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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-17976

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid to farmers and crofters as part of the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme so far in 2023, broken down by month.

Payments under the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS) 2022 commenced in March 2023, as set out in the Rural Payments Strategy for 2022. Approximately 99.36% of anticipated expenditure for this scheme has been paid to date. The breakdown of expenditure per month is listed in the following table.

Month	SSBSS Value Paid
March 2023	£38,194,577.05
April 2023	£841,181.51
May 2023 (figure at 18 May 2023)	£810,860.47
Total:	£39,846,619.03

Question reference: S6O-02276

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve transport options in rural areas.

Question reference: S6W-17784

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been killed in accidents on roads in the Mid Scotland and Fife region in each month since May 2016, broken down by road.

The following table shows the number of people killed in injury road collisions in the Mid Scotland and Fife region by year, month and road between May 2016 and December 2021. The statistics cover Clackmannanshire, Fife, Perth and Kinross and Stirling local authority areas. Road casualty figures for 2022 will be published on 24 May 2023.

Road casualties killed in collisions in the mid-Scotland and Fife region by year, month and road May 2016 to December 2021

		Motorway	A(m)	A	B	C	Unclassified	Total
2016	May	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	June	1	-	2	1	-	-	4
	July	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	August	-	-	2	-	-	-	2
	September	-	-	3	-	-	-	3
	October	-	-	2	-	-	-	2
	November	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
	December	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	Total	1	-	11	1	-	1	14

2017	January	-	-	2	-	-	-	2
	February	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	March	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	April	-	-	2	-	-	-	2
	May	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	June	-	-	2	-	1	-	3
	July	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	August	-	-	-	-	1	-	1
	September	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	October	-	-	2	-	-	2	4
	November	-	-	3	-	1	-	4
	December	-	-	2	-	-	-	2
	Total	-	-	17	1	3	2	23

2018	January	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	February	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	March	2	-	1	-	-	-	3
	April	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	May	-	-	1	-	-	1	2
	June	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	July	-	-	5	-	-	-	5
	August	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	September	-	-	1	1	1	-	3
	October	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	November	-	-	3	1	-	-	4
	December	-	-	3	2	-	-	5
	Total	2	-	19	6	1	1	29

2019	January	-	-	2	1	-	-	3
	February	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
	March	1	-	-	-	1	-	2
	April	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	May	1	-	-	1	-	-	2
	June	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	July	-	-	5	-	-	-	5
	August	-	-	2	1	-	-	3
	September	-	-	5	-	-	-	5
	October	-	-	1	2	-	-	3
	November	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	December	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	Total	2	1	18	8	1	-	30

2020	January	1	-	1	-	-	-	2
	February	-	-	1	1	-	2	4
	March	-	-	3	-	-	-	3
	April	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	May	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	June	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	July	-	-	5	-	-	1	6
	August	1	-	2	-	-	1	4
	September	-	-	2	-	-	1	3
	October	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	November	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
	December	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
	Total	2	-	17	2	-	6	27

2021	January	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	February	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	March	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	April	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	May	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	June	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
	July	-	-	1	1	-	-	2
	August	-	-	3	-	-	-	3
	September	-	-	2	-	-	-	2
	October	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	November	1	1	1	-	-	-	3
	December
	Total	1	1	8	2	-	1	13

Question reference: S6O-02155

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement of the Scottish Funding Council's indicative budget allocations for 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-16694

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many digital devices were distributed to school pupils through digital inclusion funding in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

The Scottish Government provided £25 million of funding in 2020-21 to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, resulting in over 72,000 pupils receiving a device to support their learning.

Individual local authorities across Scotland have also undertaken their own digital inclusion schemes and have invested in devices from their own budgets. Information from them indicates that up to 280,000 devices have been distributed to learners across Scotland (including the 72,000 funded by the Scottish Government).

Question reference: S6W-16410

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to support pupils and school staff whose mental health has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We recognise that children’s and young people’s mental health may have been affected during the pandemic and want to ensure that anyone who needs support can get access to appropriate services.

We continue to prioritise support for mental health and wellbeing in schools and the provision of Educational Psychologists, school counselling services and school staff are a key part of the support being offered. The Scottish Government supports our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that every secondary school has access to counselling services support delivery of the commitment.

In addition, the Mental Health in Schools Working Group developed a mental health professional learning resource for all school staff to assist in responding to and supporting children and young people’s mental health in schools. Education Scotland has also provided tools and guidance for school staff to further strengthen support to children and young people.

Since 2020, the Scottish Government has made available a package of support for the education workforce which is designed to help staff look after their own wellbeing, those of colleagues and those they lead. An evaluation in 2022 found that 93% of participants report an increase in their confidence to manage their own mental health and wellbeing since engaging with this support.

Question reference: S6W-16408

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the mental health impact has been on pupils as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.

We know that children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing will have been affected during lockdown, and schools have a key role to play in supporting children’s and young people’s mental health. The Health and Wellbeing Census reported that across most of the measures, positive perceptions of life satisfaction, confidence and loneliness decrease up to S4, but the analysis shows small improvements (or no further decreases) for those in S5 and S6.

We continue to prioritise support for mental health and wellbeing in schools. We support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that every secondary school has access to counselling services support delivery of the commitment. We also published a Whole School Approach Framework and a professional learning resource to assist school staff in supporting children and young people’s mental health in schools.

Question reference: S6W-16454

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will fully implement the recommendations of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessments in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-16452

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent work it has undertaken to increase the number of English and Mathematics teachers.

We are committed to supporting the recruitment of more teachers and my predecessor recently set out measures to Parliament making it clear that we will provide £145.5 million in next year's budget to protect increased teacher numbers and support staff.

In addition, in 2022-23 we offered 150 bursaries of £20,000 for career changers wishing to undertake a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in STEM subjects - Physics, Maths, Technical Education, Computing Science, Home Economics and Chemistry. These are the secondary school subjects with the greatest demand for teachers. Our STEM bursary scheme will continue in this financial year.

With these interventions, STEM teacher numbers are at their highest level since 2011. We are also continuing to work with universities and local authorities to look at innovative and creative ways to encourage more teachers into STEM subjects.

Question reference: S6W-16453

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether new qualifications and assessments will be in place for the start of the 2024-25 academic year.

The Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment, led by Professor Louise Hayward, will report to the Scottish Government by the end of May 2023. The Review’s interim report was published on 3 March and includes a model for a new approach to qualifications and assessment which is currently being tested further with stakeholders.

The Scottish Government will need to consider the recommendations in the final report before providing a formal response.