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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-11827

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what actions it is taking to tackle sexual harassment in schools.

We continue to take forward a range of actions in schools, including the Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme, which tackles gender stereotyping and attitudes that condone violence against women and girls; and piloting a whole school approach to tackling gender-based violence with Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance.

The Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group is developing a national framework document for schools to help tackle sexual harassment and gender-based violence. This will set out the practical prevention and intervention measures that can be used to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of children and young people. This work is expected to be completed in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-11780

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost to the Scottish Government was for (a) counsel (b) solicitor and (c) court fees in relation to the two-day hearing on 11-12 October 2022 for the Lord Advocate's referral to the Supreme Court.

Question reference: S6W-11810

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of pupils in each year group have received free school meals in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on the uptake of free school meals broken down by year group.

The Schools Healthy Living Survey Supplementary Statistics provides a breakdown of school meal uptake by pupils in primary, secondary and special schools dating back to 2006. Previous School Healthy Living Survey Supplementary Statistics datasets, back to 2012, are available through the following web link: School Healthy Living Survey supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The uptake of free school meals as a percentage of the total number of pupils since 2006 is contained within the following table:

Free School Meals uptake by school sector 2006-2022

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
P1-P3 (2015-2020) / P1-P5 (2022)	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	75%	78%	77%	76%	75%	72%	#	63%
P4-P7 (2015-2020) / P6-P7 (2022)	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	16%	15%	14%	13%	14%	15%	#	12%
Primary	15%	14%	14%	14%	16%	18%	18%	18%	17%	42%	42%	42%	40%	40%	39%	#	48%
Secondary	8%	7%	7%	7%	8%	8%	9%	10%	10%	9%	9%	9%	9%	9%	9%	#	8%
Special	55%	55%	48%	48%	48%	47%	51%	51%	52%	51%	44%	54%	51%	50%	58%	#	48%
Total	12%	12%	11%	11%	13%	14%	15%	15%	14%	29%	29%	28%	28%	27%	27%	#	31%
Total excluding P1-P3 (2015-2020) / P6-7 (2022)	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	#	13%	12%	12%	11%	12%	12%	#	10%

# = data not collected

Question reference: S6W-11469

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the reported delay in the roll-out of the National Treatment Centres has resulted in a revision of its plan to increase the number of inpatient and day case activity procedures by 55,500 in 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-11476

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital beds, including acute beds and other beds, there have been in each financial year in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20, (c) 2020-21, (d) 2021-22 and (e) 2022-23.

The latest statistics on average number of available, staffed hospital beds, including for acute specialties, is published in ‘Table 4 - beds.xlsx’ within Public Health Scotland’s annual acute hospital activity and NHS beds publication (available under the ‘Data files’ heading on this Public Health Scotland web page: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual-annual-year-ending-31-march-2022/ ).

Question reference: S6W-11569

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Ardrossan Harbour Task Force will next meet.

Question reference: S6W-11570

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that discussions regarding Ardrossan harbour are as transparent as possible.

The Ardrossan harbour project is overseen by the Ardrossan Task Force which includes representatives from Transport Scotland, Peel Ports Group, North Ayrshire Council, CalMac Ferries Ltd, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee, and Kenneth Gibson MSP. The Task Force is co-Chaired by myself, Minister for Transport, and Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council.

Project partners engage regularly to progress the project which is currently at the tender design stage. Task Force Minutes and the project’s Question and Answer document is published on the Transport Scotland webpage.

Question reference: S6W-11776

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11018 by Lorna Slater on 30 September 2022, what the intended aim is of the 75% split in favour of capital expenditure in the overall grant budget allocation of the Circular Textiles Fund, in light of the fact that applications are not required to include capital expenditure.

Question reference: S6W-11774

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many wool-related applications have progressed to stage 2 in relation to the Circular Textiles Fund.

Question reference: S6W-11828

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands last met with representatives from the Scottish Crofting Federation, either in person or virtually.