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-17810

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the new Talent Attraction and Migration Service will be launched.

In the 2022 Programme for Government, and more recently in the FM’s policy prospectus, the Scottish Government has committed to launch a Talent Attraction and Migration Service for Scotland. The service is in the early stages of development and we intend to launch it before the end of 2023. The service will improve Scotland’s ability to attract and recruit workers with the skills that our economy will need in the future and support international workers in the migration and relocation process.

Question reference: S6W-17811

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government where the new Talent Attraction and Migration Service will be based; how many jobs it will create, and how many companies it aims to work with per month.

The Talent Attraction and Migration Service will be delivered through an online digital platform. Users will be able to access the service from anywhere in Scotland. The service will help employers navigate the UK’s immigration rules and provide reception support to people moving to Scotland. The service is still in the design stage, but we expect the service to help a wide range of employers across the Scottish economy and individuals moving to Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-17814

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the 3,124 Ukrainian children enrolled in schools as of 31 March 2023, how many were enrolled in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, broken down by local authority area.

Of the 3,124 Ukrainian children enrolled in schools as of 31 March 2023, 1,718 were enrolled in primary schools and 1,406 were enrolled in secondary schools. This data is available by local authority area in the following table.

Number of Ukranian Pupils who have been displaced from Ukraine into Scotland as a result of the war in Ukraine and are now enrolled in Scottish schools
31-Mar-23
Local Authority	P1-P7 Pupils	S1-S6 Pupils	Total
Aberdeen City	192	151	343
Aberdeenshire	51	50	101
Angus	36	24	60
Argyll & Bute	47	31	78
City of Edinburgh	267	243	510
Clackmannanshire	10	10	20
Dumfries & Galloway	66	52	118
Dundee City	66	41	107
East Ayrshire	41	21	62
East Dunbartonshire	15	14	29
East Lothian	15	10	25
East Renfrewshire	6	7	13
Falkirk	30	19	49
Fife	57	54	111
Glasgow City	227	190	417
Highland	67	70	137
Inverclyde	11	18	29
Midlothian	18	10	28
Moray	10	8	18
Na h-Eileanan Siar	*	8	6
North Ayrshire	68	39	107
North Lanarkshire	49	25	74
Orkney Islands	*	*	7
Perth & Kinross	57	44	101
Renfrewshire	61	44	105
Scottish Borders	40	40	80
Shetland Islands	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	40	45	85
South Lanarkshire	52	52	104
Stirling	50	48	98
West Dunbartonshire	23	10	33
West Lothian	38	31	69
Total	1718	1406	3124

Question reference: S6W-17044

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of any (a) newspaper and (b) TV adverts that it placed in relation to its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas.

Question reference: S6W-17045

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it advertised its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas on (a) Facebook, (b) Twitter and (c) Instagram, and if so, whether it will provide details of engagement figures for each platform.

As well as a press release and supporting social media on the consultation opening on 12 December 2023, ?the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate frequently promoted the consultation, stakeholder information sessions and the extension of the consultation on its Twitter (@marinescotland) and LinkedIn channels, which have a combined following of more than 12.5K stakeholders. Please note that @marinescotland does not have an Instagram account.

A total of 15 posts were shared by @marinescotland which reached almost 80,000 people and achieved a good engagement rate of 2.7% (anything between 1-5% is considered good by social media marketing experts, according to Hootsuite). This equated to a total of 2,147 engagements (interactions) with the social media posts such as clicking on the link to the consultation, sharing, ‘liking’ and commenting on the posts.

It is important to note that the actual engagement with the online consultation will be much higher as this just reflects the social media promotion. For example, while 565 people clicked onto the consultation directly from these 15 social media posts, others will have visited the consultation directly from elsewhere, such as from stakeholder engagement activity and seeing press coverage.

Evaluation summary

A breakdown of the @marinescotland social media is included below, including the engagement rate calculation for transparency:

15 December – ‘ consultation now open ’ – 113 link clicks, 13,566 opportunities to see, 332 engagements ( LinkedIn post – 43 clicks, 1,576 OTS, 58 reactions)7 February – stakeholder information sessions – 63 link clicks, 4,096 opportunities to see, 202 engagements ( LinkedIn post – 76 clicks, 1,637 OTS, 34 reactions)

9 February – still spaces left to attend stakeholder information sessions – 18 link clicks, 3,727 opportunities to see, 51 engagements

7 March – closes on 20 March – 22 link clicks, 1,890 opportunities to see, 67 engagements

10 March – you have until Monday to respond – 9,968 opportunities to see, 274 engagements ( LinkedIn post – 5 clicks, 122 OTS, 2 reactions)

16 March – consultation extended by one month – 82 link clicks, 22,420 opportunities to see, 264 engagements ( LinkedIn post – 20 clicks, 790 OTS, 24 reactions)

29 March – stakeholder information sessions – 29 link clicks, 3,388 opportunities to see, 99 engagements ( LinkedIn post – 28 clicks, 882 OTS, 6 reactions)

31 March – stakeholder information sessions – 6 link clicks, 1,402 opportunities to see , 20 engagements

11 April – consultation closes in one week – 37 link clicks, 13,046 opportunities to see, 139 engagements ( LinkedIn post – 23 clicks, 922 OTS, 9 reactions)

Accurate as of 17 April:
LinkedIn followers – 3,245

Twitter followers – 9,325

Total followers – 12570

Total number of posts – 15

Opportunities to see (OTS) – Twitter – 73,503; LinkedIn – 5,929 = 79,432

Clicks – Twitter – 370 and LinkedIn – 195 = 565

Engagements – Twitter – 1448 and LinkedIn – 133 = 1581

Total engagements (clicks + engagements) – 2,146 ?

Engagement rate (total engagements / OTS x 100) – 2.7%

Question reference: S6W-17046

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas, what external organisations it met in advance of the consultation launch, and on what date each meeting took place.

During this initial phase of policy development on Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), in 2022, the Scottish Government met with a range of stakeholders including -

British Trout Association (BTA) – 17 March
Coastal Communities Network (CCN) – 22 March
Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) - 23 November
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) – 24 March
Crown Estate Scotland (CES)–28 March
Oceana – 13 May
Royal Yachting Association (RYA) – 5 May
Salmon Scotland – 17 March and 6 April
Scottish Environment LINK–18 March, 14 July and 2 December
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) – 8 March
Scottish Renewables – 13 May
Scottish Sea Farms Ltd–23 May
Scottish Seaweed Industry Association (SSIA) – 25 April

Please also refer to the answer under S6W-16733 on 15 May 2023 for a list of meetings with the fishing industry where HPMAs were discussed. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-17047

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with (a) Western Isles, (b) Highland, (c) Argyll and Bute, (d) Orkney Islands and (e) Shetland Islands Council in relation to Scottish Highly Protected Marine Areas.

During this initial phase of policy development the Scottish Government met with representatives of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on 17 February 2023, representatives of Highland Council on 20 February 2023, and representatives of Orkney Islands Council on 17 February, 22 February and 4 April 2023.

Further direct engagement will take place during the site selection process, as specific site proposals are being developed, to ensure views can be taken into account regarding any proposed sites in each council area.

Question reference: S6W-17035

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it anticipates publishing its response to the results of the Scottish Highly Protected Marine Areas public consultation, after it closes on 17 April 2023.

The Scottish Government’s initial consultation on our proposed overall approach to Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) closed on 17 April and we have received thousands of responses which we want to ensure are given due consideration. We have now begun collating and analysing the responses we have received and will be carefully considering this feedback before setting out our next steps in due course.

Question reference: S6W-17680

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered introducing a compensation scheme for (a) residents and (b) businesses who are impacted by (i) short-notice and (ii) long-notice, ferry cancellations.

I recognise the impact that delays and disruption have regrettably had on our island communities and I am committed to investing in our ferry services. Indeed, my focus currently is on building resilience within the network.

I have noted the calls for compensation however, any such scheme would need to be carefully considered. It would require stark choices around how such a scheme would be prioritised for funding, over efforts to provide that network resilience.

Question reference: S6W-17513

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 12 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action is taking to protect care home residents in the Highlands and Islands region from any risks associated with care home closures.

The Scottish Government has clear standards for the quality of care across our health and social care services and the safety, protection and wellbeing of residents and staff in our care home sector is a priority. We have for each of the last three years provided NHS Highland with funding of £864,800 per year to support their enhanced oversight and support of local care homes to encourage quality improvement and sustainability, and we recently confirmed further funding for 2023-24.

Ultimately the commissioning and provisioning of care home services for local communities to meet needs rests with NHS Highland and the Highland Council. The Scottish Government is in regular contact with NHS Highland, the Highland Council, and providers of social care to understand the challenges they are facing which include the impact of care home closures across the system.