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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-36385

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make representations to COSLA in relation to a review of education funding formulas, in light of the introduction of VAT on fees for independent schools and any potential for increased state school admissions.

Scottish Government has no plans to make such representations.

The distribution methodology for calculating the Local Government Settlement is agreed with local authorities and is informed by a number of indicators including pupil numbers from the latest annual school census.

The local authorities that could see impacts from the ending of the VAT exemption for independent schools are all projected to have declining school rolls, which will mitigate any increase in admissions from the independent sector.

Question reference: S6W-36376

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board should have received in funding to reach National Resource Allocation Formula parity, broken down by NHS board.

In 2025-26 we will provide an additional £55.6 million in funding for NRAC parity, ensuring that all Boards remain within 0.6% of parity.

Since 2012-13, over £4 billion of additional funding has been committed to those NHS Boards below their NRAC parity levels.

Additional funding for NRAC parity, broken down by NHS Board, is provided below. Where no amount is stated, the NHS Board is within 0.6% of parity.

NHS Territorial Boards	2025-26 £m
NHS Territorial Boards	2025-26 £m
Ayrshire and Arran	2.4
Borders	7.1
Dumfries and Galloway	-
Fife	-
Forth Valley	5.2
Grampian	0.8
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	-
Highland	12.8
Lanarkshire	27.2
Lothian	-
Orkney	-
Shetland	-
Tayside	-
Western Isles	-

NHS Territorial Boards	2025-26 £m
NHS Territorial Boards	2025-26 £m
Ayrshire and Arran	2.4
Borders	7.1
Dumfries and Galloway	-
Fife	-
Forth Valley	5.2
Grampian	0.8
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	-
Highland	12.8
Lanarkshire	27.2
Lothian	-
Orkney	-
Shetland	-
Tayside	-
Western Isles	-

Question reference: S6W-36590

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people have been reported as running away from home in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-36582

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many care-experienced people have (a) requested and (b) received independent advocacy in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Individual local authorities manage and monitor the provision of independent advocacy to meet local needs, including ongoing provision for care experienced people.

The Scottish Government is currently working with advocacy service providers and key partners, including The Promise Scotland, COSLA and Who Cares? Scotland to further develop our understanding of current advocacy provision and areas where needs are not being met.

The Scottish Government published an independent evaluation of the Children’s Hearings advocacy scheme in September 2024.

In addition, the Scottish Government provides grant funding to Who Cares? Scotland to operate their National Helpline which provides lifelong support to care experienced people.

Question reference: S6W-36589

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people have been reported missing in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-36678

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many tribunals in relation to school support have taken place in each local authority area in each year since 1999, broken down by the reason for the tribunal.

The Scottish Government does not record this information. The First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland, Additional Support Needs (ASN) Jurisdiction is a separate and independent body.

Yearly statistics Tribunal Forum | First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Health and Education Chamber) (from 2016 onwards) are published on the total number of applications to the ASN Tribunal in relation to additional support needs following the annual Tribunal Forum, broken down by Education Authority and high-level reason for the hearing.

ASN Tribunal Decisions are published, providing detail of each case, and can be accessed via the Tribunal website: Decisions | First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Health and Education Chamber). Not all decisions are published, based on permission from the parent / child and the education authority concerned.

Question reference: S6W-36587

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many international students have accessed GP services in each NHS board area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-36586

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many international students have been treated at A&E in each NHS board area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-35745

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) birth to two-, (b) three- to five- and (c) six- to 12-year-olds have been supported as part of the Childsmile campaign in each year since 2006, broken down by local authority area.

This information is not held by Scottish Government.

The University of Glasgow (UoG) is responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the Childsmile programme. Since 2013, UoG has published annual national headline reports on the Programme, which includes data on a range of Childsmile activity in multiple settings. The reports can be accessed via the Childsmile website: https://www.childsmile.nhs.scot/professionals/resources/research-publications/

Information on the Programme prior to this may be available from individual NHS Health Boards.

Question reference: S6W-36378

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many callouts have been made to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to respond to fires involving rechargeable lithium-ion battery devices in flats in each year since 2010.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have provided some of the information requested. According to SFRS data since 2009-2010 there have been a total of 39 lithium-ion battery related fires and incidents in purpose-built flats, converted flats and tenement buildings.

SFRS aims to capture additional data, via their Incident Recording System on any fires, suspected or confirmed, relating to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. There is ongoing work being undertaken by the SFRS led Electrical Infrastructure Working Group to better understand the risks to communities from fires linked with lithium-ion batteries.