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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-34840

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings it has held in the last 12 months to discuss the Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP), broken down by (a) date and (b) attendees; whether it will publish (i) the agenda of each meeting and (ii) any documents, briefings or correspondence it has shared with or produced over this period regarding SEEP, and what evaluation summaries or reports on SEEP it subsequently produced.

The Scottish Education Exchange Programme is a priority action within Scotland’s International Education Strategy and as such, progress is regularly discussed by IES Governance Group which is chaired by the Minister for HE/FE and includes representatives from colleges and universities. The minutes of these meetings are published online at International Education Strategy Governance Group. Updates to the programme are also published online at Scottish Education Exchange Programme: Test and Learn project - gov.scot and Scottish Education Exchange Programme: - Test and Learn: funded projects - gov.scot

As year 2 of the SEEP comes to a close at the end of March 2025, an external evaluation of the first 2 years of the programme has been commissioned and will be published this summer.

Question reference: S6W-34876

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effect of free tuition fees on the financial situation of universities in Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s resolute commitment to free tuition means that in Scotland access to university remains based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay. Through the Scottish Funding Council, we invest over £1.1bn for teaching and research in Scotland’s universities and this investment in university education ensures that Scottish domiciled and international students benefit from the learning provided by our world-class universities in near-record numbers.

The Scottish Government fully appreciates the financial sustainability challenges being faced by many universities across the UK given the downturn in international student recruitment due to UK immigration policies, and the increase to employers’ National Insurance Contributions. The Scottish Funding Council is engaging across the sector as it responds to these challenges.

Question reference: S6W-35198

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-departmental public body, also known as quango, employees are employed in roles related to equality, diversity, and inclusion, and what the total cost is of these roles.

Question reference: S6W-35203

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-departmental public bodies, also known as quangos, receive Scottish Government funding but are not directly accountable to ministers.

Non-departmental public bodies devolved to Scotland are operationally independent from Scottish Ministers but are ultimately accountable to Scottish Ministers for their performance. The national public bodies directory contains a full list of non-departmental public bodies and shows the amount of Scottish Government funding they receive. The national directory can be viewed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-public-bodies-directory/pages/executive-non-departmental-public-bodies/

Question reference: S6W-35190

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many public bodies there are in Scotland and how this figure compares with each year since 1999.

The total number of public bodies from 1999 until the present day has been captured in the following table.

Please note that prior to 2010 it was not common practice to capture Executive Agencies, Non-Ministerial Departments, Other Significant National Bodies, or Parliamentary Commissioners & Ombudsmen as part of the list of public bodies. Data prior to 2010 is limited to Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs), Advisory NDPBs, Tribunal NDBs, Health Bodies, Nationalised Industries (no longer used) and Public Corporations. The exception to this was in 2007 when a more extensive collation of public bodies was completed as part of a Simplification Programme. This included all of the aforementioned classifications of public bodies as well as 7 proposed public bodies yet to be established. The inclusion of proposed public bodies yet to be established to the total is unique to 2007.

Year	Total number of Public bodies*
1999	186
2000	186
2001	185
2002	161
2003	149
2004	146
2005	146
2006	144
2007	199
2008	117
2009	119
2010	161
2011	152
2012	144
2013	144
2014	113
2015	119
2016	119
2017	120
2018	120
2019	125
2020	129
2021	127
2022	127
2023	131
2024	132
2025	131
*The number of public bodies may fluctuate throughout the year

Question reference: S6W-35200

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what methodology it uses to evaluate the efficiency and necessity of public bodies.

Public bodies are reviewed quarterly as part of the Scottish Government’s Assurance cycle to ensure they are operating efficiently and effectively.

One of the key aims of our Public Service Reform (PSR) programme is to drive efficiency and effectiveness across government and public bodies, making sure we have the public body landscape to deliver the services the people of Scotland need. As part of this, we have commissioned data on expenditure on corporate functions to identify where there is duplication and are working with public bodies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our services.

The Scottish Government’s policy is that any new public body should only be set up as a last resort and after consideration of all other delivery mechanisms has been exhausted. The Ministerial Control Framework ensures any Scottish Government proposal to establish a new public body is based on evidence and value for money, with approval from Cabinet before any decision is made.

Question reference: S6W-35197

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce duplication among public bodies.

The Scottish Government continues to identify opportunities to remove unnecessary duplication across the public bodies landscape.

In July 2024, public bodies were asked to provide information to identify opportunities for delivering services in alternative ways and to increase efficiencies across corporate functions. A report of the findings from this commission was published on 15 November 2024, and can be found at Public Bodies Expenditure: Supplementary Report of Data Commission - gov.scot.

A key strand of the Public Service Reform (PSR) programme is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our public services for the people of Scotland. As part of this, we continue to engage with public bodies to progress the programme and deliver long term fiscal sustainability.

Question reference: S6W-35199

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential savings from consolidating or abolishing underperforming public bodies.

The Scottish Government is progressing the Public Sector Reform Programme to ensure public services are sustainable, efficient and effective. Our work in this area is expected to save up to £280 million over a two year period by the end of 2024-25.

We have already streamlined the public sector landscape by reducing the number of Scottish public bodies under our control from 199 in 2007 to 131 as at 1 December 2024.

Accountable Officers for all public bodies have a personal responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the finances under their stewardship and for the economic, efficient and effective use of all related resources. This includes being personally answerable to Parliament for the exercise of their functions. This is set out in the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 and the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

Question reference: S6W-35196

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many new non-departmental public bodies, also known as quangos, have been created since 2007, and how many have been abolished.

The national public bodies directory contains a full list of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and shows their creation date. The national directory can be viewed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-public-bodies-directory/pages/executive-non-departmental-public-bodies/.

Since 2007, the following public bodies have been established as NDPBs:

Care Inspectorate

Children’s Hearing Scotland

Community Justice Scotland

Creative Scotland

Ferguson Marine

First-tier Tribunal for Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland

Independent Living Fund Scotland

Judicial Appointments Board

National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board

Poverty and Inequality Commission

Redress Scotland

Scottish Canals

Scottish Commission on Social Security

Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel

Scottish Futures Trust

Scottish Land Commission

Scottish Legal Complaints Commission

Scottish National Investment Bank

Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd

Skills Development Scotland

South of Scotland Enterprise

Upper Tribunal for Scotland

Zero Waste Scotland

Since 2007, the following public bodies no longer operate as NDPBs, due to merger, abolishment, or reclassification:

Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland

Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Building Standards Advisory Committee

Children’s Panel (x32)

Deer Commission for Scotland

Fisheries (Electricity) Committee

General Teaching Council for Scotland

Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland

Lands Tribunal for Scotland

Learning & Teaching Scotland

Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland

Police Complaints Commission for Scotland

Private Rented Housing Panel

Public Transport Users Committee for Scotland

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

Scottish Arts Council

Scottish Charity Appeals Panel

Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care

Scottish Industrial Development Advisory Board

Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee

Scottish Police Services Authority

Scottish Records Advisory Council

Scottish Screen

Scottish University for Industry

Question reference: S6W-34847

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of its budget is allocated to local authorities, and how this compares with 1999-00.

Given the changes in the Scottish Government's devolved powers since devolution it is not possible to apply a direct like with like comparison in Scottish Government funding levels between 1999-00 and 2025-26. Similarly, the powers and responsibilities of Local Government have changed over that time, most notably due to the devolution of around £5.6 billion for the administration of social security benefits, as well as the transfer of Police and Fire services out of Local Government in financial year 2013-14 which resulted in over a £1 billion adjustment to General Revenue Grant.