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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-34981

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Treasury regarding the allocation of VAT revenues raised on Scotland's independent schools.

Question reference: S6W-34607

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent local authorities are fiscally exposed to pay (a) agreements negotiated and (b) decisions made centrally by the Scottish Ministers.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government respects the independence of Local Government and has no formal role in pay negotiations for non-teaching staff; these negotiations are undertaken through the Scottish Joint Council (SJC) which is a bilateral body formed of COSLA and recognised trade unions. The Scottish Government is a constituent member of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) which is a tripartite body alongside COSLA and recognised trade unions representing teachers.

The Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policy for 2025-26 was published in December 2024 and sets out decisions taken by Scottish Ministers regarding pay for most public sector staff in Scotland. This policy is clear that, for Local Government employees, pay and other employment matters are delegated to local authorities. As such, the policy does not apply directly to Local Government and local authorities have flexibility to manage their own budgets and workforce accordingly. Like all employers, Local Government decisions on pay likely consider a range of factors including other public sector pay offers in Scotland and across the UK.

Scottish Ministers have been consistent in their recognition of the valuable contribution that Local Government workers make to delivering essential public services across the country and have worked constructively with Local Government to support a fair and sustainable pay position, including through providing additional funding where necessary. For example, the Scottish Government provided an additional £77.5 million for Local Government pay in 2024-25 and this has been baselined into the 2025-26 Local Government settlement. Similarly, the Scottish Government provided an additional £29 million to Local Government in 2024-25 to support the pay deal for teachers, with the full year cost of £43 million baselined.

Further, the Scottish Government supports local authorities to manage wider pay-related issues relating to delivery of shared priorities across both national and local spheres of government. For example, the draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget includes an additional £9.7 million for local authorities to deliver the Programme for Government commitment to increase the pay of Early Learning and Childcare workers in the private and third sectors delivering funded hours. Building on recurring investment of £16 million in 2024-25, this will ensure that staff delivering funded early learning and childcare are paid at least the Real Living Wage and demonstrates our commitment to the Fair Work agenda.

Question reference: S6W-34983

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made on any financial impact of the displacement from pupils in Scotland moving from the independent schools sector to the state sector as a result of the imposition of VAT on fees and associated charges.

Local authorities have statutory responsibility for education in their area. Officials have met with education leads within local authorities to understand the impact on the Scottish state sector to date. Scottish Government has received assurance from local authorities that they have the capacity to support increased school rolls.

Scottish Government continues to engage with local authorities and the independent school sector, including the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), to understand the impacts of the UK Government policy since its implementation. The independent school sector has conducted its own assessment of financial impact, which is available here: Economic-Impact-of-SCIS-Member-Schools-in-Scotland-2022-23-8Feb24.pdf.

Question reference: S6W-34604

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 21 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the First Minister’s stated priorities are currently considered as superseding the National Performance Framework where and whether they conflict.

Question reference: S6W-34606

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S6O-04294 by Ivan McKee on 5 February 2025, what information it collects on net movement between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and by what metrics it is equipped to break down the figures of overall movement to and from Scotland and the rest of the UK.

As part of the Scottish Government’s work with HMRC to develop the evidence base analysis on intra-UK migration has been published by HMRC, showing movements by tax band and age band. This is available at:

Intra-UK migration of individuals: movements in numbers and income - GOV.UK

Both the National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish official statistics on migration between Scotland and the rest of the UK. However, these aim to measure total migration (where the HMRC analysis considers only the subset of people who were taxpayers before and after moving). As these figures are not concerned with taxpayers specifically they do not contain information about incomes or tax bands.

Question reference: S6O-04319

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support the Scottish dairy sector.

Question reference: S6W-34363

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many Business Improvement Districts currently operate in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-34362

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been raised in Business Improvement District levies in each of the last five years.

Information on the amount raised through Business Improvement District (BID) levies are not held by the Scottish Government.

Local authorities are responsible for administering and collecting the levy on behalf of the BID and would be responsible for providing this information.

Scotland’s Improvement District (SIDs) have estimated that the annual levy for the combined 36 BIDs in Scotland is £6.4m. This figure is based on data from operational Scottish BID surveys and information provided in the BIDs Business Plans. The amount collected may, however, be lower depending on collection rates.

Question reference: S6W-34305

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 11 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether Business Improvement District levies in Scotland are capped.

Question reference: S6W-33289

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which public opinion and research organisations it has commissioned to carry out any work regarding Scottish independence or Scotland's constitutional future, since May 2021.