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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-28261

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scotland Student Midwives Finance Report, published by the Royal College of Midwives.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Student Midwives Finance Report, published by the Royal College of Midwives and thanks them for holding the roundtable event in the Scottish Parliament on 30 May 2024.

The event was attended by the Chief Midwifery Officer Justine Craig who heard powerful accounts from the students who clearly articulated their experiences.

A similar event was held by the Royal College of Nursing in September last year and following that the Scottish Government created a short-life working group comprising representatives from the Scottish Government, Student Awards Agency Scotland and higher education institutes to review the placement expenses guidance.

This group recently concluded its review and revised guidance will go live on the 1 of July. Their work will ensure students are refunded as promptly as possible and has provided students with greater flexibility on issues such as claiming advance payments. A national FAQs has also been developed to ensure greater consistency in the application of the guidance by HEIs across the country.

The Scottish Government has also committed to carrying out a review of student financial support more widely.

Question reference: S6W-28259

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether student midwives in receipt of benefits continue to receive their benefits after being awarded a bursary.

There are a number of complexities around UK benefits and student systems and these can impact negatively on each other. With the Scottish Government Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary, maintenance elements of the Bursary are considered as income for Universal Credit and other means-tested reserved benefits.

If a Universal Credit award is removed due to ‘excess income’ such as the bursary, students would also lose entitlement to Scottish Government benefits such as Scottish Child Payment. This includes the non-means tested bursary, the Spouse or Cohabiting Partner Allowance, the Child Dependent Allowance and the Lone Parents' Grant.

The Scottish Government have introduced a Special Support Loan for 2024-25 academic year and have obtained agreement from the Department for Work and Pensions that this element of student income will be disregarded when assessing Universal Credit entitlement.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice wrote to Viscount Younger of Leckie , Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions, on 17 April 2024 asking for Student Maintenance Loans to also be disregarded as income for the purposes of calculating Universal Credit entitlement, particularly as they are a loan which must be repaid, but no reply has been received to date.

It should also be noted that due to the receipt of the non-repayable Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Bursary, students are not eligible for student loans. The Scottish Government has committed to carrying out a review of student finance for paramedic, nursing and midwifery students.

Question reference: S6W-28264

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its Natural Capital Market Framework.

Question reference: S6W-28263

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how its forthcoming Natural Capital Market Framework will align with the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

The Natural Capital Market Framework will seek to strengthen Scotland’s interim principles for ‘Responsible Investment in Natural Capital’. If passed by Scottish Parliament, the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will also help to realise many of these Interim Principles, especially those relevant to land use, community engagement and community benefit.

For example, the Bill includes provisions that would place legal responsibilities on the owners of large landholdings to set out how they use their land and how that contributes to key public policy priorities, like addressing climate change and protecting and restoring nature. The Bill will also ensure the owners of large landholdings will have to engage with local communities about how they use the land, and it will prohibit certain sales of over 1000 hectares, until Ministers can consider the impact on the local community.

Question reference: S6W-28393

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the academic research on teacher workload, commissioned by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and published at its June 2024 AGM, which provided evidence that teachers in Scotland continue to work well beyond their contracted hours and that the number of working hours per week is rising.

Question reference: S6W-28382

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it engages with Regional Transport Partnerships on the governance of (a) bus and (b) rail services.

Question reference: S6W-28396

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to modernise deer management in Scotland to (a) help tackle the climate and nature emergencies and (b) implement the recommendations of the Deer Working Group.

Question reference: S6W-28262

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) UK Government ministers and (b) private companies regarding its forthcoming Natural Capital Market Framework.

Engagement on the Natural Capital Market Framework is taking place from March to September and is following Scottish Government’s approach to service design, using the expertise and insight from a diverse range of stakeholders to inform the development of the framework. This engagement has included UK Government officials leading their work on natural capital markets but there has been no direct engagement with UK Government Ministers. We have also engaged with a wide range of private businesses representing agricultural, land management, contractor and investment interests.

Question reference: S6W-28136

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any schools without an on-site school counsellor or a mental health practitioner.

The Scottish Government continues to provide £16 million per year to ensure that all secondary schools have access to school counselling services.

Local authorities have confirmed that all secondary schools in Scotland have access to counselling services. All school pupils aged 10 and above have access to the service.

It is up to local authorities to decide how to deliver the service in their area to best suit the needs of their children and young people.

School counselling is just one of a range of services that schools and authorities have in place to support the mental health of children and young people.

Question reference: S6W-28137

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether every school has access to on-site mental health services.