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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-24923

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what measures it is taking to improve the take-up of languages in education.

Since 2013 the Scottish Government has provided local authorities and third sector partners with funding of over £50m in support of the implementation of the 1+2 languages approach in schools.

A 2021 survey of local authorities confirmed that pupils across Scotland are now learning languages from primary one and continuing throughout their broad general education, up to the point when they make their subject choices.

We remain committed to language learning in the broad general education and the senior phase. We continue to work with Education Scotland which provides national guidance, resources and professional learning programmes for teachers. We also continue to fund third sector partners such as Strathclyde University who host Scotland’s National Centre for Languages (SCILT). SCILT provides professional development, classroom resources and undertakes activity to promote language learning. We are also happy to meet with other partners and interested parties to discuss further ways of supporting languages in schools.

In terms of post-school education, universities and colleges are responsible for their own course provision. In line with our Purpose and Principles for the post-school education and skills system, the Scottish Government will continue to work with both sectors to ensure that they deliver the best outcomes and impact for learners, the economy and society.

Question reference: S6W-25105

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the Office of the Public Guardian is sufficiently supported to perform its public duties.

In recognition of the ongoing pressures on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, including the Office of the Public Guardian, additional funding for SCTS in 2024-25 was prioritised. The 2024-25 budget provides an additional £9.7 million resource and £3.9 million additional capital budget . As a non-Ministerial public body, d ecisions on the allocation of these additional resources are for the judicially-led SCTS Board.

Question reference: S6W-25104

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to reduce the average processing times for power of attorney applications.

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is part of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS). As such, operational decisions regarding power of attorney applications are the responsibility of SCTS under the leadership of its independent board headed by the Lord President.

The Scottish Government has provided SCTS with additional funding since 2021 to support OPG recovery and further additional funding last year to support the replacement of the Office of the Public Guardian IT system.

Work on the new OPG IT system, which is expected to reduce processing times for power of attorney applications, is progressing as planned and it is expected that the first phase of the work will be completed this year.

The Scottish Government typically meets OPG once every 3-6 months to discuss ongoing business matters, including registration of powers of attorney.

Question reference: S6W-25190

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to equip and support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to better respond to any hazards arising from battery storage facilities.

Question reference: S6W-25189

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding any risks associated with an increasing number of battery storage facilities.

Question reference: S6W-25191

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 16 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is sufficiently equipped to respond to any hazards arising from battery storage facilities.

Question reference: S6O-03095

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is tackling NHS waiting times for conditions affecting children, adolescents and young adults.

Question reference: S6W-24844

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christine Grahame MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corpora on 7 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps it is taking to ensure that schools from all areas of Scotland are not prevented from visiting the Scottish Parliament due to high travel costs.

The SPCB provides a free school engagement programme. Our Education Services staff deliver sessions and tours at the Parliament, online, and visit schools across Scotland. Digital and outreach education sessions are popular and especially appreciated by those who don’t want to travel to Edinburgh or who find coming to Edinburgh to be too challenging. Last school year, we reached schools in 69 out of 73 constituencies, and expect to reach all constituencies by the end of June 2024.

The SPCB commissioned a review into how best to deliver our education services in the most effective and inclusive way post Covid. As part of this review, our education team has engaged with schools from across Scotland to fully understand their barriers to accessing our services.

We know from this that the cost of travel can be a significant barrier, and similarly so can time out of the classroom, support availability, and transport options. There is no single solution that addresses all barriers and we have asked officials to undertake some further work. The SPCB will consider the matter again later in 2024.

Question reference: S6O-03054

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will take in the next financial year to boost the confidence of those operating in the business sector and to promote entrepreneurship.

Question reference: S6W-23990

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 30 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the rates of migration from (a) the rest of the UK to Scotland and (b) Scotland to the rest of the UK, (i) in terms of absolute numbers and (ii) as a percentage of each respective population, since 2000.

I have asked Janet Egdell, Chief Executive of the National Records of Scotland (NRS) to respond. Her response is:

National Records of Scotland (NRS) publish migration flows as part of their mid-year population estimates. Estimates for in, out and net migration between Scotland and the rest of the UK (RUK), as well as net migration as a percentage of the population, can be seen in the following table.

In, out and net migration between Scotland and the rest of the UK (RUK), mid-2000 to mid-2021

Mid-year (30 June)	Inflow to Scotland from RUK	Outflow from Scotland to RUK	Net migration to Scotland from RUK	Net migration as a percentage of Scotland's Population	Net migration as a Percentage of RUK Population
2000	48,700	55,400	-6,700	-0.13%	-0.01%
2001	54,900	51,500	3,400	0.07%	0.01%
2002	54,400	49,700	4,700	0.09%	0.01%
2003	54,300	47,300	7,000	0.14%	0.01%
2004	61,900	46,400	15,500	0.30%	0.03%
2005	57,300	44,800	12,500	0.24%	0.02%
2006	53,300	44,400	8,900	0.17%	0.02%
2007	51,500	42,700	8,800	0.17%	0.02%
2008	53,300	41,800	11,500	0.22%	0.02%
2009	45,400	41,300	4,100	0.08%	0.01%
2010	45,000	41,700	3,300	0.06%	0.01%
2011	43,700	40,800	2,900	0.05%	0.01%
2012	45,100	42,100	3,000	0.06%	0.01%
2013	47,700	39,800	7,900	0.15%	0.01%
2014	49,200	39,700	9,600	0.18%	0.02%
2015	47,200	38,800	8,400	0.16%	0.01%
2016	46,300	37,500	8,800	0.16%	0.01%
2017	47,600	37,100	10,500	0.19%	0.02%
2018	47,700	37,700	10,000	0.18%	0.02%
2019	47,500	37,400	10,000	0.18%	0.02%
2020	41,800	32,800	9,000	0.16%	0.01%
2021	56,200	47,300	8,900	0.16%	0.01%

Note: Percentages have been calculated using rounded totals and may therefore differ from other published figures.

Sources: Total Migration to or from Scotland | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk) ; Population Estimates Time Series Data | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk) ; Population estimates time series dataset - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)