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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-15969

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued a letter of guidance to the Scottish Funding Council for 2023-24, and, if so, when the letter was issued.

Question reference: S6W-15967

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what purpose it awarded the £26 million of additional funding for colleges.

Question reference: S6O-02073

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to any potential tax implications of pay awards currently being administered by local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-15962

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been made to the STEM bursary scheme in each academic year from 2018-19 to date.

Question reference: S6W-15897

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the total spend has been on its policy, Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach.

Since the introduction of the 1+2 approach to language learning in 2013 until the current 2022-23 financial year, the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with a total of £36.8 million in additional funding to support them to implement this approach in schools.

In the same period we have offered grant funding of approximately £15 million to organisations undertaking activities which support the 1+2 approach or complement its broader aims.

Question reference: S6W-15734

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many free bikes have been provided to eligible school-age children, broken down by pilot scheme.

Question reference: S6W-15725

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the final recommendations of the Lessons Learned exercise carried out by Strathesk Resolutions throughout 2021-22.

Following industrial action within the college sector in 2019, the then Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science committed to undertaking a further lessons learned exercise to break the cycle of annual disputes within the sector.

The Scottish Government commissioned Strathesk Resolutions in 2021 to take forward a lessons learned exercise. The purpose of the exercise was to attempt to reduce the likelihood of future industrial dispute and industrial action, with a view to identifying factors that have led to dispute in recent years and to create an environment for more productive dialogue in future negotiations.

The final report compiled by Strathesk Resolutions, dated 25 March 2022, provides the findings and recommendations to the Scottish Government from the lessons learned exercise. At present, the Scottish Government is awaiting formal responses to the recommendations from partners in the Collective Bargaining process and will use these to inform the next steps regarding the implementation of the recommendations.

Critically, and as made clear by the Lessons Learned report, the Scottish Government will maintain its position of not intervening directly in the national collective bargaining process.

Question reference: S6W-15728

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to re-establish the authority of the national collective bargaining process, in light of the recommendations of the Lessons Learned exercise carried out by Strathesk Resolutions throughout 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-15724

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the role that the Scottish Funding Council should play in ensuring that any information used in the negotiation process is accepted by all parties as accurate, in light of the recommendation of the Lessons Learned exercise carried out by Strathesk Resolutions throughout 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-15730

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that an independently facilitated joint review of the bargaining agreement takes place, in light of the recommendation of the Lessons Learned exercise carried out by Strathesk Resolutions throughout 2021-22.

Year	No of applications
2018	154
2019	171
2020	221
2021	196
2022	126

Pilot	No of Bikes Distributed
Cycling Scotland	318
Angus Recycles	1349
Bike for Good	258
Scottish Cycling	742
St Pauls Youth Forum	707
Shetland Council	8
Sustrans	178
Bike Buddies	216
Gearing Up	24
Total	3800