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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: S6T-01579

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the reported proposed rationalisation of the Police Scotland estate.

Question reference: S6W-20925

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly (a) reduced funding for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) and (b) instructed the CRT to end its grant programme.

In 2023-24, funding is being delivered within the context of the most challenging budget settlement since devolution as set out by the Deputy First Minister in our Medium Term Financial Strategy, which makes clear the difficult choices that would be required to reach a sustainable footing.

The Scottish Government has awarded a grant of nearly £650k to Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) for 2023-24 which will enable the organisation to sustain its core operations and deliver its programme of work in Scotland. This builds on the £28 million provided to CRT to date.

In terms of the sustainability of CRT’s grant programme, officials have been signalling the need for CRT to move away from this historical arrangement and to explore other funding routes for this activity. This approach is to ensure the funding available can support CRT to maintain its focus on delivering its key services which will have the greatest impact on coalfield communities. This will also ensure CRT’s grant funding activity is in line with the latest grant making conditions and financial control measures, which apply across all Scottish Government grants.

The Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning held a constructive meeting with CRT on 14 September, providing the opportunity to discuss their concerns and the challenges. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with CRT and others towards the regeneration of our coalfields communities.

Question reference: S6T-01551

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of a planned strike by school support staff, including janitors, cleaners, caterers and school support assistants, over pay and conditions.

Question reference: S6T-01497

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many public buildings are currently at risk due to the exposure of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Question reference: S6O-02477

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its target for renewable heating systems in homes.

Question reference: S6W-20025

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools were in good or satisfactory condition, from 2016-17 to date, (a) in total and (b) broken down by local authority.

The total number of publicly funded schools reported as in good or satisfactory condition in the School estates annual survey from 2016 to 2022 is shown in the table below. Figures from the 2023 survey are not yet available.

The number of schools by condition rating for each local authority is reported separately for Primary, Secondary and Special schools in Tables 4.2 to 4.4 in the annual school estate statistics supplementary data tables https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-estate-statistics-2022/documents/ .

Table 1: Schools in good or satisfactory condition by local authority and year

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
All authorities	2,119	2,165	2,166	2,200	2,238	2,239	2,239
Aberdeen City	61	63	61	61	61	60	60
Aberdeenshire	168	169	169	168	169	169	168
Angus	56	58	59	58	59	59	59
Argyll and Bute	91	90	91	92	92	90	88
City of Edinburgh	109	110	99	98	110	115	116
Clackmannanshire	24	24	23	22	24	24	22
Dumfries and Galloway	104	102	101	104	108	106	108
Dundee City	32	33	35	39	39	39	36
East Ayrshire	56	57	55	53	54	53	52
East Dunbartonshire	43	44	44	41	41	41	41
East Lothian	39	31	31	33	33	32	35
East Renfrewshire	25	25	27	28	28	28	28
Falkirk	58	58	59	60	57	57	59
Fife	134	137	143	145	152	152	153
Glasgow City	149	167	172	188	191	191	191
Highland	122	126	118	122	122	125	131
Inverclyde	28	28	28	28	27	28	28
Midlothian	31	31	32	33	34	35	32
Moray	11	16	16	24	24	30	29
Na h-Eileanan Siar	27	23	23	24	24	24	23
North Ayrshire	63	63	61	61	61	61	58
North Lanarkshire	123	131	131	124	129	122	124
Orkney Islands	24	25	24	24	24	24	26
Perth and Kinross	71	70	72	74	74	74	74
Renfrewshire	59	62	61	61	61	56	57
Scottish Borders	44	45	46	47	49	50	50
Shetland Islands	34	32	35	35	35	35	35
South Ayrshire	29	31	32	37	39	42	42
South Lanarkshire	148	148	149	148	149	149	147
Stirling	48	49	47	47	47	46	46
West Dunbartonshire	28	34	38	37	37	38	39
West Lothian	80	83	84	84	84	84	82

Question reference: S6W-20029

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils are currently learning in a school that requires major rebuilding or refurbishment, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-20026

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of school buildings that currently pose a risk to life, (a) in total and (b) broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-20027

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of using external designers for school building projects, from 2016-17 to date, (a) in total and (b) broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-20023

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the total current overspend costs are on building new (a) schools and (b) nursery buildings, broken down by local authority area.