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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

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Question reference: S6F-04139

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2025

To ask the First Minister, in light of it being almost five years since the Scottish Government committed to spending £60 million to renew every play park in Scotland and of reports that less than half of the funding has been spent, what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that children do not miss out on renewed facilities.

Question reference: S6F-04125

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s latest engagement with the UK Government regarding its plans for the winter fuel payment and any implications for the Scottish Government’s work to deliver a universal Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-04140

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2025

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to maintain its policy aim of keeping pace with the EU on environmental protection.

Question reference: S6F-04138

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2025

To ask the First Minister for what reason there has reportedly been no financial agreement between the Scottish Funding Council and the University of Dundee, in light of the alternative financial recovery plan being launched four weeks ago.

Question reference: S6W-37692

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken on (a) each of the actions under priority 1 and (b) action 4.1 under priority 4 of the Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme: Delivery Plan: October 2023 – April 2025.

We are committed to upholding human rights and enabling people who lack capacity to live well, with choice and control over their own lives, as well as any care, treatment, or wider assistance they might need. We are grateful to those who responded to our Adults with Incapacity (AWI) consultation last year, the analysis of which was published in January 2025. We are now moving from consultation to collaboration and will establish an AWI Expert Working Group and Minister-led Oversight Group to understand policy, practical and resourcing implications more fully ahead of legislative reform. One of the key areas for further development, drawing on the valuable feedback already gathered, will be Supported Decision Making.

Question reference: S6W-37674

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it spent £2,609.78 on belongto.org on 12 March 2025.

The Ireland Scotland Joint Bilateral Review 2021-25, co-produced by both Scottish and Irish governments, recognises the strong cultural and people-to-people links between the two countries and commits to strengthening these.

The funding from the Scottish Government to Belong To in Ireland is a contribution to the Empowering Voices project, which is also supported by the Welsh Government and British Council. The project is coordinated by Belong To (Ireland), and involves LGBT Youth Scotland (Scotland), Education Authority (Northern Ireland), The Proud Trust (England), and Viva LGBT+ (Wales). The project provides a platform for young LGBT+ people from each of the five nations to share their lived experiences.

Question reference: S6W-36975

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the main reasons are for the highest S4 school leaver numbers in more than a decade, in light of recent statistics for 2023-24.

While the percentage of school leavers in S4 remains unchanged in 2023-24 from the previous year at 14.4%, we acknowledge the importance of understanding the factors influencing early school leaving.

After a rise last year, the Scottish Government have been exploring with partners factors influencing young people deciding to leave school at S4. These include the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis, and also an increase in availability of entry-level jobs.

We are continuing to work with our partners to find ways to support young people to stay in learning.

Scotland continues to demonstrate strong participation in education among 15–19-year-olds, as recognised by the OECD, with over half of pupils (57.1%) leaving school at S6.

Question reference: S6W-36939

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Electricity Act 1989, whether statutory consultees on section 36 and section 37 planning applications should receive a copy of any (a) gate check and (b) other reports submitted by the applicant.

As part of the process to determine applications made under Section 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, consultees are asked by the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) to provide comment on the contents of gate checks. The purpose of a gate check is to set out how comments made by consultees and Scottish Ministers in the scoping opinion are to be addressed by the applicant and taken forward in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, should an application be submitted. Application documents, including EIA reports, are publicly available on the ECU portal: https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationSearch.aspx

Question reference: S6W-37743

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the outcomes of the Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement Programme will be published, and when the public consultation will open.

We received an excellent response to the Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement Programme call for evidence which ran for twelve weeks from 26 November 2024. We intend to publish an analysis in due course. The responses are both numerous and voluminous and have required longer than anticipated to fully analyse and report upon. The scale of the responses has however provided a detailed insight into the views of our stakeholders on numerous aspects of inshore fisheries management. These will be invaluable as we begin to develop proposals for a new inshore fisheries management framework, which we intend to consult on in early 2026.

Question reference: S6W-37026

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its public service reform programme, what proportion of its planned £280 million savings by the end of 2024-25 will have come from reductions in pay costs for the board members of (a) public sector and (b) other non-departmental bodies.

The Scottish Government is committed to driving key efficiency programmes such as Scottish Single Estates, Commercial Value for Money (CVfM), Collaborative Procurement frameworks, the Intelligence Automation Centre of Excellence, and Digital programme. There has been strong progress across these programmes which are expected to reach up to £280 million of cost avoidance and cash releasing savings over a two-year period by the end of 2024-25. This figure is not related to pay costs for board members of public sector or other non-departmental bodies.

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