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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-22500

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to launch the national digital academy.

Scottish Government and Education Scotland are currently developing options for a National Digital Academy. Details of timescales and funding will be available when these are complete.

The National e-Learning offer (a range of live, recorded and supported resources, funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership with Education Scotland, ADES, the 6 regional improvement collaboratives, and EIS) continues to be delivered.

Question reference: S6W-22168

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15089 by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2023, when, in the remainder of 2023, it plans to complete and publish the Investment Plan outlined in its publication, Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045, Tackling the Nature Emergency in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22060

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities have local digital learning strategies.

The 2016 Digital Learning and Teaching strategy sets out our expectation that local authorities will develop strategies to support the appropriate and effective use of technology in education. We do not hold a central record of these documents. As indicated in the recent PfG, we will now work with partners on the development of a refreshed digital strategy for education that will aim to drive improved digital access for all learners.

Question reference: S6W-22059

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21422 by Jenny Gilruth on 4 October 2023, when the digital strategy for education will be published, and which organisations and stakeholders are contributing to it.

We are developing a new digital strategy to support our ongoing commitment to improve digital access for learners. This strategy will define the key elements for successful digital learning and seek to deliver the right technology, in the right place, with a workforce that knows how to use it.

Officials will engage with key partners across the education sector in development and implementation of the strategy, which we will publish in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-22048

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21487 by Graeme Dey on 3 October 2023, what progress it has made regarding the next round of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund; whether it plans to announce the next round of the fund in 2023, and what discussions and meetings it has had with the Scottish Funding Council regarding the fund.

Question reference: S6W-21919

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications it has received for the second round of funding for the Just Transition Fund.

The Just Transition Fund did not open for bids in 2023-24. Alongside announcing a £25 million allocation to the Scottish National Investment Bank, our focus has been on continuing to deliver the £50 million multi-year programme of projects announced in 2022-23, including our £11 million package of skills interventions and £30 million investment on innovation projects.

Businesses, social sector organisations and communities have still been able to bid in for grant funding this year through the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund, Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund, and Participatory Budgeting Fund respectively.

Question reference: S6W-21957

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to address the reported vulnerabilities set out in Education Scotland's risk register.

Question reference: S6W-21920

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether the £20 million that was allocated in the first round of the Just Transition Fund has been distributed in its entirety.

In Year 1, the Just Transition Fund’s £20 million allocation was made up of £10 million capital grants and £10 million Financial Transactions.

Of the £20 million available to be distributed in 2022-23, the full £10 million capital grant allocation was spent. £0.5 million Financial Transactions were allocated to Social Investment Scotland’s Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund and £9.5 million Financial Transactions were unallocated.

In 2023-24 the Fund’s entire Financial Transaction allocation of £25 million has been allocated to the Scottish National Investment Bank. Businesses, projects, and their representatives can contact the Bank via its website, where the Bank’s new enquiries team will handle the approach. Up to an additional £25 million grant funding will be spent as part of the ongoing delivery of the £50 million grant funding committed to in 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-21981

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 31 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19661 by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023, whether the Student Finance and Wellbeing Study will also include the amount of paid work that postgraduate students are doing within the schools that they are studying, such as convening tutorials or hosting seminars, and, if not, how it collates such data.

The Student Finance and Wellbeing Study (academic year 2023-24) will gather data from college and university students in Scotland on their level of study, the number of hours they have worked in the last week, the sector that their job(s) is/are in, and whether the paid work they are doing is supporting the development of skills related to their course. It will not collect information on where the paid work is carried out (on location/ employer). The extent to which the Study will be able to report on the experiences of work of postgraduate students will depend on sample sizes being large enough to report on.

Question reference: S6W-21980

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 31 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19661 by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023, when it will conclude and publish the findings of the Student Finance and Wellbeing Study, which will provide data on paid work undertaken by students.