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-12513

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on closing the attainment gap in the Mid Scotland and Fife region.

Over the course of the last Parliament, there was demonstrable progress on a number of long-term measures to close the poverty related attainment gap, with attainment gaps in literacy and numeracy narrowing pre-pandemic in primary schools. We know that the pandemic and cost of living crisis has made our ambition of achieving equity in education harder but we are committed to substantially eliminating the poverty related attainment gap and are investing
‎ £1 billion over the course of this parliamentary term in the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) – a substantial increase on last term’s £750 million funding.

The Scottish Government gathers a range of data via the National Improvement Framework, which includes 11 key measures of particular relevance to the attainment gap in both the Broad General Education and Senior Phase. A detailed breakdown of attainment and the poverty related attainment gap can be found on the Scottish Government website - Supporting documents - Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels 2020-21 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and Supporting documents - Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 4: 2022 Edition - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

From 2015-16 to 2021-22, £97.6 million was allocated to local authorities in Mid Scotland and Fife region, through a range of funding streams that contribute to the SAC: Pupil Equity Funding (PEF), Care Experienced Children and Young People (CECYP), Challenge Authority and Schools Programme.

From 2022-23 onwards, investment in the refreshed SAC programme is continuing with all Local Authorities now receiving direct funding for the first time through Strategic Equity Funding (SEF) along with the continuing of PEF and CECYP. In 2022-23, £16.8 million has been allocated to Clackmannanshire, Fife, Perth & Kinross and Stirling. Through the introduction of SEF, Fife, Perth & Kinross and Stirling Councils are receiving funding for the first time to develop strategic local authority plans to close the poverty related attainment gap. This funding empowers schools and Councils to drive education recovery and accelerate progress in tackling the poverty related attainment gap.

Through the SAC Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress , all local authorities are now required to set ambitious stretch aims for progress closing the gap. These should be published on local platforms as part of local authority education service improvement plans. A national aggregation of these aims will be published later this month and will be available to access here .

Question reference: S6W-12512

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its next declaration of ministerial car journeys, in line with the terms of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

Question reference: S6O-01667

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to tackle the reported staffing crisis within the early years sector.

Question reference: S6O-01630

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest Homeless Deaths 2021 figures from the National Records of Scotland, which show that an estimated 250 homeless people died in 2021.

Question reference: S6W-12006

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that the detection and management of the psychological consequences of stroke are seen as a priority by NHS boards.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme (SSIP) Lead conducts an annual review process on behalf of the Scottish Government, meeting all NHS boards to appraise their provision of stroke services and create a local action plan to improve performance where needed. Annual reviews of NHS boards’ stroke services will now include a requirement to demonstrate adequate provision of psychological support, including detection and treatment of the psychological consequences of stroke and evidence of a clear referral pathway for accessing psychological services.

Question reference: S6W-12007

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the key message in the Stroke Association’s recent report, Keeping Stroke Recoveries in Mind, that "emotional and psychological wellbeing for someone after a stroke is just as important as their physical recovery".

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people who have had a stroke receive the best possible care as quickly as possible to enable them to live longer, healthier and independent lives. This commitment extends to the emotional and psychological impact of stroke and the Scottish Government wants to ensure that the detection and management of the psychological consequences of stroke are seen as a priority by health boards. We will continue to work with organisations such as the Stroke Association to make real improvements to the quality of life of people in Scotland affected by stroke.

Question reference: S6W-11831

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to blind and partially sighted people as they recover from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions.

The Scottish Government recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures that were necessary to take have been particularly challenging for those with sensory loss. The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults has provided £36 million since 2021 to grassroots community groups to tackle the impact of social isolation, loneliness and mental health inequalities, including nine projects for people with sight loss. We have also worked with local authorities and transport providers to ensure that people with sight loss have still been able to access travel since the pandemic. In addition, Active Scotland is working to support everyone to be more active, with specific activity for people with sight loss funded through Paths for All.

Through our ‘See Hear’ strategy, the Scottish Government is committed to supporting children and adults who have deafness, sight loss and dual sensory loss to access the services and social care they need. See Hear is currently under review, and a refreshed strategy will be published in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-11624

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much the First Minister’s trip to the United States of America on 16-17 May 2022 cost.

Question reference: S6W-11356

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much the (a) Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) and (b) Town Centre Capital Fund (TCCF) has invested in (i) Fife, (ii) Stirling, (iii) Clackmannanshire and (iv) Perth and Kinross, in the financial year (A) 2020-21 and (B) 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-11355

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many individual projects the (a) Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) and (b) Town Centre Capital Fund (TCCF) has supported in (i) Fife, (ii) Stirling, (iii) Clackmannanshire and (iv) Perth and Kinross, in the financial year (A) 2020-21 and (B) 2021-22.