- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils identified as gifted or talented are currently in receipt of targeted support in schools, and how this compares with previous years.
Answer
Statistics on more able pupil as a reason for support are published in the pupil census supplementary statistics. This is available on the Scottish government website here https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/.
Local authorities oversee the delivery of education and have a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs, including more able pupils.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what vessel will be allocated to the Barra-Oban ferry route when the MV Isle of Lewis is retired from service.
Answer
Vessel deployment is an operational matter - as such, Ministers expect the operator to assess all the options, and present that recommendation in consultation with Transport Scotland.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a quarterly update on progress against each objective in the new NHS operational improvement plan.
Answer
As noted within the Operational Improvement Plan, the Government will report against it publicly and to Parliament within 2025-26. Statistics relating to a number of its commitments will also continue to be published meantime.
- Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what level of patronage would be required on existing services calling at Milngavie Station for ScotRail to consider returning to quarter-hourly services throughout the day.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to the question S6O-03953 on 10 October 2024. All answers to Oral Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Official Report: search what was said in Parliament | Scottish Parliament Website
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish its analysis of how many families are currently adversely affected by the “cliff-edge” withdrawal of the Scottish Child Payment.
Answer
The Scottish Government published analysis of the impact of the Scottish Child Payment (SCP) on Scotland’s labour market in July 2024; Scottish Child Payment and the labour market - gov.scot and concluded it had not negatively affected labour market outcomes at scale in Scotland’s economy, while supporting the families of nearly 330,000 children.
Our analysis shows that typically around 2% of Scottish households in receipt of Universal Credit (UC) with children aged under 16 have low monthly UC awards of less than £100. This suggests very few families experience the high effective marginal tax rates that can be present when low UC awards and therefore SCP are close to being withdrawn due to the earnings of a household.
The Scottish Government continues to assess how SCP is interacting with the labour market. A further evaluation of SCP is due to be published this summer and will include a survey of recipients including questions about how and why SCP has affected their labour market activity.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of the current interaction between the Scottish Child Payment and Universal Credit on work incentives for low-income families.
Answer
The Scottish Government published analysis of the impact of the Scottish Child Payment (SCP) on Scotland’s labour market in July 2024; Scottish Child Payment and the labour market - gov.scot and concluded it had not negatively affected labour market outcomes at scale in Scotland’s economy, while supporting the families of nearly 330,000 children.
The analysis also showed that the employment likelihood of Universal Credit (UC) clients in the planning for work regime – the majority of whom should be receiving SCP – was consistently higher in Scotland than in England, suggesting that interactions between UC and SCP are not materially impacting work incentives.
The Scottish Government continues to assess how SCP is interacting with the labour market. A further evaluation of SCP is due to be published this summer and will include a survey of recipients including questions about how and why SCP has affected their labour market activity.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s reported assessment that benefits spending is being driven by increased eligibility rather than population need.
Answer
We welcome the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s report which provides an independent assessment of how much the Scottish Government’s policies are likely to raise and cost. The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s forecasts are used to set the Scottish Budget, and Scottish Government officials work closely with the Scottish Fiscal Commission to provide the data necessary to inform its forecasts.
The Scottish Fiscal Commission consider a wide range of factors and assumptions to produce their published forecasts and review these in light of the latest evidence. As the Scottish Fiscal Commission have noted, in part the forecast increase to the end of the decade is being driven by factors common across the UK such as the increasing demand for disability payments, increased cost of living, and rises in payment rates due to inflation and uprating, and the conscious policy choices that we have made in Scotland to mitigate the decisions made by the UK Government.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is issued to teachers regarding the identification and development of high-ability pupils, and when any such guidance was last updated.
Answer
Highly able learners are entitled to support under the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004.
Local authorities oversee the delivery of education and have a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs. This includes highly able children and young people.
There is existing guidance in the Additional Support for learning Statutory Guidance: Additional support for learning: statutory guidance 2017 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).We have committed to refreshing this during this Parliamentary term and have been working collaboratively with a range of education partners and policy areas to ensure it continues to fully support schools and local authorities to fulfil their duties under the ASL Act.
Education Scotland provide guidance for teachers of learners who are working, or who are capable of working, significantly ahead of their peers. This guidance was last updated on 28 June 2024 and is available here: A summary of resources relating to highly able learners | Resources | Education Scotland.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much is currently owed to it in total in brokerage by each NHS board.
Answer
The amount of brokerage owed by each NHS Board is outlined in the following table:
NHS Boards | Brokerage owed at FY 2023-24 (£000) |
|
NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 78,500 |
NHS Borders | 35,533 |
NHS Dumfries & Galloway | 32,300 |
NHS Fife | 23,743 |
NHS Grampian | 24,800 |
NHS Highland | 56,772 |
NHS Orkney | 5,156 |
NHS Tayside | 25,700 |
Total | 282,504 |
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its Freedom of Information response of 28 February 2025 stating that there has been a threefold increase in renewable energy applications since 2020, what its position is on whether such an increase is necessary to meet the energy demands of the Scottish Borders.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no powers to influence grid management in Scotland as legislation and regulations relating to gas and electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government. The independent system operator, National Energy System Operator (NESO), is responsible for strategic planning and the day-to-day operation to balance the supply and demand of the electricity network, working with all network companies across Great Britain.
