Stephen Kerr

22 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported assertion that its failure to deliver a sufficient number of affordable homes has directly contributed to rising homelessness and the breach of legal safeguards.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Although there has been increases in homelessness applications and non-compliance with statutory duties in some areas, 12 local authorities reduced the number of households in temporary accommodation in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23 and 20 councils reduced the …

22 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the long-term viability of Scotland’s livestock sector, in light of the finding that 68% of lowland cattle and sheep farms were operating at a loss in 2023-24.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37115 on 6 May 2025. 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/wr…

22 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any risks to marine life and environmental sustainability resulting from a lack of Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal visibility in Scottish coastal waters.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Shipping safety is a matter reserved to the UK Government. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is responsible for shipping regulations and safety, including Automatic Identification System (AIS) requirements. The Scottish Government expects the highest s…

22 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure the financial sustainability of cereal and milk producers, in light of the reported financial losses in those sectors in 2023-24.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37115 on 6 May 2025. 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/wr…

22 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36772 by Jenny Gilruth on 22 April 2025, when the decision to stop gathering teacher vacancy data from local authorities was taken; what the justification for this decision was, and who made the decision.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Formal teacher vacancy data has not been collected or published since 2010 following the results of a user consultation on proposals to cease a number of education data collections in order to minimise the response burden on schools and local authorities.Info…

19 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on Amazon Web Services in each of the last three years.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government spend with Amazon Web Services in each of the last 3 financial years is detailed in the following table:-Financial YearTotal spendApril 22-March 23£534,815.88April 23-March 24£1,698,666.07April 24-March 25£1,659,999.7…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the use of Preference Informed Allocation to be an appropriate and effective method of allocating applicants to the Scotland Foundation School as part of the UK Foundation Programme, and what assessment it has made of any potential impact on applicants.

Answer · Neil Gray: The move to the Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) model was supported by the Medical Schools Council, the British Medical Association and all four UK governments. Medical students were extensively consulted on the changes and their impact, with 66% in favo…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the reported ministerial pay rise of almost £20,000, whether it will publish the evidence base underpinning the reported comment by the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport that “it won’t cost the public purse a penny extra”. 

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government has already published the estimated financial contribution made to public spending by the voluntary Ministerial pay freeze since it was established on 1 April 2009. Between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2025, Ministers made an estimated &p…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a full list of current government-funded initiatives and training materials that contain an interpretation of sex based on gender identity, and not only on biological sex.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government has set up a short life working group to consider existing policies, guidance and legislation which may be impacted by the judgment. This work will position us towards a state of readiness to take all necessary steps when the EHRC&rsqu…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that female-only sports, changing rooms and hospital wards are for biological women only, in light of the Supreme Court ruling regarding For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. 

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government are not responsible for monitoring or enforcing compliance with the Equality Act 2010. That is the statutory role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Scottish public authorities must comply with the law, including the 2010 Act…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to protect freedom of speech for public servants, teachers and other professionals who hold or express gender-critical views, in light of the Supreme Court ruling regarding For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: There are existing protections for freedom of speech and the Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination or harassment at work or in other areas of their life, because of their religious or philosophical beliefs.The Equality Act 2010 is mainly reser…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Supreme Court’sunanimous decision on the definition of “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 isfinal and binding.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government has made clear that it accepts the judgment of the Supreme Court.

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to apologise to any women’s rights campaigners who may have been mischaracterised or dismissed as a result of expressing views that the term “woman” refers to biological sex, in light of the Supreme Court ruling regarding For Women Scotland v The Scotti…

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court judgment.The Supreme Court counselled against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another. It is not. The ruling gives clarity on the interpretation of two…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its public agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities, currently operate single-sex services based on gender identity rather than biological sex, and what steps are being taken to address this.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government and is a matter for individual public bodies. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the body responsible for regulating and enforcing the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will instruct all public sector bodies in Scotland to conduct an urgent review of their equality, diversity and inclusion policies, in light of the Supreme Court ruling regarding For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: It is the statutory role of the EHRC to monitor and enforce compliance with the Equality Act 2010. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have launched a consultation for updates to their statutory Code of Practice for services, public functions and …

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will issue formal guidance to schools, health services and prisons to ensure that the rights of women and girls to single-sex spaces are upheld, in full compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government has set up a short life working group to consider existing policies, guidance and legislation which may be impacted by the judgment.This work will position us towards a state of readiness to take all necessary steps when the EHRC&rsquo…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it will take to ensure that all public bodies comply fully and without qualification with the Supreme Court’s ruling that the term “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex and not gender identity.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government has issued a note to public bodies regarding the UK Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of sex in the Equality Act 2010.It informs stakeholders of the work we are doing within government and encourages them to engage with the EHRC's co…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what instructions it has issued to the Scottish Qualifications Authority regarding the replacement or non-replacement of any compromised qualification materials. 

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025. 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-committ…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any risk to fairness and national standards in National 5 History arising from the reported unauthorised release of marked qualification scripts.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: It is essential as we move towards the establishment of Qualifications Scotland that the education system and wider public have confidence and trust in the qualifications body in Scotland.Operational responsibility for the qualifications, such as the marking …

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out any modelling on the potential long-term demographic impact of poor access to healthcare services in rural areas, and whether it will publish any such analysis. 

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government has not carried out modelling of this type.The Scottish Government appreciates the unique challenges faced by remote, rural and island communities across the country. As such, a Task and Finish Group focussing on supporting sustainabil…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported warnings from the Scottish Chambers of Commerce that skills shortages and a broken training system are acting as structural barriers to growth.

Answer · Graeme Dey: We recognise the need for ongoing action to address skills needs and we continue to provide additional targeted support across a range of sectors for example, we will invest an additional £3.5 million in our colleges to create an Offshore Wind Skills Pr…

17 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what immediate steps it will take to address the reported decline in business confidence across all sectors as highlighted in the latest Scottish Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Economic Indicator.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Growing the economy is at heart of the Scottish Government's agenda. The First Minister has announced that the next Programme for Government will be published on Tuesday 6 May. It will be focused on targeted initiatives to boost Scotland’s economic pros…

16 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the conduct of NHS Fife, inrelation to the ongoing employment tribunal, is consistent with the principlesof transparency and accountability in public service.

Answer · Neil Gray: This matter is still subject to ongoing judicial proceedings, as such, it would not be appropriate for Scottish Government officials or Ministers to comment.We expect all NHS Scotland Boards to operate with the highest standards of transparency, accountabilit…

16 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is appropriate for an NHS board to seek to restrict public scrutiny of a tribunal involving matters of significant public interest.

Answer · Neil Gray: Employment tribunal matters are independent and administered by HM Courts and Tribunal Service. It is for the Employment Tribunal to determine whether it is appropriate to restrict public scrutiny of a tribunal involving matters of significant public interest…

16 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether any guidance has been issued to NHS boards and public bodies regarding the practice of seeking private hearings or restricting access to tribunals.

Answer · Neil Gray: No such guidance has been issued to NHS boards or other public bodies.

16 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the live streaming of tribunals involving public bodies, and what guidance exists on this issue.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The courts, tribunals and judiciary are independent of the government. This is necessary in order to preserve the independence of the judiciary and to protect it from political interference. Decisions on the livestreaming or other broadcasting of court or tri…

16 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is responsible for any public health consequences that result from its decision to remove eligibility for the flu vaccine from 50- to 64-year-olds.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Decision-making on Scotland’s vaccination programme continues to be guided by the independent, expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI currently advises flu vaccination for all those aged 65 years and over, …

16 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that sewage may have been discharged into Scottish waters once every 90 seconds in 2024.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As part of a commitment made in its improving urban waters routemap, Scottish Water installed 1000 new overflow monitors by December 2024 and it now publishes overflow information online. It is not correct to state that combined sewer overflows spill every 90…

16 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been an increase in the number of peopleappearing before courts in Scotland who also have a diagnosis of attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and if this is the case, what assessmentit has carried out of any such increase.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not collate data on the number of people with ADHD appearing before the courts in Scotland.The information held on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Services (SCTS) live operational case management systems is structured to support…

16 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria were used when deciding whether to grant the £22 million in liquidity support to the University of Dundee.

Answer · Graeme Dey: It is a matter for the Scottish Funding Council to allocate funding to individual institutions, including whether there is a need to apply any conditions as part of this process.The member may be interested to know that the Scottish Funding Council wrote to t…