Parliamentary questions
Stephen Kerr
2,595 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Development Trusts Association Scotland since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) engage with many areas of Scottish Government and this information is not collated centrally. However, core support is provided by the Third Sector Unit who have met with DTAS at various times since May 2021 to d…
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Deloitte since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government does not hold a central record of meetings held with suppliers so is therefore unable to confirm what meetings have been held with Deloitte LLP since May 2021.
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Advice Direct Scotland since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government continues to meet with Advice Direct Scotland on a regular basis. The purpose of these meetings are to discuss the key issues affecting Scottish consumers and agree how we can work together to ensure we are delivering support and advic…
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Central Scotland Regional Equality Council (CSREC) since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Emma Roddick: Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website. The spreadsheets include a wide-range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed. Offic…
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Paul McLennan: Regular informal meetings were held with Places for People Developments and officials in More Homes Division during that period to discuss progress on the Affordable Housing Supply Programme projects they were delivering. In addition, officials in More Hom…
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scottish Ministers and Transport Scotland officials meet regularly with CMAL. This includes Ministerial meetings with the Board and Senior Management Team as well as Transport Scotland participation in a range of CMAL led project working groups.
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Athron Hill Development Company Limited since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government has no records of any meetings held with Athron Hill Development Company Limited since May 2021.
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with An Lanntair since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: An Lanntair are a key stakeholder of our public bodies. The Scottish Government has not met An Lanntair directly during this period, however Highlands and Islands Enterprise hold regular meetings with An Lanntair, normally on a monthly basis, to discuss opera…
28 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the 2050 Climate Group since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: As a key stakeholder for the Scottish Government on Climate Change Policy, officials in the Scottish Government regularly meet with 2050 Climate Group. Ministers have also met with 2050 Climate Group during that period. The Minister for Green Skills, Circula…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost is of the planned repair works at Bute House.
Answer · George Adam: The Scottish Government are in the process of competitively tendering for parts of the Bute House repair schedule and therefore the full cost of the planned repairs has yet to be determined.
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what costs have been associated with the transfer of the use of Bute House from the former First Minister to the new one.
Answer · George Adam: Bute House is the Official Residence of the First Minister. Bute House is Category A listed building and is owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS). There are no costs associated with the transfer of the use of the House between First Ministers: the …
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what briefings it has prepared for the First Minister's induction.
Answer · Shona Robison: The First Minister was briefed on the Ministerial Code; Civil Service Code; Code of Conduct for Special Advisers; guidance on Collective Decision Making; procedures for making a formal complaint about a minister’s or former minister’s behaviour; Scottish Parl…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to increase the number of entries in science subjects at higher level.
Answer · Graeme Dey: At 35.5% of all Higher entries, 2022 Higher entries for STEM subjects have remained similar to previous years, despite fluctuating numbers of entries for individual subjects. Looking beyond National Qualifications in 2022, at SCQF levels 4-6, the proportion o…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the creation of a Scottish Education Exchange Programme, and what the anticipated launch date of the programme is.
Answer · Graeme Dey: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15600 on 16 March 2023. 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-committee…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will remove any restrictions on support for Scottish universities that may result in an artificial cap on the number of Scotland-domiciled students who are able to enrol.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Scottish Universities are autonomous institutions and as such, except for controlled subjects, the Scottish Government and Government Ministers do not set a student cap or direct individual universities on the number of funded places for individual subjects, …
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessments it has undertaken regarding any financial reliance of Scottish universities on international funding.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government along with the Scottish Funding Council work with and engage, on an ongoing basis with a range of stakeholders including Universities Scotland and individual institutions, to monitor and secure the long term sustainability of the secto…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken to determine whether its changes to tax rates have increased or decreased tax revenue.
Answer · Tom Arthur: From the analysis available, evidence shows our reforms have been effective in raising additional revenue for the Scottish Budget. In December 2021 we published a policy evaluation of the Income Tax reforms implemented in 2018-19, showing the policy raised £2…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to respond to reported calls from business to increase the number of modern apprenticeship places to at least 27,000.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Apprenticeships are a vital resource for employers to invest in their workforce and for people to develop their skills. Investing in skills across people’s lifetimes is critical to our future productivity and success, underlining our commitment to a skilled w…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to any concerns expressed by the Education, Children and Young People Committee regarding the impact of financial constraints placed on colleges on their ability to meet their net zero commitments.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) College Infrastructure Strategy: The Approach to Delivering Scotland’s College Infrastructure, published in November 2022, supports the college sector’s ambitions for net zero with the planned production of an Infrastructu…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessments it has undertaken regarding students' experiences in colleges in relation to any reduction in lectures in colleges over the next five financial years.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Student Satisfaction statistics are published on an annual basis. The latest Student Satisfaction statistics published by the SFC show that nine out of 10 (90.2%) full-time students were satisfied with their college experience in 2021-22. This is a positive i…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessments it undertook regarding any removal of funding for college and university counsellors.
Answer · Graeme Dey: No decision has yet been taken regarding funding for counsellors in colleges and universities beyond the end of the current Academic Year.
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress on improving data collection on college student destinations.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Data from Scottish Colleges covering Successful Completions and Destinations are collected and published as National and Official Statistics by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).College Performance Indicators (CPI) – – College Performance Indicators 2020-21…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that support for widening access to colleges and universities is being targeted appropriately across Scotland.
Answer · Graeme Dey: This Government firmly believes that every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education. Funding for widening access to colleges and universities is al…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to colleges to help make them wind and watertight.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government, through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), provides colleges with capital funding for the purpose of college lifecycle costs and backlog maintenance. The 2023-24 budget has increased the college capital budget by over 10%. SFC’s Col…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to colleges and universities to tackle student mental health issues.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We are producing a Student Mental Health Plan, linked to our Suicide Prevention Strategy and the forthcoming Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy to provide a framework for institutional action. We currently support NUS Think Positive which sign-posts help f…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that colleges receive parity of esteem with universities.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government values the tertiary education sector, with each part making a crucial and unique contribution to Scotland. The 2023-24 budget allocates nearly £2 billion to colleges and universities, which continues the trend of a year-on-year increas…
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what quantity of glass materials has been collected for recycling in each year since 2016.
Answer · Lorna Slater: This information is publicly available through the SEPA Waste Discover Data Tool: https://informatics.sepa.org.uk/WasteAllSources/ . Please note, the impact of a cyber attack means there are data gaps covering 2019 and 2020.
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what quantity of aluminium materials has been collected for recycling in each year since 2016.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Information on recycling of metals is publicly available through the SEPA Waste Discover Data Tool: https://informatics.sepa.org.uk/WasteAllSources/ . Please note, the impact of a cyber attack means there are data gaps covering 2019 and 2020.
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what quantity of plastic materials has been collected for recycling in each year since 2016.
Answer · Lorna Slater: This information is publicly available through the SEPA Waste Discover Data Tool: https://informatics.sepa.org.uk/WasteAllSources/ . Please note, the impact of a cyber attack means there are data gaps covering 2019 and 2020.
27 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with glass bottling companies regarding the inclusion of glass in the Deposit Return Scheme, and what the outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Throughout the development of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), all relevant business sectors, including glass producers, were consulted. The Scottish Government continues to engage with industry to ensure that our scheme launches successfully on 1 Marc…