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-06961

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has made of the impact of fire appliances, both those staffed by wholetime and retained firefighters, being taken off the run due to staffing levels.

Question reference: S6W-07089

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding (a) it allocated to and (b) was distributed to successful grant applicants from the Croft House Grant scheme in each year from 2016 to 2022.

Financial Year	Budget Allocation	Funding Distributed (£)
2016-17	£1.4m	679,568
2017-18	£2m	1,079,466
2018-19	£1.9m	1,272,058
2019-20	£1.9m	1,183,846
2020-21	£1.9m	1,123,231
2021-22 *	£1.9m	886,120

* As at 8 March 2022.

Funding under the Croft House Grant is provided retrospectively in up to three stages. For this reason, funding committed in any financial year can be claimed by applicants and paid in both the current and following 2-3 financial years. An underspend in any given year is more indicative of agreed grants not being wholly or partially drawn down in the year they were agreed.

Question reference: S6W-07020

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allow local authorities to carry forward unspent Tenant Hardship Grant funding to 2022-23, or whether it will seek to recover any underspend.

Each local authority has been given a set allocation of funding which will close when that allocation is fully spent. Local authorities can continue spending into the next financial year with any remaining allocation should they need to do so.

The Tenant Grant Fund is being paid to local authorities as General Revenue Grant, if a local authority is unable to spend their revenue funding in year, it is placed in their reserves and used the following financial year. As it is revenue funding they do not require Scottish Government approval.

Local authorities have indicated that they are confident that they will be able to spend their allocations in the coming months, therefore we do not anticipate any need to recover an underspend.

Question reference: S6W-07048

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent to raise awareness of, and market for, the Open Market Shared Equity and New Supply Shared Equity schemes, in each of the last five years, and how much it plans to spend in 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-07036

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what apprenticeships or subsidised training schemes there are for people seeking to train in (a) welding and (b) metal fabrication.

For individuals who undertake the Engineering and Engineering Construction frameworks, there is the opportunity to complete a Scottish Vocational Qualification in the units set out below:

Engineering:

Fabrication and Welding Engineering (SCQF Level 6)
Fabrication and Welding Engineering Sheet Metalwork 3mm, less (SCQF Level 6)
Fabrication and Welding Engineering (Manual Welding) (SCQF Level 6)

Engineering Construction:

Diploma in Welding Engineering Construction Plate (SCQF Level 7)

There are also qualifications available for those who wish to train in welding through the Employability Fund (EF), which was developed as a response to concerns that the existing landscape of provision for pre-employment support in Scotland was too fragmented and not flexible enough to meet the needs of individuals and local labour markets.

With a strong focus on work experience, the EF responds to the different needs of individuals, while also adapting to employer demands on a local basis. Employability Fund can be used to support people to develop the employability and vocational skills they need to make the transition into a Modern Apprenticeship or job.

As part of the EF, the following qualifications are available for individuals to undertake:

Welding - Radiographic Interpretation of Welds
Welding Inspector
Welding Code Core Flux 6 GR EN ISO 96061
Flux Core Welding 6G H-LO45 135/136 incl. Exam
CSWIP Welding Inspection with E-Learning

Question reference: S6W-07059

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it anticipates that the Single Building Assessment programme will move from a pilot to a full scheme.

Question reference: S6W-07047

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to raise awareness of, and market for, the Open Market Shared Equity and New Supply Shared Equity schemes, in each of the last five years, and what its plans are for 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-07037

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what data is held on how many apprentices are paid the real Living Wage.

In Scotland, Modern and Graduate Apprentices are employees and it is therefore employers who set apprentices pay, as with their other employees within the parameters of the National Minimum Wage (NMW).

The NMW, including the NMW for Apprentices, is a reserved matter for the UK Government. As such, the rates of NMW are set by the UK Government and the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Apprenticeship Pay Survey , most recently published on 10 January 2020 by the UK Government Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), measures the pay rates of apprentices and may be the closest available measure.

Scotland’s results are based on 2,301 interviews with Scottish apprentices, the majority of interviews were conducted with apprentices at Levels 2 and 3, along with a smaller number of interviews with apprentices at Level 4+. The table below sets out a comparison of 2016 and 2018 survey data for Scotland:

Table 1: Median basic hourly pay for apprentices in Scotland by level, 2016 and 2018

	2016 Median	2018 Median
Levels 2 and 3	£6.66	£7.67
Level 2	£5.86	£7.46
Level 3	£6.81	£7.73
Level 4+	N/A	£11.50

As part of our priority to ensure that apprenticeships are of high quality and lead to sustainable employment opportunities, and through our Fair Work policy, we encourage every employer to reward their staff fairly and, where possible, to pay at least the real Living Wage for workers of all ages, including apprentices.

This is why we support the real Living Wage Campaign, an independent movement of business other organisations and people, who believe workers should be paid fairly for the work they do. The real Living Wage is paid to all workers over 18 years old and is set at a rate of £9.90 per hour. Living Wage Scotland and Poverty Alliance, who promote payment of the real Living Wage, encourage employers to pay the real Living Wage to 16-17 year olds where ever possible, and to consider best practice on training and development of young workers.

Skills Development Scotland also provides guidance to training providers which clearly highlights that they must promote Fair Work Practices when marketing in their supply chains.

We are fully committed to promoting Fair Work practices throughout Scotland and will continue to press the UK Government for the full set of powers around employment law in order to allow us to fully deliver our Fair Work ambitions.

Question reference: S6W-07055

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the name is of the new cladding stakeholder group that it has formed with industry representatives and a homeowner representative; how frequently it meets; on what dates it has met; what its full remit is; what its full membership is, and where the minutes of its minutes can be accessed.

The Cladding Stakeholder Group was formed in June 2021 and meets monthly. The Group provides a forum for discussion, partnership working, continuous improvement and constructive challenge to support the Single Building Assessment and Cladding Remediation programme. Membership reflects the interests of homeowners as well as the finance, insurance, home building and professional advice sectors. Under its terms of reference, material generated by the Group should remain confidential.

Meeting Dates 2021-22

30 June

19 August

15 September

20 October

17 November

15 December

19 January

16 February

Question reference: S6W-07023

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 15 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian students are estimated to be studying in Scotland and what support is being offered to them, in light of current international events.

In 2020-21, based on recorded nationality, there were around 125 Ukrainian students at university and 45 Ukrainian students at college. However, further students will have close links of family members affected by the current crisis and we want to support them as well.

We are continuing to engage with the sector to identify the likely impact on students studying at Scottish institutions. I met with University and College principals on 2 March to learn more about how they are responding to support students who may be affected by the situation and to understand some of the wider concerns they may have.

Ukrainian and other international students are already able to access a Coronavirus Fund put in place by Scottish Government to support students financially impacted by the pandemic. Scottish Government officials are also currently considering what additional support can be offered to students impacted by the conflict who are studying in Scotland.

We are also conscious of the impact of the ongoing situation on student mental health and wellbeing and welcome Universities Scotland’s ‘Statement of Solidarity with Ukraine’.

Students experiencing mental health and wellbeing or hardship issues, should, in the first instance, contact their respective institutions. Further mental health and wellbeing and finance advice is also available on the Student Information Scotland website.