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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-12929

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 15 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much turnover has been generated by ecommerce businesses in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Data is not collected in this way, because many firms engaged in e-commerce are likely to also be trading in other ways. However, the Digital Economy Business Surveys (DEBS) carried out in 2017 and 2021 offers some insight. These surveys contain estimates of the proportion of total business sales were made via e-commerce in the previous 12 months.

Proportion sales made via e-commerce by Scottish Businesses, % (not including sole traders)

	2017	2021
100%	1	4
80 - 99%	4	5
60 - 79%	3	3
40 - 59%	3	4
20 - 39%	4	5
Less than 20%	15	13
Any sales via e-commerce	30	35
None	66	61
Don't know	4	4
Base	3,258	3,346
Source: Digital Economy Business Survey, 2017 & 2021 DEBS has been carried out approximately every three years since 2014. Note that sole traders were not included in these surveys.

Question reference: S6W-12523

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times a Modern Apprenticeship contract has been terminated in line with clause (a) 22.1.2.1, (b) 22.1.2.2 and (c) 22.1.2.3, as set out under section 22, Termination for Reputational Damage, on page 25 of the Skills Development Scotland publication, Modern Apprenticeship Programme Conditions 2021-2022 (as extended to 31 March 2023).

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has operational responsibility for the Modern Apprenticeship programme and administer funding, on behalf of the Scottish Government.

SDS have confirmed that no Modern Apprenticeship contracts have been terminated in line with clause (a) 22.1.2.1, (b) 22.1.2.2 and (c) 22.1.2.3, as set out under section 22, Termination for Reputational Damage in the Modern Apprenticeship Programme Conditions.

Question reference: S6W-12368

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many children in each local authority area are eligible to receive a free laptop or tablet, and, of those, how many (a) have received and (b) are yet to receive a free laptop or tablet.

Our commitment is for all pupils to have access to a digital device by the end of this Parliament. The following table shows how many devices have been distributed by each local authority using the £25m digital inclusion funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020/21. This funding supported the provision of 14,000 internet connections and over 72,000 tablets or laptops in total for learners across all local authorities.

Local Authority	Devices Distributed (via SG digital inclusion funding 2020/21)
Aberdeen City	1,777
Aberdeenshire	5,008
Angus	2,420
Argyll & Bute	1,317
City of Edinburgh	2,605
Clackmannanshire	828
Dumfries & Galloway	2,371
Dundee City	2,050
East Ayrshire	1,837
East Dunbartonshire	1,015
East Lothian	1,806
East Renfrewshire	623
Falkirk	1,840
Fife	5,465
Glasgow City	7,240
Highland	4,499
Inverclyde	1,107
Midlothian	1,235
Moray	1,315
Na h-EileananSiar	357
North Ayrshire	1,734
North Lanarkshire	6,026
Orkney Islands	275
Perth & Kinross	1,507
Renfrewshire	1,800
Scottish Borders	316
Shetland Islands	475
South Ayrshire	1,512
South Lanarkshire	5,544
Stirling	1,794
West Dunbartonshire	2,084
West Lothian	2,905
Total	72,687

Individual local authorities across Scotland have also undertaken their own digital inclusion schemes and have distributed connections and devices to learners in line with their own digital strategies. The latest information we have available indicates that a total of almost 280,000 devices have been, or are in the process of being, rolled out to learners across Scotland. This includes the 72,000 funded by Scottish Government. We continue to work with local authorities on plans to ensure every school-aged child has access to a device and connectivity by the end of this parliamentary term in 2026.

Question reference: S6W-12404

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected annual spending on active travel is for each of the next five years.

Full details of active travel funding for the next five years has not yet been agreed and will form part of the annual Scottish Government’s Budget process. The Active Travel budget for 2022-23 increased by £35 million to £150 million and the Bute House Agreement committed to increase the proportion of Transport Scotland’s budget spent on Active Travel initiatives so that by 2024-25 at least £320 million or 10% of the total transport budget will be allocated to active travel.

Question reference: S6W-12405

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on active travel in each of the past five years.

Question reference: S6W-12406

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06245 by Patrick Harvie on 23 February 2022, whether it will provide an update on how many free bikes have been given to school pupils since May 2021.

Question reference: S6W-12407

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06244 by Patrick Harvie on 23 February 2022, whether it will provide an update on how many bikes have been repaired through the Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme in each year since 2020.

Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme (SCRS) is delivering 30,000 cycle repairs or services to people in Scotland, focusing on those that need the support the most. Repairs and servicing are provided through a network of over 300 shops, retailers, community organisations and sole traders. The scheme has run since August 2020 and delivered a total of 64,945 repairs to date. The amount of repairs per year is as follows:

Through support provided in Financial Year 20-21: 31,562 bikes were repaired

Through support provided in Financial Year 21-22: 21,923 bikes were repaired

Through support provided in Financial Year 22-23: 11,460 bikes have been repaired so far

It is worth noting there is a time delay in reporting and this figure will be higher.

Question reference: S6T-00982

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to avoid industrial action by teachers.

Question reference: S6W-11895

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 15 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all the examination bodies in Scotland.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is the statutory body for qualification awarding and regulation in Scotland. As an awarding body, SQA develops, maintains, and improves a range of SQA qualifications. These can be gained through learning at Scotland’s schools, colleges, employers and training providers.

In addition, SQA’s Accreditation Unit approves all awarding bodies operating in Scotland that deliver SQA qualifications. A list of these can be found on their website: SQA Accreditation - Approved Awarding Bodies .

However, SQA approval is not required to operate in Scotland (only to deliver SQA accredited qualifications). As such, a range of other awarding bodies operate in Scotland, delivering assessed learning and awards. We do not hold a list of these bodies.

Furthermore, there are currently several Credit Rating Bodies that, along with the SQA’s accreditation unit, have been approved to assign a Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level. The list of CRBs (mainly colleges and universities) are available on the SCQF website: SCQF Database | Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework

Question reference: S6W-11789

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any compensation payments made by NHS Scotland since 2017, whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) reasons for and (b) amount of each of any such payments.

Financial Year	Total Active Travel Budget (in millions)
2021-22	£114.8
2020-21	£98.9
2019-20	£80.7
2018-19	£80.0
2017-18	£39.2
Total	£413.6