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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-28371

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angus Robertson on 27 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the Registrar General for Scotland will publish the next results from the 2022 Census.

I have asked Janet Egdell, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

National Records of Scotland have today published: ' Scotland’s Census 2022: Sexual Orientation and Trans Status or History' .

This is the first time Scotland’s Census has asked questions in relation to ‘Sexual Orientation’ and ‘Trans Status or History’. These questions were voluntary and asked of those aged 16 and over. The data contained in this publication will help charities, local authorities, businesses and government plan a range of public services, to improve the lives of those living and working in Scotland. The data will also support the equality monitoring responsibilities of public sector organisations, which in turn informs policies and practices.

Scotland’s Census results are designated as Accredited Official Statistics and form an integral part of the statistical system in the UK. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), the independent regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority , awards Accredited Official Statistics designation based on the quality, good practice and comprehensiveness of official statistics.

More detail about the schedule for future reports can be found here .

Question reference: S6O-03586

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it would consider increasing the £500 annual training budget that is allocated to MSP offices for staff training.

Question reference: S6W-28044

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on determining the future role and focus of Scotland’s national education agency.

Following engagement with teachers and stakeholders, the Scottish Government has further considered the role of the national education agency, including how it can add most value to Scotland’s education system.

An excellent curriculum from 3-18 requires national leadership and direction. Therefore, the primary purpose and focus of Scotland’s national education agency will be to lead curriculum design, delivery and improvement, including the provision of resources to support high quality learning and teaching.

The national agency will also have an important role in supporting a thriving professional learning sector through a national framework for professional learning and will build on the existing and well-regarded national leadership professional learning programmes.

The Scottish Government is ambitious for all of Scotland's children and young people and Scotland’s local authorities and schools have an important role in creating the conditions for them to thrive. The national agency will work with local authorities to inform approaches to wellbeing, inclusion, behaviour and enabling better support for those with additional support needs. The national agency will also employ its unique national perspective to inform, share and promote wider approaches to improvement to close attainment gaps as set out in the National Improvement Framework.

The Scottish Government has determined that refocussing Education Scotland will deliver the change and improvement necessary to achieve excellence and equity for Scotland’s children and young people including across Gaelic Medium Education.

Work is underway to set out further detail on transition plans and associated timescales, including for the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive for a refocussed Education Scotland and HM Chief Inspector of Education, both of which will be taken forward as quickly as practicable. In line with previous commitments, there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of this reform.

Question reference: S6W-27213

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 14 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further low interest rate loans to Lar Housing Trust, in light of the reported success of its pathfinder model, in order to advance construction of new affordable homes in Granton, Edinburgh, and elsewhere in Scotland, and, if so, when.

Since its creation in 2015 to the end of March 2024, LAR Housing Trust has acquired/developed 740 homes for mid-market rent supported by a Scottish Government loan of £55 million. 175 of these were previously National Housing Trust units. Whilst LAR Housing Trust has brought valued diversity to the provision of mid-market rent housing in Scotland, we carefully consider all of our delivery routes to best achieve our objectives and meet our Scottish Public Finance Manual obligations. The Scottish Government has confirmed to LAR Housing Trust that there is no provision for a further low interest rate loan.

Over many years, the Scottish Government has encouraged LAR to leverage in alternative sources of capital. Building on what has been achieved to date, LAR Housing Trust is in an excellent position to innovate and pivot to new opportunities, including making progress on the sites acquired in Granton and elsewhere.

Question reference: S6W-26633

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address the barriers to the implementation of the NICE guidelines on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) identified in the recent survey of NHS boards in Scotland, and how it is fostering consensus amongst the people involved in implementing the NICE guidelines.

The Scottish Government fully supports the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on diagnosing and managing ME/CFS. We wrote to all Scottish health boards following its publication to raise awareness of the guidance and encourage its implementation.

We are committed to improving care for people with ME/CFS and want to facilitate constructive communication between patients and clinicians so that all parties are engaged in finding a way forward.

We are currently reviewing options to foster consensus around the applicability and implementation of the NICE guideline on ME/CFS, and how this relates to other existing clinical guidance in Scotland. Input from people with lived experience of ME/CFS will be integral to any agreed option.

Question reference: S6W-26192

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S6O-02854 by Jenni Minto on 7 December 2023, what its response is to the reported concerns of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) organisations and people with ME regarding the way that the Scottish Good Practice Statement (SGPS) on ME-CFS was updated, including concerns that the key recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline were not inserted into the updated SGPS.

We published a partial update of the Scottish Good Practice Statement on ME/CFS on the Scottish Government website in February 2023. This incorporated key recommendations from the NICE 2021 guidance on a broad range of topics such as energy management and Graded Exercise Therapy; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy; diagnosis and care of children and young people; and severity scale of illness.

The statement also includes updated information on social security and social care in Scotland and an appendix of useful resources and contacts provided by Action for ME and other partners.

Question reference: S6O-03178

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is taking forward the work and priorities of its Ministerial Population Taskforce.

Question reference: S6O-03130

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving, in collaboration with Police Scotland, to the possibility of establishing a new Leith police station within the Scottish Government's Victoria Quay building.

Question reference: S6O-02947

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to tackle violence in schools and the impact that this is having on both pupils and staff.

Question reference: S6W-24092

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Neil Gray on 20 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the final Solar Vision and draft Bioenergy Policy Statement will be published.

Following the Scottish Government’s announcement of the proposed solar deployment ambition for Scotland in October, we are now working with industry and community stakeholders to agree a suitable level of community benefit for large scale solar projects. As a result, we will now publish our final Solar Vision with the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan in Summer 2024.

We intend to publish the draft Bioenergy Policy Statement for consultation in the new year, and before the end of February 2024.