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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-15826

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in the West Scotland region had registered with the Deposit Return Scheme by 1 March 2023, and how this compares with the number of businesses that were expected to register.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

As the Deposit Return Scheme regulator, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is required to publish a list of all producers registered with the scheme before the scheme launches in August.

This list will be searchable by producer name, business address, date registered, registration number, and brand information in cases where the producer does not use their name and address on their packaging.

Question reference: S6W-15884

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions a Litter Abatement Order has been issued in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-15963

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many "lead teachers" have been appointed in each local authority, in each year since 2020, and how much has been (a) budgeted for and (b) spent to fund any such appointments.

There were five full-time equivalent lead teachers that met the required inclusion criteria for the 2022 School Staff Census, these were all from Scottish Borders. The role of lead teacher was established in June 2021, therefore figures are not available for earlier years.

The School Staff Census predominantly reports on posts with a classroom teaching remit, some lead teachers may be employed in posts without a classroom teaching remit and therefore will not be included in the counts collected and reported as part of the annual census.

There is no information held centrally on the budget or funding for lead teacher appointments. The recruitment and employment of teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual councils, as they have the statutory duty for education expenditure and to deliver education. Councils have the statutory responsibility for providing a complement of teachers, including lead teachers, and all other necessary support staff which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils within the resources available.

Question reference: S6W-15968

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has given to the Scottish Funding Council on distributing funding to colleges for the financial year 2023-24.

The Scottish Government allocates budgets to the college and university sectors at aggregate level. SFC holds the responsibility to distribute funding to individual colleges and universities. Prior to publishing funding allocations, the SFC works with the college sector to identify the best split of the available resources provided in the Budget, taking into account Government priorities and the college sector’s needs. Scottish Government priorities are outlined in the annual letter of strategic guidance, which is normally issued in March/April each year. SFC announces indicative allocations in March and final allocations to the sectors in May each year.

Question reference: S6W-15969

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued a letter of guidance to the Scottish Funding Council for 2023-24, and, if so, when the letter was issued.

Question reference: S6W-15822

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09219 by Lorna Slater on 30 June 2022, whether it will provide an update on how many (a) exemption and (b) voluntary return point applications have been processed by Zero Waste Scotland to date.

Question reference: S6W-15819

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many looked after young people have been placed in unregulated accommodation in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-15818

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives it has for private sector employers to implement its anti-racist employment strategy.

On 9 December 2022 the Scottish Government jointly published our Anti-Racist Employment Strategy and refreshed Fair Work Action Plan. The Anti-Racist Employment Strategy offers clear and practical guidance for employers from all sectors to improve the recruitment and representation of racialised minority staff and build fair, diverse and inclusive workplaces. The Strategy was developed in collaboration with stakeholders from a wide-range of backgrounds. This included representatives of the private sector. The Strategy is underpinned by a series of actions working in continued partnership with these stakeholders to address issues affecting racialised minorities.

The Fair Work Action Plan explains how the Scottish Government will work collaboratively to support private and public sector employers to utilise the resources and support available to embed Fair Work in their organisations and build capability among employers, employability providers and partners. By the end of 2023 we will have worked with partners to further join up provision of advice and support for employers in all sectors by establishing a central Fair Work resource. We will also develop a communications strategy to highlight and promote to all employers the benefits of Fair Work and diverse workplaces including recruiting, employing and supporting workers from racialised minorities. By the end of 2023 we will have also further updated the Fair Work First criteria that must be taken into consideration by employers seeking public sector support to better reflect priority action required to address labour market inequalities faced by people from racialised minorities and other groups to help ensure more people can enter, remain and progress in work.

Question reference: S6W-15792

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the confirmation of both the scope of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill and of the national service specification for secure transport, jointly developed with COSLA, what plans it has to (a) regulate and (b) improve monitoring of the use of restraint in children, including those in care, by secure transportation providers.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with COSLA to develop solutions for secure transport - to advance our commitment to the UNCRC and the requirements within The Promise. A sub-group of the National Secure Care Group has been set up to develop solutions to these issues.

The service specification for secure transport is still in development. Multi-agency discussions are ongoing about how that will be used in local authority commissioning arrangements.

We will consider the implications of changing the legislative and regulatory framework to make it possible to bring scrutiny of secure transport arrangements within the remit of the Care Inspectorate.

Question reference: S6O-02090

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any poverty-related issues in schools.