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-13228

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by George Adam on 14 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when its proposed consultation on electoral reform will be published.

Question reference: S6W-12347

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government (a) what proportion of and (b) how the £600 million of funding set out in the Health and Social Care Winter Resilience Overview will support community nursing and palliative care teams to care for terminally ill people in the community over winter 2022.

The £600 million funding set out in the Health and Social Care Winter Resilience Overview 2022-23 includes investment of £170 million for multi-disciplinary teams and £124 million to enhance care at home, supporting people to be treated in the community where clinically appropriate.

We have appointed a National Clinical Lead to drive and support the development and delivery of a new Strategy on Palliative and End of Life Care, supported by a small advisory group and a newly established strategy steering group, both of which include representatives of community and specialist palliative care nurses.

Nurses, amongst many multi-disciplinary staff, are crucial to the delivery of palliative and end of life care within the community.

Question reference: S6O-01651

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting Ukrainians in Scotland, in light of the war with Russia entering the winter months.

Question reference: S6W-12733

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reached a decision on the future location of the accreditation and regulation functions currently undertaken by the SQA.

The Scottish Government has decided that these functions are best located in the new qualifications body.

In reaching this conclusion we considered a range of options, including the establishment of a new small non-departmental public body solely responsible for these functions and Professor Muir’s recommendation to locate the functions within the new national agency for Scottish education.

We have sought the views of a range of organisations including nine standard setting organisations, twenty-five Awarding Bodies and a number of other public bodies including the Scottish Funding Council and the SCQF Partnership. Officials also met with other UK regulation and accreditation bodies including Ofqual and Qualifications Wales and discussed options with colleagues across the Learning, Education Reform and Advanced Learning and Science Directorates. We have also drawn on the expertise of the staff who provide those services through discussions with the SQA’s Chief Executive, staff in the Accreditation Team and members of the SQA Accreditation Committee.

On balance, it is clear that there are significant benefits to locating the functions in the new Qualifications Body, as an NDPB, providing a greater degree of independence than within the new national agency. The creation of the new Qualifications Body itself presents an opportunity to make significant changes to the relationship between the awarding and accreditation functions which will further strengthen their independence from one another. We will develop these as part of the Education Reform Bill to be introduced to Parliament next year and as part of the Target Operating Model for the new body.

This decision will ensure the continued provision of a service which is of vital importance across a wide range of sectors of the Scottish economy.

Question reference: S6O-01440

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what contribution colleges make to widening access to higher education for students living in the most deprived areas.

Question reference: S6O-01407

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it will work in partnership with landlords in the social rented sector to keep rents as affordable as possible for tenants.

Question reference: S6O-01358

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest engagement has been with the UK Government regarding the funding that is being provided to mitigate the impacts of the cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-10798

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 August 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 31 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it will take to ensure that the skills delivery landscape is set up to deliver the ambitions for skills in Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

The National Strategy for Economic Transformation, published in March 2022, sets out our ambitions for a skills and education system that meets the demands of an ever-changing economy and society, provides people with the skills they need at every stage of life to have rewarding careers, and encourages employers to invest in the skills they need to grow their businesses.

Key priority projects will support the commitments as set out in NSET to adapt the education and skills system to make it more agile and responsive to our economic needs and ambitions, support and incentivise people and their employers to invest in skills and training throughout their working lives; and expand Scotland’s available talent pool, at all skills levels, to give employers the skills pipeline they need to take advantage of opportunities.

To ensure that the skills system is optimised to deliver these ambitions, Ministers will initiate an independent review of the skills delivery landscape, focusing on the functions and remit of Skills Development Scotland, and its interface with – and role within – the wider skills delivery landscape.

The Review will be led by an independent advisor and will commence in September 2022, reporting to Ministers in Spring 2023. The Independent Advisor will engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including the staff and Board of Skills Development Scotland, to inform their recommendations.

Ministers will provide further details of the remit for the Independent Advisor and the Terms of Reference for the Review in a statement to Parliament in due course.

Question reference: S6O-01255

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support and advice is available to veterans in appealing to the Upper Tribunal for Scotland regarding war pensions.

Question reference: S6O-01124

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what provision exists to provide an in-patient specialist dermatology service for patients within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.