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-37161

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Glasgow City Council's reported view that the current level of asylum support funding is unsustainable.

Question reference: S6W-37162

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the potential introduction of a statutory mechanism to ensure that all local authorities contribute to the asylum dispersal programme on an equitable basis.

Question reference: S6W-37412

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many formal (a) warnings, (b) notices and (c) interventions regarding suicide risks linked to infrastructure in mental health units have been issued since 2022, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-37160

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on which Scottish local authorities are (a) currently and (b) not currently participating in the UK Government’s asylum dispersal programme.

Question reference: S6O-04659

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to roll out stroke thrombectomy services on a 24/7 basis across the country.

Question reference: S6W-37175

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many former police officers are currently awaiting resolution of their pension scheme choice following the 2015 pension changes.

I have asked Stephen Pathirana, Chief Executive of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPPA is in the process of providing retired police officers with a remediable service statement (RSS) in order to allow them to make an informed choice of benefits in respect of their service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. To date more than 3,400 RSS have been sent to retired police officers. Approximately 1,850 statements are outstanding, though the majority of retired officers are already in receipt of their final salary scheme benefits, which are anticipated to be more favourable. All retired police officers are expected to receive a RSS by 31 July 2025.

Question reference: S6W-37174

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will offer compensation to any retired police officers who have been financially disadvantaged due to delays in implementing pension entitlements.

I have asked Stephen Pathirana, Chief Executive of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, to respond. His response is as follows:

The legislative provisions of the McCloud remedy ensure that where there is an uplift in pension benefits as a result of an officers choice, interest applies to any arrears. Any retired officers who are entitled to arrears of pension will receive their entitlement in full, plus that interest.

Question reference: S6W-37163

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that rural nursery closures will force families to travel long distances or give up work due to a lack of childcare.

The Scottish Government recognises that high quality, accessible and affordable early learning and childcare is vital in rural and island areas to support children’s outcomes and to enable parents or carers to train, work, or study.

At a national level, several work programmes are underway to support childcare access in these communities. This includes funding a new national childminder recruitment and retention programme, making grants available to local authorities via the Addressing Depopulation Fund (two of which contain a focus on addressing childcare issues) and investing £16 million over two years into our six early adopter communities, including those in rural and island locations.

Decisions relating to the school estate, including whether to temporarily close council schools and nurseries, are for local authorities to make in consultation with the local community. Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to make Early Learning and Childcare services available to all eligible children within their area and are responsible for local service delivery planning, this includes a duty to consult and inform parents every two years regarding local demand. We are currently reviewing guidance on mothballing to provide greater clarity on when it is an appropriate action to take. That will ensure that local decisions are based on effective engagement with the community, better reflect the needs of rural families and help to maintain access to early learning in those communities.

I would therefore encourage any families affected by planned service closures to engage with their local council about how the Early Learning and Childcare needs of their children will continue to be met.

Question reference: S6W-37172

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all retired police officers receive their full pension entitlements without any undue delay.

I have asked Stephen Pathirana, Chief Executive of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, to respond. His response is as follows:

The overall programme to deliver the 2015 remedy in Scotland is being managed by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA). This is a complex undertaking as it requires a remediable service statement (RSS) to be sent to eligible members numbering over 200,000 across the four pension schemes administered by the SPPA. Within that number more than 5,000 retired police officers are entitled to receive a RSS and make a choice about their pension benefits.

SPPA has introduced new digital automation processes which have had a positive impact on delivery speed and capability. The statutory deadline for providing a RSS was by 1 April 2025 or at a later date decided by the scheme manager. This discretion has been exercised and dates are set out on SPPA’s website: https://pensions.gov.scot/sites/default/files/2025-04/2025-04_Police_Circular_McCloud_Remedy_administration_%E2%80%93_Remediable_Service_Statements.pdf.

To date more than 3,400 RSS have been sent. SPPA expects to send most of the remainder by 31 May, with a small number of more complex cases issued by 31 July 2025.

Question reference: S6W-37167

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish comparative data on senior pay levels across all publicly funded Scottish universities annually.

The Scottish Government does not hold comparative data on senior pay levels across publicly funded Scottish Universities and therefore has no plans to publish this information.

Universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own pay and remuneration decisions.

However, the Scottish Government expects universities to exercise restraint in setting senior pay, including that senior pay packages are in step with the salary, terms and conditions offered to other university staff.

Universities are also required to comply with the terms of the Scottish Funding Council's Financial Memorandum as a condition of grant funding. This includes compliance with the principles of The Scottish Code of Good HE Governance which includes the expectation that universities' remuneration committees seek the views of student and staff representatives in relation to the remuneration packages of Principals and senior executive teams, as well as that they represent the public interest and avoid any inappropriate use of funds.