Parliamentary questions
Stephen Kerr
2,595 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the 10 most expensive leases currently held by the Scottish public sector are, broken down by department or agency.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Scottish Government do not hold information on all public sector leases centrally. The following table shows the top 10 most expensive leases held by Scottish Government. This is made up of the costs of rent and service charges.BuildingDepartment5 Atlantic Qu…
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue has been generated in the last three years from the sale of government-owned properties declared surplus to requirements, and how any such revenue has been reinvested.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) requires that all land or property declared as surplus should be disposed of as quickly as possible and sets out a number of ways disposals can achieve best value for money and wider public benefit.In the last 3 years…
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS boards and other public bodies to identify further opportunities for co-location, estate consolidation and hybrid working efficiencies.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government has regular discussions with NHS and public bodies on these matters as they are key stakeholders and governance members of the Single Scottish Estate (SSE), which supports a more efficient approach to public sector property management.…
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector lease agreements it is currently reviewing as part of its property rationalisation programme, and what criteria are being used to determine value for money.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Under the Single Scottish Estate Programme, all leases that are in the name of Scottish Ministers are reviewed as they approach a break clause or lease end to ascertain whether renewal is necessary.
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what savings it estimates have been achieved in the 2024-25 financial year through the early termination or non-renewal of public sector office leases.
Answer · Ivan McKee: It is estimated that the Single Scottish Estate (SSE) Programme generated savings of £9.274m over the 2024-25 financial year. A total of £41m of savings and benefits has been secured by the SSE Programme overall.
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure the continuity of public services in the event that any proposed local authority industrial action goes ahead.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government values the contribution of Local Government workers to delivering essential public services across the country and urges all parties to work together to avoid disruptive industrial action.The Scottish Government respects the independen…
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any modelling that shows how the Scottish Child Payment, in isolation, can deliver the 2030 child poverty target, or, if no such modelling exists, what its position is on whether there is a need for wider reforms to skills, jobs and enterprise policy.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government published economic modelling on 27 March 2025 which estimates the impact of Scottish Government policies on child poverty in Scotland. The report finds that Scottish Government policies will keep an estimated 70,000 children out of rel…
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of families in Scotland in relative poverty are in working households.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The latest Poverty and Inequality Statistics in Scotland publication can be accessed here: https://data.gov.scot/poverty/The publication reports that 75% of children in relative poverty were living in working households in the period 2021-24.
31 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to stimulate employment in areas with persistently high welfare dependency.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government’s "National Strategy for Economic Transformation" sets out our aim to make Scotland’s regions, businesses, industries, communities and public services more productive and innovative.It is important to note that in Scotland,…
31 Mar 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what engagement the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding what assessment has been made of the potential impact of an extension of US tariffs on Scottish businesses that export to the US market.
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35432 by Kaukab Stewart on 19 March 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the "Lived Experience on New Scots Core Group".
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government have committed £6,000 to Scottish Refugee Council for Lived Experience on New Scots Core Group. We do not intend to publish a further breakdown of cost.
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35432 by Kaukab Stewart on 19 March 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the "Refugee Support Service".
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Scottish Government are currently procuring a replacement for the grant funded Refugee Support Service for which we committed up to £3.6m in 2024/25. We do not intend to publish a breakdown of costs. We are currently at a sensitive point in the procurem…
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35432 by Kaukab Stewart on 19 March 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the "New Scots Community Engagement".
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: All funding for Community Engagement was distributed in the form of small grants for refugee assisting communities and groups, to enable their engagement in the development of the New Scots Strategy held between Q4 2023-2024. As published in the New Scots Ref…
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35432 by Kaukab Stewart on 19 March 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the "New Scots Partnership Costs".
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The New Scots Partnership staffing costs came to £87,333 between January to March 2024. The following table provides a further breakdown on how this funding was spent.StaffSalary costs Jan 2024 – March 2024Helpline Advisor£27,201Senior Admin…
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35432 by Kaukab Stewart on 19 March 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the "Connected Communities Budget Funding – Engagement with Afghan women 2022".
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: This grant was a single payment of £4,100. No further breakdown of costs was required.
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35432 by Kaukab Stewart on 19 March 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the "New Scots welcome video project December 2021 to March 2022".
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government committed £16,000 to the New Scots welcome video project December 2021 to March 2022. We do not currently plan to publish a further breakdown of cost.
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35432 by Kaukab Stewart on 19 March 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the "New Scots refugee integration strategy intermediary/strategic funding through Equality, Connected Communities and Mainstreaming and Inclu…
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government provided £1.9 million (1,957,987.36) in associated costs to the New Scots refugee integration strategy intermediary/strategic funding through Equality, Connected Communities and Mainstreaming and Inclusion Budgets between July 20…
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants have been dismissed for poor performance in each year since 1999.
Answer · Shona Robison: Following the introduction of a new HR system, data on the number of civil servants dismissed due to poor performance is only available from 2008. Data available prior to this does not specify the reasons for dismissal.The number of civil servants dismissed d…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the updated list of public appointments by public body, which was published on 25 March 2025, is an exhaustive list of all public appointments.
Answer · Shona Robison: The list of public appointments by public body, which was published on 25 March 2025, is an exhaustive list of Ministerial regulated public appointments only. Ministerial regulated public appointments are those governed by the Ethical Standards Commissioner a…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often the full list of public appointments by public bodies is published.
Answer · Shona Robison: The list of public appointments by public body, which was published on 25 March 2025, is an exhaustive list of Ministerial regulated public appointments only. Ministerial regulated public appointments are those governed by the Ethical Standards Commissioner a…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what the political balance should be on (a) quasi-judicial panels and (b) local authority decision-making bodies.
Answer · Shona Robison: Regarding (a), quasi-judicial panels:There are a wide variety of organisations that could be considered quasi-judicial bodies with their own constitutions, legislative underpinnings and governance arrangements. The position in respect of political balance wou…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been supported to pursue (a) certified ethical hacker (CEH) and (b) offensive security certified professional (OSCP) qualifications through Scottish public sector organisations.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold data on cyber security training of staff across the public sector organisations.
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) certified ethical hacker (CEH) and (b) offensive security certified professional (OSCP) qualified members of staff it employs.
Answer · Ivan McKee: There are no staff in the Scottish Government that hold either the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) or Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) qualification.
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place for the reporting of cybersecurity incidents across the public sector.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government has in place a Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents Procedure. This is a voluntary process which encourages Scottish Public Sector bodies to report cyber incidents to the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre. The process als…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what public sector organisations have reported cybersecurity breaches in the last three years.
Answer · Angela Constance: Since 2022, the Scottish Government has been notified of 38 cyber incidents under our Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents Procedure. This is a voluntary notification procedure. The National Cyber Security Centre advises government departments to…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what projections it has made for the period 2025-75 for the overall (a) birth and (b) mortality rates in Scotland.
Answer · Angus Robertson: I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of NRS to respond. Her response is the National Population Projections (NPPs) for Scotland are produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on behalf of National Records of Scotland (NRS). They are based on a…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to bring forward proposals to increase birth rates in Scotland.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Scotland is not alone in experiencing falling birth rates, which is a trend across many high-income countries. This has significant implications for the sustainability of our economies, communities and public services. We want to ensure that Scotland is the i…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-34827 by Neil Gray on 28 February 2025, what plans there are to restart the work on the National Treatment Centre in Livingston.
Answer · Neil Gray: The draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget provides additional investment of £139 million for NHS infrastructure. This provides increased core capital funding for NHS Boards and, as a first step to lifting the capital pause, allows work on the replacement of som…
25 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the original budget for each of the national treatment centres was.
Answer · Neil Gray: The original National Treatment Centre (NTC) programme included 6 centres with an initial cost estimate of £200 million, though budgets were not allocated for individual projects at that point.
24 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of public procurement contracts awarded in the last two years have gone to businesses located outside of Scotland.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Using the supplier registration address information from Public Contracts Scotland, the following table shows the total number of awarded procurement frameworks and contracts over the last two years:Fiscal Year (Apr-Mar)Total Number AwardsOutside Scotland % o…