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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 837 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5F-01783

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2017

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-01758

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2017

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-01731

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2017

To be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-11211

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the interim report of the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice, Time for Change: A New Vision for the British Economy.

The Scottish Government welcomes the recent IPPR Commission report on Economic Justice, which is closely aligned to the approach set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategy (SES), published in 2015.

The SES sets out our mutually supportive ambitions of boosting competitiveness and tacking inequality. This ambition is underpinned by four strategic priorities, Investment, Internationalisation, Innovation and, most relevant to the IPPR report, Inclusive Growth. Inclusive growth is the Scottish Government’s vision for social and economic justice - economic growth that provides opportunity to all people from across all parts of Scotland.

The emerging IPPR approach to economic justice introduces three principles for reform: increasing Investment, encouraging Innovation, and Social Justice. These mirror closely Scotland’s current strategic priorities. I look forward to the conclusions of the IPPR report in 2018 as we continue to ensure Scotland’s Economic Strategy meets Scotland’s economic needs.

Question reference: S5F-01595

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 September 2017

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will give a commitment in the week of International Day of Older Persons that eligibility criteria for the national concessionary travel scheme will not change during the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S5W-10850

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 19 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it allocated to Scottish Enterprise to fund its Research and Development Grants (a) in each of the last five years and (b) for 2017-18.

Question reference: S5W-10846

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many Scottish Enterprise Research and Development grants have been awarded to companies that are (a) based in and (b) planning to set up in Scotland (i) in each of the last five years and (ii) since April 2017, broken down by (A) sector, (B) location and (C) amount awarded.

Question reference: S5W-10849

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report in The Sunday Times on 20 August 2017 that Scottish Enterprise has exhausted its Research and Development Grants budget for 2017-18.

Demand for support from all Scottish Enterprise's (SE) R&D schemes over the last few years has been hugely successful with business R&D funding increasing from £14m in 2014 to more than £22m in 2017. Despite the pressures this has placed on SE's resources all their R&D programmes remain open. The high and growing leave of demand for the funding to support business – led research and development projects is a positive sign that efforts to simulate innovation are proving effective.

The Scottish Government recognises the clear importance of R&D support and how vital this is to businesses and to the competitiveness of business and our economy as a whole. That is why I am delighted that the First Minister announced on 31 August that £45m of additional funding will be provided by the Scottish Government to our enterprise agencies to support business R&D projects over the next three years.

Question reference: S5W-10847

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many companies that are (a) based in and (b) planning to set up in Scotland that have applied for a 2017-18 Scottish Enterprise Research and Development Grants have been advised by the agency that it will not be able to make a payment award until May 2018, broken down by (i) sector, (ii) location and (iii) amount requested, and how many have received their award.

Question reference: S5O-01253

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported decrease in labour productivity.

Scotland’s labour productivity growth has outstripped the UK’s in recent years. GDP per hour worked has increased by 7.6% in Scotland since 2007, compared to 0.6% for the UK as a whole.

The Scottish Government is taking action to support the Scottish economy’s productivity, in line with the priorities set out in our Economic Strategy and our Labour Market Strategy, which underpins all our ambitions for Scotland’s labour market.

These include initiatives to help strengthen the skills of the Scottish workforce, such as the £10 million pilot Flexible Workforce Development Fund I launched last week, and the Individual Training Account scheme, which will help equip people with the right skills to participate in the labour market.

This investment in upskilling will assist the workforce to be better equipped for social and economic demand and support improved productivity.

We are also committed to paying the real Living Wage, and promoting it to all employers, and we are supporting access to flexible working, through initiatives such as the Family Friendly Working Scotland Partnership and Carers Positive scheme.

These measures contribute to reduced absenteeism, better retention, and improved staff morale, all of which help enhance productivity.