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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-20028

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 proportion of school buildings are currently believed to be past their estimated initial design life, which could be extended with adequate maintenance, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-20022

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 how many schools have been identified as containing asbestos, from 2015 to date, (a) in total and (b) broken down by local authority.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. However, local authorities are required to keep an up-to-date record of the location of asbestos in their schools.

Although Health and safety legislation is not devolved to the Scottish Government, we take the issue of asbestos within schools very seriously and expect local authorities to strictly follow Health and Safety Executive recommendations. Moreover, we remain in close contact with the Health and Safety Executive regarding asbestos in schools.

Question reference: S6W-20019

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 how many schools have a dedicated car park for staff, (a) in total and (b) broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-20020

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many new schools are currently planned to be built, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-20021

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools have been built, from 2017 to date, broken down by local authority.

A total of 147 school builds were completed between 2016-17 and 2021-22. Figures for 2022-23 are not yet available.

Table 1 shows the breakdown by local authority. Only builds with a cost of £500,000 or more for primary and £1 million or more for secondary and special are included.

A breakdown by individual year is available from Table 7.1 in the school estate statistics supplementary data tables https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-estate-statistics-2022/documents/ .

Table 1: Schools built by local authority between 2016-17 and 2021-22.

Local Authority	Schools Built
Aberdeen City	5
Aberdeenshire	3
Angus	5
Argyll and Bute	3
City of Edinburgh	4
Clackmannanshire	0
Dumfries and Galloway	5
Dundee City	9
East Ayrshire	11
East Dunbartonshire	4
East Lothian	2
East Renfrewshire	2
Falkirk	1
Fife	5
Glasgow City	16
Highland	8
Inverclyde	2
Midlothian	7
Moray	3
Na h-Eileanan Siar	0
North Ayrshire	5
North Lanarkshire	2
Orkney Islands	1
Perth and Kinross	7
Renfrewshire	3
Scottish Borders	6
Shetland Islands	1
South Ayrshire	5
South Lanarkshire	10
Stirling	2
West Dunbartonshire	7
West Lothian	3
Total	147

Question reference: S6W-20024

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools have been substantially refurbished, from 2016-17 to date, (a) in total and (b) broken down by local authority.

A total of 255 substantial refurbishment projects were completed between 2016-17 and 2021-22. These figures do not include new-build schools. Figures for 2022-23 are not yet available.

Table 1 shows the breakdown by local authority. Only refurbishments with a cost of £500,000 or more for primary and £1 million or more for secondary and special are included. School extensions meeting the cost thresholds are counted as substantial refurbishments.

A breakdown by individual year is available from Table 7.2 in the school estate statistics supplementary data tables https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-estate-statistics-2022/documents/ .

Table 1: Substantial refurbishments by local authority between 2016-17 and 2021-22.

Local Authority	Substantial refurbishments
Aberdeen City	11
Aberdeenshire	18
Angus	1
Argyll and Bute	2
City of Edinburgh	8
Clackmannanshire	2
Dumfries and Galloway	12
Dundee City	0
East Ayrshire	2
East Dunbartonshire	1
East Lothian	5
East Renfrewshire	4
Falkirk	6
Fife	17
Glasgow City	73
Highland	35
Inverclyde	4
Midlothian	2
Moray	11
Na h-Eileanan Siar	2
North Ayrshire	6
North Lanarkshire	1
Orkney Islands	2
Perth and Kinross	5
Renfrewshire	2
Scottish Borders	1
Shetland Islands	2
South Ayrshire	6
South Lanarkshire	10
Stirling	2
West Dunbartonshire	0
West Lothian	2
Total	255

Question reference: S6O-02436

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service faces “insufficient resource to meet statutory and policy obligations” due to budget cuts.

Question reference: S6O-02419

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will give in the academic year 2023-24 for the Rights Respecting Schools Awards programme.

Question reference: S6O-02269

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will propose scheduling parliamentary time to debate the potential role of artificial intelligence in the scrutiny of legislation.

Question reference: S6O-02207

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Lothian, and local groups, since March 2023 regarding the reopening of the Edington Hospital in North Berwick.