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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-21447

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any hospice or palliative care funding increases.

The Scottish Government is facing the most difficult financial situation since devolution. I therefore wrote to the hospice sector on 17 August 2023 to let them know that, unfortunately, their request for funding of £15.5 million is currently unaffordable. However, the Scottish Government will continue to consider how best we can support independent hospices and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), which are responsible for planning and commissioning palliative and end of life care, including hospices, in their areas.

Question reference: S6W-21423

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20228 by Jenny Gilruth on 22 August 2023, whether it will provide the number of probationers that were bid for, and the number allocated, broken down by local authority.

The total bid figures reflect bids made by local authorities in February 2023. The total allocation figures reflect the allocation of probationers in May 2023.

Local Authority	Total Bid	Total Allocation
Aberdeen City Council	231	136
Aberdeenshire Council	166	116
Angus Council	50	36
Argyll and Bute Council	24	22
City of Edinburgh Council	244	215
Clackmannanshire Council	35	26
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	20	15
Dumfries and Galloway Council	80	59
Dundee City Council	139	101
East Ayrshire Council	93	69
East Dunbartonshire Council	148	135
East Lothian Council	93	72
East Renfrewshire Council	147	140
Falkirk Council	143	120
Fife Council	283	218
Glasgow City Council	360	368
Highland Council	108	78
Inverclyde Council	64	49
Jordanhill School	3	7
Midlothian Council	71	49
Moray Council	85	67
North Ayrshire Council	72	63
North Lanarkshire Council	310	183
Orkney Islands Council	9	7
Perth and Kinross Council	58	45
Renfrewshire Council	104	116
Scottish Borders Council	61	55
Shetland Islands Council	12	9
South Ayrshire Council	98	70
South Lanarkshire Council	221	219
Stirling Council	72	74
West Dunbartonshire Council	68	75
West Lothian Council	146	147
Totals	3818	3161

Question reference: S6W-21454

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the next Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics are due to be published.

Question reference: S6W-20703

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19780 by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023, what proportion of the (a) £830 million spend on additional support for learning in 2021-22 and (b) £15 million per year in additional funding since 2019-20 was allocated to each local authority.

The total spend on additional support for learning in 2021-22 is set out in the following table.

Local Authority	Additional Support for Learning - £000s
Aberdeen City	29,575
Aberdeenshire	39,957
Angus	11,681
Argyll & Bute	11,830
Clackmannanshire	11,917
City of Edinburgh	81,342
Dumfries & Galloway	21,070
Dundee City	15,835
East Ayrshire	19,100
East Dunbartonshire	17,771
East Lothian	16,244
East Renfrewshire	13,481
Falkirk	25,603
Fife	39,493
Glasgow City	123,924
Highland	40,636
Inverclyde	12,628
Midlothian	20,140
Moray	16,032
Eilean Siar	5,625
North Ayrshire	13,163
North Lanarkshire	50,248
Orkney Islands	4,411
Perth & Kinross	19,589
Renfrewshire	24,570
Scottish Borders	11,765
Shetland Islands	8,423
South Ayrshire	19,861
South Lanarkshire	47,670
Stirling	9,968
West Dunbartonshire	19,046
West Lothian	27,729
Scotland	830,327

Source - Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The majority of funding available to local authorities, including the £15 million additional support for learning, is provided by means of a block grant from the Scottish Government and it is for locally elected representatives to manage the allocation of their resources and the level of services that are delivered to their local communities.

Question reference: S6W-20927

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of any benefits of gene editing for the Scottish agriculture and horticultural sectors in terms of nitrogen efficiency.

The Scottish Government commissioned a review of gene editing for the benefit of plant health, published in January 2022, from the Plant Health Centre. The review included evidence gathering and participation from a wide range of Scottish academics and research providers, as well as from NFUS, and considered implications for the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors. It included impacts on the natural environment, and a variety of other areas, such as disease resistance, yield, inputs and food production.

The Scottish Government also has access to significant expertise in its advisors, including the Chief Scientific Advisor for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

Question reference: S6W-21672

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which minister will have responsibility for its Green Industrial Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-21459

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that misinformation on social media about hormonal contraception is encouraging women to move away from using traditional contraceptives.

The Scottish Government is aware of concerns raised by clinicians about the impact of social media on women’s contraceptive choices, and we are grateful to them for raising awareness of this important issue. We would always encourage women to seek advice from NHS professionals on their contraception options and the benefits and risks, rather than social media.

We are committed to ensuring that all women can access accurate information regarding contraception and are able to access services in a timely and convenient manner. This is something we continue to work towards improving through the Women’s Health Plan and the forthcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan 2023-26

To support this aim, the Scottish Government has funded a project to develop a new sexual and reproductive health website on the NHS Inform platform, featuring a range of interactive, quality assured sexual health and contraception information.

Question reference: S6W-21478

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to a reported increase in still-births.

Question reference: S6W-21630

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector grants have been awarded since 1 July 2023 without requiring recipients to pay the real Living Wage, broken down by the value of each grant.

Question reference: S6W-21444

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to encourage the recruitment and retention of people in the social care workforce to deliver palliative care.

The Scottish Government has been working with a number of partners to support the training and recruitment of a social care workforce to deliver integrated healthcare, which can include palliative care.

In collaboration with NES, the Scottish Government worked with the Home Office to ensure Adult Social Care workers were included on the Shortage Occupation List in February 2022, and that they will remain on this when this is next reviewed. To support international recruitment efforts, we have also collaborated with NES and COSLA to create the NES Centre for Workforce Supply: Social Care.

Further to this, we have been working with The Prince’s Trust and regional Developing the Young Workforce teams to encourage more young people to enter the social care workforce, and we continue to work with DWP, empowering their Work Coaches to support service users into careers in adult social care.

We also launched the National Induction Framework to support the onboarding process for new workers in February 2022, recognising that access to good onboarding can support staff retention by developing skills and confidence early on.

Under the Strategy Steering Group for Palliative Care, we have established a Workforce Education, Training and Resources Working Group to support the workforce and ensure that care is delivered by a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency workforce that is trained, skilled, valued and supported.