Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-20583

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to help grow Scotland’s economy through the tech sector and to bridge the technical skills gap, for what reason it reportedly did not provide support to CodeClan.

Codeclan was a private sector enterprise and its financial stability was the sole responsibility of its management and board of directors.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise worked intensively with CodeClan to explore every possible option to secure a sustainable future, including commissioning the support of private sector consultants.

Ministers are legally bound by subsidy control rules which set clear thresholds on the level of public funding that can be injected into private businesses. In this case the sum required to place the business on a stable footing significantly exceeded these thresholds, with no guarantee of future viability.

Question reference: S6W-20581

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of CodeClan entering liquidation, what assessment it has made of how the loss of the digital skills academy will impact its ambition to establish Scotland as a leading destination for tech companies.

Codebase, the operator of Scotland's Techscaler network, has acquired CodeClan’s training materials and other assets. The Scottish Government has agreed to provide financial support to Codebase for the explicit purpose of allowing students who have paid for courses to complete their studies.

We look forward to working Codebase and other partners to ensure the provision of quality, modular skills training is continued and enhanced.

In the meantime, Scotland’s tech sector is served by a world class post-16 education system which each year generates thousands of skilled graduates in key technological disciplines.

Question reference: S6W-20435

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has closed the solar photovoltaic (PV) panels loan scheme for applications that are not part of a package of measures.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating systems, energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances.

The Scottish Government has not closed this scheme, but has changed the conditions for funding of solar PV and energy storage systems.

For the reason behind this decision, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19607 on 28 July 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website .

Question reference: S6W-20562

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the representatives of the education and lifelong learning sectors that it has discussed the Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP) with in the last 12 months.

Question reference: S6W-20570

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the threshold for paying Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.

Question reference: S6W-20855

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has given any consideration to the introduction of a ticket levy on large music venues in order to support grassroots venues.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that there is a thriving music industry in Scotland, including grassroots music venues, which are key to supporting emerging Scottish talent. It is vital that both grassroots venues and large-scale venues continue to be valued and supported.

That is why, during the Covid-19 pandemic, we worked with partners to deliver the Grassroots Music Venues Stabilisation Fund. Music venues were also able to apply to the Cancellation Fund for Cultural Organisations, which supported creative businesses which had been financially impacted by cancellations or postponement of activities due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

We currently have no plans to introduce a ticket levy on large music venues to support grassroots venues. However, we continue to engage with stakeholders throughout the sector, such as the Music Venue Trust, to discuss challenges facing the industry, and explore what can be done within our powers and resources to help overcome these.

Question reference: S6W-20858

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to develop music tourism and ensure that live music continues to be resilient and world class, as outlined in its publication, A Culture Strategy for Scotland.

Music tourism makes an important contribution to the Scottish economy, attracting overseas visitors as well as locals to enjoy live music at festivals and venues across Scotland, many of which have an international reputation for excellence.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that there is a thriving music industry in Scotland and so provided £750,000 across 2021-22 and 2022-23 to enable Scotland on Tour to take place. The programme facilitated new concerts in venues across Scotland to support the sector recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. While there are no plans to reopen the fund, we continue to work with the music sector, including through further and higher education, to ensure that live music continues to be resilient and world-class.

EventScotland’s existing funding programmes offer opportunities for all event organisers, including live music events, to apply for funding on the basis that it meets the programme criteria.

Within Scotland’s UNESCO Trail microsite, Glasgow’s status as a UNESCO City of Music is highlighted. Earlier this year, EventScotland welcomed five journalists representing eight titles from the UK, France and Germany to explore and promote the Trail. They experienced Celtic Connections and a city music walking tour.

We will continue to work with a range of stakeholder groups, such as the Music Education Partnership Group and the Scottish Music Industry Association, to promote excellence in music and provide opportunities for the musicians of the future.

Question reference: S6W-20436

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly did not undertake any consultation or issue a warning before deciding to close the photovoltaic (PV) panels loan scheme for applications that are not part of a package of measures.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating systems, energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances.

The Scottish Government has not closed this scheme, but has changed the conditions for funding of solar PV and energy storage systems.

For an answer to the question asked, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19952 on 9 August 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website .

Question reference: S6W-20550

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many counsellors have been recruited in each local authority, using the £16 million of funding that it provided, to provide secondary school counselling provision.

The Scottish Government have invested £16m per year in order to ensure that children and young people have quick and effective access to support for their mental health and wellbeing through counsellors in schools. Local authorities provide six-monthly reports to the Scottish Government on this commitment. The reports confirm that the overall picture on improving children and young people’s outcomes is positive.

A summary of the reports can be found here: Access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services – summary reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . We will publish a summary of the 2022 reports in the coming weeks, which will include the number of counsellors local authorities reported were in post.

Question reference: S6O-02512

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it will provide to support the work of the Inverclyde Task Force, including in relation to investment in facilities at Ferguson Marine.

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