The Head of Finance Programme Management
The Chief Information Security Officer
A nominated HR representative
A nominated Scottish Government Legal Directorate (SGLD) advisor
A nominated Internal Audit representative.

The strategy, Protecting Public Resources in Scotland, is due to be updated with the 2024-25 objectives for planned continual improvement in Counter Fraud within Scottish Government and the public sector. The strategy remains extant in its current form. Current collaboration and engagement includes the following stakeholders/partners:

The Public Sector Fraud Authority – UK Government
The International Public Sector Fraud Forum
The Government Counter Fraud Network – Scotland
The Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre
Audit Scotland
NHS Counter Fraud Service
Social Security Scotland Fraud & Error Resolution Unit

During the wider engagement for Protecting Public Resources in Scotland in 2015, the following stakeholders were involved and endorsed the strategy:

Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service
Student Awards Agency Scotland
Audit Scotland
The Department for Work and Pensions
NHS National Services Scotland
NHS Counter Fraud Services
COSLA
Serious Organised Crime Task Force
Police Scotland
Scottish Business Resilience Centre
Scottish Public Pensions Agency
Scottish Local Authority Investigators Group
Scottish Local Authorities Chief Internal Auditors Group
Revenue Scotland

As part of the planned update to the strategy, the Scottish Government will again engage with a broad stakeholder group to ensure that the strategy reflects the wider public sector and current counter fraud strategy and best practice.

Question reference: S6W-29258

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will issue official confirmation to third sector organisations in the asylum and refugee sector to (a) confirm that it has cancelled the national pilot of free bus travel for people seeking asylum and (b) set out how that decision was reached.

The Scottish Government is having to make very difficult decisions to deliver balanced and sustainable spending plans for the 2024-25 financial year. It is therefore unaffordable to progress piloting free bus travel for all people seeking asylum in Scotland.

It was considered appropriate in the first instance to inform members of the Working Group established to help develop the pilot. Accordingly, the group, consisting of representatives from third sector organisations supporting people seeking asylum and those with lived experience of the asylum system, was informed at a scheduled meeting on 16 August. Formal confirmation was provided by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government Shona Robison during a Ministerial Statement on the Pre-budget Fiscal Update in Parliament on 3 September 2024.

This decision sits within the wider context of extremely challenging financial constraints across the whole of the public sector in Scotland. I can confirm however, that people seeking asylum in Scotland who are currently eligible for free bus travel through the National Concessionary Travel Schemes, including those under 22, those aged 60 and over and those with qualifying disabilities, will continue to be able to make use of their entitlement.

Question reference: S6W-29081

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that Scottish Rail Holdings Limited aligns with the provisions of the UK Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill.

As the Bill is currently passing through the UK Parliament, we do not yet know what its final provisions will be.

However the Scottish Government welcomes the objectives of the Bill as introduced, which we believe align with the policy of Scottish Ministers that a fully publicly owned and integrated railway will deliver the best service for Scotland. Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd. is required to follow this policy.

Question reference: S6O-03715

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to strengthen its Fair Work First Guidance to support and promote the good practice example, referenced in the guidance, of providing a private, healthy and safe environment for breastfeeding mothers to express and store milk.

Question reference: S6O-03714

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Centre for Social Justice report, Where have all the children gone?, which found that there has been a 72% increase in severe school absence rates in the last five years.

Question reference: S6O-03710

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the most recent Recorded Crime in Scotland statistics, which showed a 22% rise in crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 in a single year.

Question reference: S6O-03711

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the renewables economy in the north east of Scotland, including through the retraining of energy workers and enhancing supply chain development.

Question reference: S6O-03713

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to protect the provision of instrumental music tuition in schools.