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 46064 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-34654

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to video game development companies in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) funding stream and (b) local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-34656

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what specific support it provides to independent video game developers.

Question reference: S6W-34662

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any skills shortages in the video game development sector.

Question reference: S6W-34658

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what skills and training programmes it supports for the video game development industry, and how much funding has been allocated to these in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-34661

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what partnerships it has established between the video game industry and education providers to support training and upskilling.

The Scottish Government and Education Scotland have provided funding in 2022 and 2023 to support Scottish Games Week, which included an Education Symposium. This event brings together video game industry and education providers with an aim to share learning and establish partnerships.

Education Scotland has also supported (through attendance and delivery) the Scottish Games Education Symposium in 2024 and inaugural Scottish Esports Education Conference in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-34653

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available to the video game development sector, broken down by (a) grants, (b) tax relief, (c) loans and (d) other funding mechanisms.

Question reference: S6W-34659

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available to support access to training pathways for careers in video game development, including apprenticeships and further education courses.

Video games development covers a range of skills and careers from the technical to the creative development so there are multiple routes into the industry. A college or university course in Computer Games Development is one pathway into the sector, but Apprenticeship pathways in Creative & Digital Media or Software Development will also provide transferable skills and knowledge.

Information on funding available for further and higher students can be found on the Student Information Scotland webpage.

Skills Development Scotland administers Scottish Apprenticeships on behalf of the Scottish Government, which incorporates Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs), Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) and Graduate Apprenticeships (GAs). Information on what funding is available to support access to apprenticeships can be found on the apprentices.scot webpage.

Question reference: S6W-34660

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) colleges and (b) universities in Scotland offer courses related to video game development, and what financial support it provides to these institutions.

Universities and Colleges are autonomous institutions, and the Scottish Government does not intervene in subject provision, or hold information on the number of courses related to video game development. The upcoming budget is providing over £2bn for colleges, universities and the wider skills system.

Latest data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), shows that for 2022-23, 6 (out of 19) universities in Scotland have enrolments on courses under the subject classification 'Computer games and animation'. (source: Table 49 - HE student enrolments by HE provider and subject of study 2014/15 to 2022/23 | HESA)

While information provided by the Scottish Funding Council, based on course title analysis, indicated that for the 2022-23 academic year 14 (out of 24) colleges in Scotland ran courses relating to video game development.

Question reference: S6W-34893

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it is making in taking forward its work to update the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations Act 1967 to improve standards for toilets in schools so that children with chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have better access to clean, private and accessible facilities.

The Scottish Government intends to refresh and modernise the School Premises Regulations (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) to ensure that they meet the needs of pupils and schools in Scotland. The Scottish Government still intends to re-consult this year on the Regulations.

Scottish Government officials are taking steps to engage with relevant stakeholders and will be reaching out to further interested parties. Consultation responses will inform areas of focus for any proposals for changes to update the Regulations before these are brought forward.

It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate, including the provision of toilets in schools.

Question reference: S6W-34882

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the issues highlighted in the recent BBC programme, Disclosure: Kids on the Psychiatric Ward, were reportedly not identified in any of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s published reports on Skye House.

The Mental Welfare Commission have visited and reported on Skye House seven times since 2016 as part of its local visit programme, the most recent of which was in March 2024.

Some of the issues raised in these reports were also identified in the Disclosure documentary. These included staffing difficulties, support for young people with eating disorders in terms of standard of food, impact of isolation, and concerns regarding certain medical treatment under the Mental Health Act being properly authorised and monitored. The MWC does not comment on specifics such as self-harm, aggression or restraint in its visit reports, as there could be a risk to individuals being identified.

The MWC base their findings and recommendations on observations from the day of the visit and these local visit reports represent a snapshot of each facility at that moment in time, with recommendations made accordingly. MWC reports are an important part of ensuring standards of care and upholding rights, but they should not be seen as a comprehensive investigation or audit.