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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-31734

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it propose the scheduling of time for a ministerial statement on funding for hospice care, in light of reports of tens of thousands of emails received by MSPs over the weekend of 23-24 November 2024.

The Scottish Government highly values the vital support independent hospices provide to people and their families, as well as supporting other health and social care services and teams delivering palliative care and care around dying.

We know Scottish Hospices have been facing financial pressures due to rising costs including costs associated with providing Agenda for Change (AfC) pay parity. We have listened to these concerns, and that is why in the Scottish Budget published on 4 December we set out a commitment to provide £4 million for the hospice sector in 2025-26. From 2025-26 we will align the support we provide for pay uplifts in the Hospice sector to the outcomes of the NHS Agenda for Change negotiations. This will ensure that hospices will get the additional funding needed to see their healthcare staff match pay increases with NHS staff.

Question reference: S6O-04117

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the effectiveness of its funding for active travel.

Question reference: S6W-31281

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on the guidance, School uniform and clothing in Scotland: Guidance for schools and education authorities, which was published in September 2024.

Question reference: S6W-31280

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the reported £28 million that it has spent on the National Care Service.

The National Care Service is an ongoing programme of work with funding allocated as set out in last year’s Budget.

The reported £28 million reflects the amount of funding allocated to developing the National Care Service proposals since August 2021. The majority of funding allocated to the programme is funding for existing Scottish Government staff and therefore business as usual spend.

Other areas of funding allocation include co-design and engagement work ensuring people with lived experience of accessing and delivering social care services, social work and community health are partners in developing the National Care Service proposals. We further provide grant support to lived experience groups to ensure they remain at the forefront in the design of a National Care Service. Whilst the majority of development work is carried out by Scottish Government staff, the Scottish Government occasionally requires external professional advice on complex issues, as previously set out.

The breakdown of spend on the NCS since August 2021 is as follows;

Staff - £24.4 million
Staff Related - £0.3 million
NCS Programme Development – Non-Staff - £4.1million
Total Spend - £28.7 million.

Question reference: S6W-31360

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Scottish Funding Council provides funding for College Employers Scotland, and what information it has regarding the objectives of this organisation.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) provides funding to College Employers Scotland (CES) to support a fair and sustainable implementation of National Pay Bargaining through a shared partnership agenda and work plan with the trade unions.

In terms of objectives of CES, these are outlined in their business case to SFC for funding as follows:

1.Put in place a clear and visible strategy for the employers;

2.Engage positively and proactively with our key stakeholders;

3.Create a clear identity, brand and voice for the Employers’ Association which differentiates it from Colleges Scotland, and be effective in our communications, both internally within the sector and externally, promoting its value and achievements;

4.Ensure the employment services team can deliver the workload expected of them to service the Employers’ Association and National Joint Negotiating Committee (NJNC).

Question reference: S6W-31356

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated number of spectators will be at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, and how this compares with the 2014 edition of the event.

The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will deliver a programme of 10 sports hosted within 4 venues in Glasgow. The programme and location of those sports are still to be finalised but Commonwealth Games Scotland anticipate that approximately 500,000 tickets will be available for sale.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games incorporated a programme of 17 sports across 14 venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Carnoustie. A number of those sports were outdoors and free to attend for spectators. Approximately 1.3 million tickets were sold, representing 98% of all tickets available for sale.

The Scottish Government supports the Commonwealth Games Federation’s strategy and the work undertaken by Commonwealth Games Scotland to create a new sustainable model for 2026, which opens up future hosting opportunities to a more diverse range of Commonwealth nations.

Question reference: S6W-31344

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it started mitigation works for the potential closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery.

We have been engaging with the shareholders of the Grangemouth Refinery business over many years on future options for the site, demonstrated in a track record support for low carbon technologies at the site. Via Scottish Enterprise, since 2021 we have supported a range of studies which explored the feasibility a bio-refinery at Grangemouth, as well as the use of low carbon hydrogen for fuel switching purposes. These studies are predecessors to the Project Willow study, which the business approached the Scottish Government with in early 2024 and is considering the enablers and blockers to deploying a range of low carbon technologies at Grangemouth.

Question reference: S6W-31355

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery fits alongside its plans for a Just Transition for Grangemouth.

The Scottish Government remains commitment to securing a long term, sustainable future for the Grangemouth industrial cluster, and highly skilled workforce located there. This is outlined in our draft Grangemouth Industrial Just Transition Plan which was published for consultation on 7 November.

This document is designed to set the strategic direction for Grangemouth’s transition to net zero, including a co-designed vision for the future of the cluster and a series of proposed actions to support this. The final plan will take cognisance of the outputs of Project Willow which is due to report in early 2025.

Question reference: S6W-31354

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what projections it has made regarding the impact of the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery on the size of the town's population.

Our focus remains on mitigating any impact, to the best of our ability, that Petroineos’ decision to close the Grangemouth Refinery will have on the locality and wider economy. Petroineos’ consultation with their workforce is ongoing and, following its conclusion, we will be able to establish in more detail any potential impact that the closure of the Grangemouth Refinery will have.

The Scottish and UK Governments have announced a package of measures to support Grangemouth’s industrial future. This includes a skills intervention, jointly funded by Scottish Government and UK Government, to support those Petroineos workers affected by the recent closure announcement. This intervention will support workers at both the Grangemouth Refinery and Finnart Terminal, and will be provided by Forth Valley College.

Looking towards the long term future of the Refinery site, the Scottish and UK Government's are supporting the Project Willow cross site study which is examining the enablers and blockers to deploying low carbon technologies at Grangemouth. Such technologies will take time to be brought forward, but they offer a route to the creation of new, highly skilled jobs at Grangemouth and our focus is on accelerating the deployment of these projects and associated jobs.

Lastly, the Deputy First Minister and Secretary of State for Scotland have also signed an enhanced Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal that will support wider economic development for those who live in the locality.

Question reference: S6O-04039

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what progress has been made on the development of a Scottish Parliament app.