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-03102

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered trialling the use of graphene in road surfacing projects, following the announcement from National Highways that it will be doing this in England.

Question reference: S6W-03090

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) aims and (b) objectives of its proposed ministerial working group on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development will be.

The Scottish Government is committed to contributing to international development as an essential part of being a good global citizen. Within that, we have committed to Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) as part of a holistic, cross-Government, approach to our international development offer. The aim of the Ministerial Working Group on PCSD is to support that ongoing commitment by the Scottish Government. Our work on PCSD considers not just our needs but the needs of others overseas, the overall impact of our policies on poor people and poor countries. It will remain a vital component of our contribution to international development as we strive to build a green economy and “leave no one behind” in line with the ethos of the UN SDGs. Our approach is for responsibility for PCSD and its delivery to reside across all Ministerial portfolios, with the Group providing Ministers with the opportunity to reflect on how their portfolios shape and influence these issues, and what is required to improve policy coherence, not just within but across portfolios.

Question reference: S6W-03091

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how often it anticipates its proposed ministerial working group on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development will meet.

Question reference: S6W-03072

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd (a) expressed an interest and (b) provided a response for the procurement process for two new ferries for Islay.

Question reference: S6O-00233

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that young people's views on climate change are listened to in the run up to COP26.

On 13 September, we announced £300,000 of support for the 16th conference of youth—COY16—the UN’s official youth event for COP26. For the first time, five young people from Scotland will join participants from around the world and will help to shape the conference’s statement. We also support the Young Scot-led Scottish youth climate programme, which enables Scottish children and young people to host a climate youth summit ahead of COP26 to design the legacy that they want from the conference and to act as local champions across the country.

Question reference: S6O-00232

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the scale of unemployment among qualified teachers.

The recruitment and retention of teachers is a matter for local authorities.

However, I am determined that teachers have strong job opportunities. We have provided significant additional funds for the recruitment of additional teachers and I have committed to increasing teachers numbers by 3,500 during the course of this parliamentary term.

We have provided £240 million of additional investment to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional education staff to support education recovery. We have also allocated £145.5 million annually to the local government settlement which will support councils to employ additional staff on permanent contracts.

Question reference: S6O-00234

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK and Danish governments on the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.

Currently, there has been no discussion with the UK and Danish Governments on the newly announced Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. However, Scottish Ministers expect to meet with the Danish Government ahead of COP26 to discuss climate change and other areas of mutual interest.

In line with the Scottish Government’s evidence based approach to policy development, we have committed to undertaking a programme of work and analysis to better understand Scotland’s energy requirements as we transition to net zero and how this aligns with our climate change targets.

Question reference: S6O-00256

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional Qualified Teachers of Children and Young People with Vision Impairment will be recruited as part of its commitment to recruit 1,000 new teachers and 500 pupil support assistants in the next academic year.

Question reference: S6O-00241

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it supports veterans, and what official statistics it records to monitor this.

Question reference: S6O-00248

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support the north east economy, in light of the impact of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.