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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.

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Question reference: S6W-31804

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will set out its ambition to grow Scotland’s hydrogen potential internationally, and publish an export plan for that sector.

Scotland has the resources, skilled workforce, and ambition to become a leading hydrogen nation and developing this sector will create international trade opportunities in terms of our hydrogen production and across the supply chain.

That is why an export plan aimed at realising Scotland’s hydrogen potential as a leading net exporter of hydrogen will be published on 29 November 2024.

The plan will set out how Scotland will realise the international opportunities presented by the development of the Hydrogen sector and will outline the immediate international export opportunities and strategic actions needed to support Scottish businesses.

Achieving this goal presents a great opportunity to combine the efforts of a range of partners. I look forward to continuing to work with them as we take forward delivery of the plan and realise Scotland’s hydrogen future.

Question reference: S6W-31479

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses received correspondence requesting corrections to underpayments identified as part of (a) control test inspections and (b) inspections as a result of a complaint from employees, in each of the last five years.

Number of businesses which have received correspondence requesting corrections to underpayments as part of (a) control test inspections and (b) inspections as a result of a complaint from employees, in each of the last five years:

	(a) CTIs	(b) Complaints
2020	1	8
2021	1	0
2022	2	12
2023	7	21
2024	17	20

Number of inspections and complaint cases processed significantly impacted throughout 2020 and 2021 due to Covid 19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-31250

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much Skills Development Scotland has spent on delivering Modern Apprenticeships in each year since 2017-18.

Question reference: S6W-31651

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the implementation of the Good Food Nation Plan for Scotland, and which (a) local authorities and (b) public bodies have met the requirement in the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 to submit a Good Food Plan.

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 ("the Act") requires Scottish Ministers to publish a national Good Food Nation Plan. Work on the first iteration of the plan is currently underway. The Scottish Government published a draft of the national Good Food Nation Plan for consultation earlier this year. The analysis of consultation responses has now been published and officials are currently revising the Plan with regard to the consultation responses. The revised Plan will be laid in Scottish Parliament for consideration and comment before final publication.

The Act also requires that relevant authorities (currently defined as health boards and local authorities) must produce their own Good Food Nation Plans and these must be published within 12 months of commencement of section 10 of the Act. Relevant authorities are required to have regard to the content of the national Plan when preparing their own Plans. The Scottish Government's intention is that commencement of section 10 takes place around the time of the publication of the national Good Food Nation Plan.

Question reference: S6W-31686

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on developing a register of ancient woodlands.

Question reference: S6W-31254

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to improve productivity in the public sector, and how it measures any progress on this.

The Scottish Government’s Public Service Reform (PSR) Programme sets out Scottish Government’s approach to driving efficiency and effectiveness, and to delivering service change to prioritise prevention.

An update on the PSR programme was shared with the Finance and Public Administration Committee in December 2023 and a subsequent update was shared in September 2024. The most recent update sets out the plans for the Public Bodies Programme and details of savings realised and projected from efficiency programmes within Scottish Government such as Single Scottish Estate and the Intelligent Automation Centre of Excellence.

Our Single Scottish Estate, National Collaborative Procurement, Commercial Value for Money and digital programmes are securing cost avoiding and cash releasing savings, expected to reach up to £280 million over a two-year period by the end of 2024-25, with further projected savings of nearly £300 million over the following two financial years to the end of 2026-27. The Scottish Government’s total workforce reduced in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years by 0.4% and 3.0% respectively, with ongoing monitoring to ensure the workforce is delivering as effectively and efficiently as possible.

In November we have published data on corporate costs from public bodies. This data will support Government and public bodies to work together to drive efficiencies and release resources to the frontline.

The latest Scottish Government labour productivity statistics for Scotland for 2023 show output per hour worked for Government services. The recent Scottish Government publication Public Sector: Economic Overview presents a range of public sector statistics including labour productivity statistics for relevant sectors.

Scottish Government analysts are also stakeholders in the ONS led Public Services Productivity Review. The first phase will look at measurement improvements for England but will also work with devolved administrations to share best practice and identify what data sources would be required to make improvements, with a view to how UK-wide measurement improvements will be incorporated into the national accounts in future. The latest ONS update can be found here.

Question reference: S6O-04050

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw (on behalf of the SPCB) on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration has been given to reviewing its parental leave policies.

In accordance with the Reimbursement of Members’ Expenses Scheme the SPCB is responsible for setting and maintaining minimum terms and conditions for the employment of staff by MSPs and for the terms and conditions of parliamentary service staff. I can confirm that the SPCB plans to review the terms and conditions of staff employed by MSPs early in the New Year. The SPCB regularly benchmarks its terms and conditions with other employers to ensure that they continue to support the objective of attracting and retaining staff.

Question reference: S6O-04076

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Public Health Scotland’s recent NHS dental monitoring report, which indicates that almost 40% of adults in Dumfries and Galloway are not registered with an NHS dentist.

Question reference: S6O-04078

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve rail services for passengers in the Mid Scotland and Fife region.

Question reference: S6O-04077

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update planning guidance for battery energy storage systems.