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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-18252

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what research has been conducted into any barriers for young people accessing the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and what measures have been introduced to reduce any such barriers.

The Scottish Government has listened to young people and their families about the application process and worked closely with delivery partners and local authorities to make improvements.

In light of feedback received, the Improvement Service, which runs the online portal https://getyournec.scot/nec/ made changes to the website to improve the application process and relaxed conditions on some of the proofs required.

In addition, local authorities have been working hard to support applications made offline and many have dedicated staff on hand to help those who may need additional support through the application process.

Further, towards the end of last year, the Scottish Government delivered a national marketing campaign to increase awareness and understanding of the scheme, and encourage more young people to apply.

Work is now underway on the one year evaluation study which will include questions looking at barriers to bus travel and to accessing, or using, the Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme. The evaluation will collect information from children, young people and parents (both users and non-users of the scheme) about their experiences. The evaluation study will also draw on scheme cardholder data.

Question reference: S6W-18291

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what reviews have been undertaken of its menopause policy.

Menopause care and support is a top priority in our Women’s Health Plan, which was published on 20 August 2021, and runs until 2024. There are no plans to review the Women’s Health Plan or the menopause ambitions within it before this time.

The 10 menopause actions set out in the Plan aim to ensure that women have timely access to menopause support and services; healthcare professionals are aware of the impact of medical or surgical treatments to induce menopause and all women have access to a healthcare professional with an interest in menopause through primary care.

An update on the progress made since the publication of Plan on the menopause actions is outlined in the Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress , published on 26 January 2023.

Question reference: S6W-18142

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what purpose the £26 million previously allocated to the college sector in the Scottish Budget 2023-24 was redeployed.

As set out in the letter dated 2 nd May to the Education Children and Young People Committee, the additional £46 million (£26 million for colleges and £20 million for universities) was identified as a necessary saving in Financial Year 2023-24. This is part of our wider duty to balance the budget and ensure fiscal sustainability. As you will know, the previous Cabinet Secretary also wrote to the Committee on 22 February confirming we have had to make difficult choices in meeting new pressures on the Education and Skills portfolio since the 2023-24 Budget announcement, including the recent agreement regarding teachers’ pay.

Question reference: S6W-18100

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a full appraisal of the Scottish Funding Council's Upskilling Fund, from its inception in 2019, including details on (a) uptake, (b) type of learner, (c) level of qualification, (d) the (i) hours and (ii) credits of learning provided and (e) any employer engagement.

All data is provided by the Scottish Funding Council. Details are as follows:

(a) Uptake

A summary of enrolments for all courses in each of the academic years (AY) since 2019-20 is as follows:-

19-20 – 4,041 enrolments

20-21 – 7,056 enrolments

21-22 – 7,144 enrolments

(b) Type of learner

Data on type of learner is not complete due to reductions in reporting requirements during Covid for 2019-20 and due to limitations in Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) reporting which covers students studying for a qualification or credit at HE level only.

The data included below has been recorded in the HESA returns for 2020-21 and 2021-22, with the caveat that this is not a complete dataset.

The following table has been taken from HESA returns

Sex	2020-21		2021-22
Sex	Enrolments	%	Enrolments	%
Male	2,270	37.4%	3,080	39.5%
Female	3,770	62.1%	4,685	60.0%
Other	30	0.5%	40	0.5%
Total	6,065	100%	7,805	100%

Age	2020-21		2021-22
Age	Enrolments	%	Enrolments	%
20 and under	145	2.4%	270	3.4%
21 to 29 yrs	1,640	27.0%	1,665	21.3%
30 and above	4,280	70.6%	5,870	75.2%
Total	6,065	100%	7,805	100%

Ethnicity	2020-21		2021-22
Ethnicity	Enrolments	%	Enrolments	%
White	5,020	82.7%	6,405	82.1%
BME	675	11.1%	860	11.0%
Ethnicity Not Known	375	6.2%	540	6.9%
Total	6,065	100%	7,805	100%

Disability status	2020-21		2021-22
Disability status	Enrolments	%	Enrolments	%
Has a Disability	645	10.6%	890	11.4%
No Known Disability	5,425	89.4%	6,915	88.6%
Total	6,065	100%	7,805	100%

Deprivation status	2020-21		2021-22
Deprivation status	Enrolments	%	Enrolments	%
MD20	580	10.0%	720	9.7%
Other	5,170	89.2%	6,620	89.3%
Not Known	50	0.9%	70	1.0%
Total	5,800	100%	7,410	100%

Level of qualification or credit obtained on Upskilling course	2020-21		2021-22
	Enrolments	%	Enrolments	%
SCQF L11	295	29.9%	2,635	77.3%
SCQF L10	500	50.6%	325	9.6%
SCQF L9	155	15.6%	245	7.2%
SCQF L8	5	0.7%	95	2.8%
SCQF L7	30	3.1%	110	3.2%
Total	985	100%	3,410	100%

For the purposes of data protection the figures for enrolments and qualifications have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.The percentages are based on unrounded figures.

The Upskilling Fund supports SCQF levels 7-11

(d) The (i) hours The University Upskilling Fund Guidance stipulates that provision should be shorter in duration – usually significantly shorter – than a full AY.

And (ii) credits of learning provided.

Guidance states that courses/provision should normally be credit-bearing and have some form of appropriate assessment built-in. However, this is not a necessary eligibility criterion and is at the university’s discretion, based on the nature of the particular course/ provision and the needs of students.

(e) Any employer engagement

Universities are strengthening their relationships with employers as they use their employer groups and networks and trade body partnerships in the design of programmes and in the recruitment of learners.

Question reference: S6W-18098

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has made available for early-stage circular textiles projects, in light of reports that the Circular Textiles Fund excludes such projects in its application criteria.

Circular Economy Business Support, provided by Zero Waste Scotland, continues to provide support for textile businesses wishing to develop circular models. Scottish Enterprise also recently published its Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Guide , https://unlockingambition.scot/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Scottish-Entrepreneurial-Ecosystem-Guide-April-2023.pdf

which provides an overview of the range of support available to new and growing companies in Scotland including incubators, accelerators, specialist industry programmes, co-working spaces and networking organisations. This support is available to any early-stage innovative business.

Question reference: S6W-18157

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to use the evidence collected in the call for evidence on single-use food containers and other single-use items.

Question reference: S6W-18362

Asked by: Stephanie Callaghan, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many Adult Disability Payment Change of Circumstances forms have been submitted in each month since January 2023, and, of these, what the (a) longest, (b) average and (c) median processing time was for these unscheduled reviews of Adult Disability Payment.

Social Security Scotland does not currently produce information relating to Change of Circumstances but we do routinely publish information about Adult Disability Payment, including processing times of new applications.

These statistics were most recently published in March 2023, covering up to end January 2023, and are available at:

Social Security Scotland - Social Security Scotland statistics: publications

The next publication, covering up to end April 2023, will be published on 13 June.

Social Security Scotland is committed to giving clients timely decisions, while allowing sufficient time to ensure the necessary information is in place to get decisions right the first time. Clients can advise us of a change of circumstance for a number of reasons, and if the change is relevant to their entitlement, a review would be carried out. Every case is individual and processing times will vary.

Question reference: S6W-18341

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-18350

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-18366

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the recommendations in the report of the Short-life Food Security and Supply Taskforce, published on 23 June 2022, have been implemented to date, and how many staff will be employed in the new dedicated Food Security Unit announced on 18 May 2023.

The Short-Life Food Security and Supply Taskforce set out a number of short and long-term recommendations in its report and all of the immediate actions are either complete or substantially complete, including the establishment of a Food Security Unit, with other actions becoming legacy activity for it.

As the Food Security Unit becomes more established, the number of staff involved directly will vary depending on business needs. The Food Security Unit will work collaboratively with the wide range of teams across the Scottish Government that work on aspects of food security.