Parliamentary questions
Craig Hoy
1,298 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to national challenge competitions in the current parliamentary session to date, and how much it plans to allocate by the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Kate Forbes: While the term National Challenge Competition is very broad, there are a range of policy initiatives which publicly seek new ideas and/or issue funding on a competitive basis. Funds and initiatives of this kind exist across the Scottish Government and it is t…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to the Women’s Business Centre in the current parliamentary session to date, and how much it plans to provide by the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government is committed to advancing women’s entrepreneurship and fostering an inclusive business environment, through implementation of the recommendations of the Pathways report on women in entrepreneurship, which consulted extensively to…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to businesses to enable them to pilot a four-day week in the current parliamentary session to date, and how much it estimates it will have provided in total by the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Tom Arthur: No funding has been provided to any private business this parliamentary session to pilot a 4 day working week and there is currently no planned funding for Private Sector Pilots. The Scottish Government recognises the environmental, health and wellbeing benef…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it (a) spent in Session 5, (b) has spent in the current parliamentary session to date and (c) estimates it will spend in Session 6 on (i) supporting new jobs and (ii) reskilling people for the jobs of the future.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We are unable to provide specific information on expenditure that exclusively supported new jobs. Successive budgets within the current parliamentary session have prioritised expenditure to support economic growth, including business growth and the jobs they …
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it has adjusted income tax rates and bands since the start of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Shona Robison: Please see the following table setting out changes to Scottish Income Tax since the start of this parliamentary session.Table 1: Scottish Income Tax Policy: Income Tax Rates and Bands, 2021-22 – 2023-24 2021-222022-232023-24Band NameIncome RangeRat…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to the Scottish National Investment Bank in the current parliamentary session to date, and how much it estimates it will have provided by the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Audit Scotland published a report on the Scottish National Investment Bank’s performance on Thursday 15 May (Scottish National Investment Bank | Audit Scotland). Page 16 details the Capital and Resource allocations by year since the Bank was launched in…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on infrastructure in the current parliamentary session to date, and how much it estimates it will have spent by the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Shona Robison: Over the current parliamentary term, we estimate that the total spend through the capital budget will be £31.1 billion. This is based on the latest figures available. The following table sets this out in detail.Table 1: Total capital spending between 20…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established a green jobs fund; if so, how much it has allocated to it, and which projects it will invest in, and, if not, whether it plans to do so.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: As part of the 2020-21 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government introduced the Green Jobs Fund, an investment of up to £100 million aimed at supporting new and increased opportunities for green job creation across Scotland.The Green Jobs Fund s…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to its Young Person’s Guarantee policy; whether it is tracking progress on this policy, and what its success conditions are for this objective.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Young Person’s Guarantee last and final update report was published in March 2023 and outlines the outcomes and opportunities provided by the funding from the Young Person’s Guarantee.A joint implementation evaluation of No one Left Behind and…
6 May 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with the Lord Advocate regarding the costs of defending unsuccessful legal cases in the Supreme Court.
1 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any engagement with the Bank of England regarding support to train and recruit more economics teachers in Scottish schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government has not had any engagement with the Bank of England, regarding support to train and recruit more economics teachers in Scottish schools.We are aware of the Bank of England’s new jointly funded initiative with the University of Ma…
1 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent economics teachers there are in each local authority area.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Data on full-time equivalent (FTE) secondary teachers by main subject taught and Local Authority is available in the Teacher Census Supplementary Statistics, here:https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/
1 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) state and (b) grant-funded schools offer Economics at (i) National 4, (ii) National 5, (iii) Higher and (iv) Advanced Higher level.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: This information is not held centrally. Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, education is the responsibility of local authorities.The Scottish Government does hold information on entries to courses and qualifications. This is not necessarily the same as t…
1 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of confiscation of illegal vapes from trading premises took place in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
1 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total value was of illegal vapes confiscated by Police Scotland or trading standard officers in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
1 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued in relation to the (a) enforcement of confiscation and (b) prosecution of the sale of illegal vapes.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government have not issued any guidance in relation to enforcement or prosecution of the sale of illegal vapes.Any guidance in relation to prosecution of these matters would be entirely a matter for the Lord Advocate, in her independent role as h…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what quantitative economic targets it has.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37351 on 14 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/w…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what economic objectives and targets it has adopted or discarded since 2015.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37351 on 14 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/w…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to measure its progress against any economic objectives for which it has not specified a timeline or quantitative target.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37351 on 14 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/w…
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a complete list of its economic objectives.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The National Strategy for Economic Transformation (2022-2032) outlines the Scottish Government’s vision for fair green growth underpinned by six economic objectives.The strategy is supported by a measurement framework. Reports on progress are available …
30 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it measures progress against its economic objectives.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37351 on 14 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/w…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered amending the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 to make provision for means testing whether an additional charge for second homes should be applied.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37192 on 9 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…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 has had on housing supply in areas where an additional council tax levy is applied.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37192 on 9 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…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to conduct a review of the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023, which came into effect on 1 April 2024, provide local authorities with discretionary powers to apply a Council Tax premium of up to 100% on second homes.Council Tax is…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what representation it has made to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and the UK Government regarding (a) reported long delays for practical driving test appointments in Scotland and (b) reports that third party resellers are using bot-based…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: My officials met with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), an agency of the UK Government, on 5 February 2025. Topics discussed included actions being taken to alleviate driving test waiting times and issues surrounding the use of bots to book and …
22 Apr 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the implementation of its Green Industrial Strategy, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the introduction of extended producer responsibility.
3 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the system of temporary traffic regulation orders.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) formed part of the general TRO process review that was carried out in 2021. This review indicated that local authorities were content with the TTRO process already in place.However, Transport Scotland continues to m…
3 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the operation of temporary traffic regulation orders.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the system of Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) remains effective and responsive to the needs of local communities and road users. A review of the TRO process was undertaken by Transport Scotland…
3 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the operation of traffic regulation orders.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government reviewed the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process in 2021, working with key stakeholders. The review concluded that, while the process is generally effective, improvements could be made, particularly in relation to Experimental Traff…
3 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the system of traffic regulation orders.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government reviewed the effectiveness of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process in 2021, engaging with key stakeholders including all local authorities. The review found that, overall, local authorities were satisfied with the system but high…