Chamber and committees

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-16429

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the Skills Development Scotland report, Economy, People and Skills, published in March 2023, which reported that, for the period from November 2022 to January 2023, there was an increase of 5,000 unemployed young people compared with the same period in the previous year.

The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with a range of partners, including Skills Development Scotland, to ensure that all young people have access to a positive destination, including employment opportunities. Additionally, we are working with partners in the Third Sector to develop a whole system approach to supporting all young people, eliminate discrimination and ensure that no one is left behind.

Through our youth employment strategy, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), we are working with employers to deliver work relevant education to young people in Scotland and provide the skills required for the current and anticipated jobs market. This includes creating new vocational learning options, enabling young people to learn in a range of settings in their senior phase of school, embedding employer engagement in education, offering careers advice at an earlier point in education delivery and introduce new standards for careers guidance and work experience.

The latest estimates of unemployment for 16 to 24 year olds from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - the National Statistics source for labour market indicators by region and age - show that in January to December 2022, an estimated 34,300 people aged 16-24 were unemployed in Scotland. This is 800 more than the number of unemployed 16 to 24 year olds in 2021. However, there was a decrease in the unemployment rate for this group of 0.5 percentage points to 9.7% in 2022. For the same time period, the number of 16-24 year olds in employment in 2022 was an estimated 318,700, an increase of 23,200 from 2021.

Question reference: S6W-16641

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the majority of transgender prisoners in Scotland began the process of transitioning after being convicted.

The Scottish Prison Service are committed to treating everyone in their care with dignity and respect and do not provide the personal information of prisoners.

Any transgender individuals in custody are supported and managed through an individualised risk assessment and case conference process that protects their rights and needs, as well as the welfare and rights of others around them, including staff, in order to achieve an outcome that balances risks and promotes the safety of all.

Question reference: S6W-16643

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to conduct a review of gender identity services for children and young people, similar to the Cass Review in England.

The Scottish Government does not seek to replicate the work of the Cass Review. However, as we have previously stated, the interim findings of that Review continue to be closely considered by both Scottish Government and NHS Scotland, alongside broader national and international evidence. As part of this, officials and senior clinicians from the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland have also met with Dr Cass and members of the Cass Review team to discuss respective approaches.

Our Strategic Action Framework for NHS gender identity service improvement includes a commitment to support the establishment of nationally commissioned Young Person’s Gender Identity Service. Discussions and scoping with NHS National Services Scotland and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to consider current and future national provision, are ongoing.

Question reference: S6O-02146

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action to prevent child sexual exploitation.

Question reference: S6W-16121

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that compulsory redundancies are being implemented by colleges.

Question reference: S6T-01299

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on targeted counsellor funding for colleges and universities.

Question reference: S6W-15243

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the view expressed in a number of the responses to the Violence Against Women and Girls Funding Review that the loss of single-sex services and facilities erodes female privacy and deprives women and girls from feelings of security and comfort.

Question reference: S6W-15241

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 13 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the view expressed in a number of the responses to the Violence Against Women and Girls Funding Review that there is a need for single-sex services with female-only staff to be widely available to women.

Question reference: S6O-01998

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when its response to the Agriculture Bill consultation will be published.

Question reference: S6W-15238

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent UCAS Equal Consideration application deadline data for 2023, in light of reports that, for Scotland-domiciled students of all ages, there has been a 23% reduction in applicants to nursing courses and a 25% reduction in applicants to teacher training courses.

Although UCAS has confirmed that at the end of the January equal consideration date there has been a reduction in applications compared to this time last year, our higher education institutions will continue to accept, and consider, applications until the end of June and thereafter through any clearing process. Therefore, we expect application numbers to continue to increase. Scotland’s higher education institutions are working hard to recruit applicants to their nursing programmes and it is worth noting that not all funded places are applied for via UCAS(for example our Open University funded places), and these applications will also contribute to final numbers.

Alongside this, we continue to explore alternative pipelines into the nursing profession such as earn as you learn routes and apprenticeships. In addition to that work we will also address current challenges to the nursing profession in relation to workforce supply, retention and professional development as part of the new Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce. This will ensure our nurses, already the best paid in the UK, will have the best conditions and career opportunities.

We realise that recruitment to initial teacher education is challenging for various reasons and this is being seen across the UK. However, as in previous years, Scottish universities will keep their application processes open until they have met their targets in both primary and secondary by subject. We will continue to work with universities to monitor applications to all initial teacher education programmes. Typically, we have seen teacher training applicants increase by around 17% by the end of the application cycle.