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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-18875

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering the banning of homework in schools.

The Scottish Government does not prescribe approaches to items of practice on matters such as providing homework to children and young people.

In April 2023, Education Scotland published an update on ‘Engaging Parents and Families: A toolkit for practitioners’, which is available on the National Improvement Hub along with case study examples of learning at home. This resource, which includes a short review of the evidence surrounding homework, also provides schools and practitioners with good practice examples of effective approaches to learning at home.

Accordingly, decisions on providing homework are a matter of broader policy and approach that schools and headteachers are empowered to make decisions on. This is in line with other such decisions that headteachers make at a local level on learning and teaching practice, including the curriculum design, the vision, aims and rationale of the school or setting.

Question reference: S6W-19011

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many Maritime and Coastguard Agency approved medical assessors there are in Scotland, who are able to assess seafarers for an ML5 certificate, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-19206

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it plans to put in place in light of a recent joint report by the University of Bristol and Cystic Fibrosis Trust, which found that the additional cost of living for people with cystic fibrosis is over £6,500 a year.

The Scottish Government recognises the pressure on household budgets which is why we have allocated almost £3bn to support policies which tackle poverty and to protect people as far as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis. Ministers have committed to publishing an Immediate Priorities Plan to combat the effects the crisis continues to have on disabled people’s lives. A short life working group has been established to ascertain and agree the contents of the Immediate Priorities Plan with a view of publication this summer. The Scottish Government also supports the calls for a social tariff mechanism that would provide a much needed safety net for vulnerable consumers.

Question reference: S6W-17431

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Ayrshire and Arran has consulted with the Scottish Health Council on any proposed service changes, and, if so, what changes were proposed, and when.

It is for Healthcare Improvement Scotland's Community Engagement Team (HIS-CE) (formerly the Scottish Health Council) to answer questions on what proposed service changes NHS Boards have consulted them about.

The Scottish Government would expect that all health boards, including NHS Ayrshire & Arran, follow the national Planning with People guidance, which includes the need to engage with HIS-CET when considering service change.

The guidance is available at the following: https://www.gov.scot/publications/planning-people-community-engagement-participation-guidance/

Question reference: S6O-02435

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Police Scotland’s latest quarterly performance report, which found that there were 1,928 recorded crimes of online child sexual abuse during 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-19024

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provides to support individuals diagnosed with dyslexia.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions to support people with dyslexia. This includes the provision of support for dyslexic learners from nursery through school and into further and higher education, and access to support when entering employment, as well as in the workplace.

The Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those with dyslexia. The cost of individual supports will vary according to the needs of each pupil.

The Scottish Funding Council’s Access and Inclusion Fund is used to support the teaching and learning of disabled students in Further Education, which includes dyslexia. In 2021-22, £51.8m worth of support was allocated. Additional funding is also available as part of the Student Support budget.

In addition, the Disabled Students’ Allowance supports disabled students and those with additional learning needs in Higher Education. In the 2021-22 academic year, over 2,000 students with dyslexia received support amounting to £3.5 million.

Dyslexia Scotland provide a range of support, initiatives and advice for those with dyslexia, their families and those who support or work with them. In 2022-23, the Scottish Government provided funding to Dyslexia Scotland of over £250,000 to support this work.

Question reference: S6W-19019

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that every deaf child has the opportunity to access a specialist Auditory Verbal programme, as part of its commitment to deliver equal opportunities for every child.

NHS Health Boards and local authorities are responsible for the provision of, and funding for, services for deaf children. This includes the provision of specific therapeutic approaches.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Sensory Centre and CALL Scotland to provide advice and training to school staff on support, including the use of assistive technology, for children and young people with specific communication and sensory needs.

Question reference: S6W-19041

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase the number of women attending their cervical screening appointments in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Question reference: S6W-19085

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has estimated the average price of generation from Torness Nuclear Power Station, and, if so, what that price is.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the price of energy generated by Torness nuclear power station. This information is of a commercial nature and shared only between the contract holders and the customer.

However, what is clear is that existing nuclear is expensive: under the current contract awarded by the UK Government to Hinkley Point C, the electricity that will be generated will be priced at £92.50 per megawatt hour (using 2012 prices). In contrast, wind is one of the cheapest forms of energy. Electricity being generated from offshore wind will be priced at £37.65 per megawatt hour.

In addition to this direct funding, nuclear developers have had the potential to profit from a Contract for Difference for 35 years for Hinkley Point C and will be able to use a Regulated Asset Base funding model that further reduces their financial risk for future projects. In contrast, other technologies with high capital expenditure costs, such as Pumped Hydro Storage, have not been able to utilise these market mechanisms to facilitate deployment. We continue to call on the UK Government to put in place a suitable market mechanism for Pumped Hydro Storage developments.

Question reference: S6W-19091

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff have been based in its international offices in each of the last five years.

The number of staff based in Scottish Government International Offices in the past five years is listed in the following table.

Year	International Office	Number of Staff (both Scottish Government and Country Based Staff) - Headcount
2019-20	Brussels (Scotland House)	21
	Washington	4
	Beijing	4
	Berlin	3
	Ottawa	3
	Paris	3
	Dublin	3

2020-21	Brussels (Scotland House)	19
	Washington	5
	Beijing	4
	Berlin	3
	Ottawa	4
	Paris	3
	Dublin	3

2021-22	Brussels (Scotland House)	19
	Washington	5
	Beijing	4
	Berlin	3
	Ottawa	4
	Paris	3
	Dublin	3

2022-23	Brussels (Scotland House)	19
	Washington	5
	Beijing	4
	Berlin	3
	Ottawa	3
	Paris	3
	Dublin	3
	Copenhagen	3

2023-24	Brussels (Scotland House)	17
	Washington	4
	Beijing	4
	Berlin	3
	Ottawa	3
	Paris	3
	Dublin	3
	Copenhagen	3