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-27033

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation took place with (a) staff and (b) trade unions before the decision was made to close all VisitScotland information centres.

a) A formal staff consultation was not triggered prior to the announcement as there are no compulsory redundancies.

Staff are VisitScotland's priority, and they are engaging with them to discuss their options such as re-skilling, redeployment and voluntary redundancy.

VisitScotland have established a staff engagement programme, which involves every iCentre and allows for both collective and individual engagement and representation throughout the change programme.

b) VisitScotland consulted with Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union prior to the announcement and continue to work with them during the on-going change programme.

Question reference: S6W-27034

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline any research underpinning the decision to close all VisitScotland information centres.

VisitScotland’s Strategic Change Programme seeks to ensure that they continue to make the biggest possible positive impact on the visitor economy.

As part of VisitScotland's Strategic Change Programme, a detailed review has considered their role in information provision. VisitScotland's future information strategy is based on research including trends and data that show how visitors plan their trips. As part of the review process, VisitScotland also took into account data related to their iCentre network.

The following key research sources were utilised:

VisitScotland insight data over a number of years as published in their annual reports: Our Annual Performance Report | VisitScotland.org
VisitBritain: MIDAS - Full Research Report - Dec 2022
Expedia: Expedia Group's Path to Purchase Study on Traveler Behaviors: Key Findings and Methodology
TripAdvisor: E conomicPortraitofTraveler2023

In addition to the above, VisitScotland drew upon the professional knowledge and experience of their staff.

Question reference: S6W-27035

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact on local economies of the decision to close all VisitScotland information centres.

VisitScotland has taken the decision to close its iCentre network by March 2026 in response to reduced footfall and demand for information, with data showing that the majority of visitors to Scotland access information ahead of travelling to the country. As this was an operational decision for VisitScotland, the Scottish Government did not conduct an impact assessment.

However, data indicates that the previous phase of iCentre closures in 2018-2019 did not negatively impact the visitor economy. Since 2019, the number of overseas visitors to Scotland has increased by 14%, with the number of tourism businesses increasing by 6%.

VisitScotland continues to support the growth of the visitor economy in every region of Scotland through its marketing activity, support for events, destination development and free-to-access business advice and support programme.

Question reference: S6W-27204

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many issues NHS Lothian has reported against Consort Healthcare since it took ownership of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Question reference: S6W-27203

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it will have to pay Consort Healthcare when the PFI contract for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh ends.

The project agreement for the RIE was signed in 1998 between NHSL and Consort Healthcare. Consort are responsible for the provision of facilities management and lifecycle maintenance works until the end of the Primary Period in December 2027. The Secondary Period begins automatically following the end of the Primary Period, the exact arrangements for the secondary period, which include the possibility of terminating the agreement, will be determined by the ongoing discussions and decisions taken by NHS Lothian and Consort Healthcare, which have not yet concluded.

Question reference: S6O-03444

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is ensuring that those awarded public sector contracts and grants meet its Fair Work First requirements, including the payment of the real Living Wage.

Question reference: S6W-27017

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 8 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the minutes of the Regulatory Review Group meeting of February 2024.

Re-instating the Regulatory Review Group (RRG) was a priority for business when developing the New Deal for Business recommendations and is pivotal in supporting Ministers understand and mitigate challenges associated with implementing regulations. Within its first six months, the RRG scrutinised regulation implementation on high-profile proposals, including Alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing, Vaping, Heat in Buildings and Circular Economy Bill.

To ensure transparency, all meeting minutes and advice sent to Scottish Ministers are published on its webpage found on the Scottish Government website. The minutes from the RRG meeting on February 17 have now been published on Regulatory Review Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6W-27018

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 7 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects that Modern Apprenticeship contract awards for 2024-25 will take place.

Question reference: S6W-27019

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to release funding to local authorities for the delivery of No One Left Behind in 2024-25.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering vital public services and supporting households, but to balance the budget with a focus on supporting public services, tackling child poverty, and transitioning to Net Zero, limited funding must be prioritised to deliver the best value for every taxpayer in Scotland. This requires some difficult decisions and robust spending control.

Discussions are continuing to finalise allocations, with funding being released as decisions are taken to ensure activities in agreed areas can proceed as soon as possible. To enable progress and support continuity of service, I can confirm the decision to release funding equivalent to the first quarter of the financial year allocation for No One Left Behind.

Grant Offer Letters for the first quarter were issued to Local Authorities as Lead Accountable Bodies for No One Left Behind on 2 May 2024.

Question reference: S6W-26681

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of each of the 10 recommendations published as part of the Career Review.

In October 2022, the Career Review Programme Board published ' Delivering Careers By Design', including 10 recommendations co-created working with stakeholders and young people.

Since then, 'Career Review Final Report' published in March 2023 set out in further detail how the recommendations will be implemented.

Two of the ten recommendations have already been delivered. Recommendation 1; establishment of a new career development model and Recommendation 10; creation of a career services coalition – the Careers Services Collaborative.

The Collaborative continues to meet, chaired by Grahame Smith, to oversee further implementation of improvements to the careers offer, with a focus on the remaining recommendations. Further information on progress will be published via www.careerreview.scot over the course of the year.