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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-08959

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to make regulations under section 9(8) and (9) of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, including in light of the changes regarding trafficking matters and processes in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

Question reference: S6W-08861

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out its plans for Severe Disability Payment.

Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) will continue to be delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of the Scottish Government, which Parliament were informed of in February 2019. Consultation and survey responses indicated that replacing Severe Disablement Allowance, which has been closed to new applicants since 2001, would cause unnecessary disruption to the approximately 1300 clients in Scotland who continue to receive it.

Question reference: S6W-08882

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to recruit more British Transport Police officers; how many it plans to recruit, and over what time period.

Question reference: S6W-09019

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the support needs of Ukrainian nationals on seasonal work visas in Scotland following the introduction by the UK Government of the Ukraine Extension Scheme on 3 May 2022.

Agricultural workers from Ukraine are critical in the production of soft fruit and vegetables in Scotland. As a result of the conflict, there are significant concerns about the needs of these workers and JustRight Scotland's new Worker Support Centre, supported by £41,000 from the Scottish Government will provide independent outreach and legal support for seasonal workers in Scotland. The Centre follows models used around the world to offer temporary migrant workers advice and support in times of crisis. In addition, The Scottish Government also funds the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI) which has long-established connections to the wider agricultural community and related support services in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09096

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government in which academic year it plans for a new Scottish Education Exchange Programme to be operational for the two-way international exchange of students.

Question reference: S6W-09020

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has had with the seasonal worker employment sponsor agencies in relation to supporting Ukrainian nationals on seasonal work visas in Scotland to access the Ukraine Extension Scheme.

As immigration is reserved to the UK Government, the Home Office is responsible for the operation of visa schemes and application processing. The Home Office has been supporting approved labour providers for the Seasonal Worker Scheme to complete applications to the Ukraine Extension Scheme on behalf of Ukrainian workers, to process the visas as quickly as possible and monitor the process more effectively. The Scottish Government will continue engaging closely with the Home Office and other partners to ensure that workers displaced by the crisis in Ukraine are able to access the support they need while they are here in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-08945

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons it is delaying the introduction of legislation on buffer zones outside abortion clinics.

The Scottish Government is not delaying the introduction of legislation on buffer zones. We have agreed to work constructively with Ms Gillian Mackay MSP on her forthcoming Member’s Bill.

The First Minister is wholeheartedly committed to addressing the issue of protests and vigils that take place outside of abortion clinics, and will therefore be chairing a summit on abortion on 27 June. The summit will primarily focus on buffer zones, but will also look at what measures can be implemented in the short term to ensure women can access abortion without fear of intimidation or harassment.

Question reference: S6W-09093

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many officials worked on international further and higher education policy within the Advanced Learning and Science team in 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-09043

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many registered Qualified Teachers of Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (QTVI) there are, and what action it is taking to encourage more people to train for this qualification.

Information on the qualifications of teachers is not collected centrally by the Scottish Government. A report commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by the Scottish Sensory Centre in 2016 showed that there were 65 teachers working with visually impaired pupils reported as being qualified, with an additional 15 teachers working towards qualification.

The Scottish Government is committed to increase the capacity and expertise of school staff to support pupils with visual impairments. We fund the Scottish Sensory Centre to provide specialist training to school staff to support pupils with a sensory impairment.

Under the Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005, education authorities are responsible for ensuring that teachers employed to teach pupils who are visually impaired hold an appropriate qualification. We are also working with partners to update the existing qualifications guidance for teachers of deaf and visually impaired children and young persons to ensure staff have the latest advice on routes to professional qualification.

Question reference: S6W-09072

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans the National Records of Scotland has to scan copies of the paper returns of Scotland’s Census 2022, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

All valid paper returns from Scotland’s Census 2022 will be scanned in full and digital files created. In addition, digital data from responses for all scanned census returns, including online or paper, will be produced and retained.

High quality scanned image files for all paper census returns will be retained by National Records of Scotland (NRS) and stored in a permanent archive for historical research purposes in future. Original paper questionnaires will be securely destroyed only after all data files for both digital data and high quality scanned image files have been produced and safely transmitted for storage.

Census information is kept secure and confidential for 100 years.