Willie Rennie

17 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on safety improvements at the A9 Dunkeld junction.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Road safety is of paramount importance to the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland assesses the safety performance of the trunk road network on an annual basis. The trunk road safety annual assessment process is a robust, evidence-based approach which ensu…

17 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many agricultural support payments for which the applications have been approved in previous financial years are still to be paid out.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: There are no payments outstanding for applications approved in previous financial years.

17 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support vocational courses offered by Perth College that provide training in skills which support the rural economy.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the current and future skills needs of the rural economy. We are integrating consideration of skills for rural Scotland into mainstream skills policy development and delivery, including the Post School Educat…

17 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools (a) have closed between 2007 and 2025 and (b) are currently at risk of closure in the (i) North East Scotland and (ii) Highlands and Islands region.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: a) In 2007 there were 299 schools open with pupils on the roll in North East Scotland. In 2024 there were 278, a reduction of 21 schools. In 2007 there were 434 schools open with pupils on the roll in the Highlands and Islands. In 2024 there were 366, a reduc…

17 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many subject-specific secondary school teaching posts are currently filled by non-specialist teachers in each local authority area.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The recruitment and deployment of teachers in schools is a matter for individual Councils, who have a statutory responsibility to provide a complement of staff in schools which best meets the needs of each of their schools and pupils.It is important that loca…

17 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many teaching posts are currently vacant in each local authority area.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of vacant teaching posts.Current teacher vacancy information is available from individual local authorities, who have responsibility for the recruitment and employment of teachers.Live vacancies …

17 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many units of affordable housing have been constructed in the (a) Stirling, (b) Fife, (c) Perth and Kinross and (d) Clackmannanshire local authority areas in each year since 2015, and how many were delivered compared with local delivery plans.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Statistics relating to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) by local authority are published quarterly on the Scottish Government website. These figures relate to the number of approvals, site starts, and completions of social and affordable homes, …

10 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Teachers’ Side of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers has reportedly not received a response from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to its proposal regarding teacher class contact time, which was tabled at the committee on 18 September 2…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is represented at all meetings of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) by nominated government officials. Scottish Ministers do not sit on SNCT committees or sub groups and do not respond directly to tabled papers for…

10 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to any potential risk of industrial action by teachers over the issue of the reduction of teacher class contact time, in light of reported statutory ballots being undertaken by the EIS and another teaching union.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We remain committed to working with COSLA and the teacher unions to make meaningful progress towards the implementation of the reduction as swiftly as possible.While we respect union members’ right to withdraw their labour, we are disappointed that the …

10 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2021 manifesto commitment to reduce teacher class contact time to a maximum of 21 hours per week, whether it will provide an update on the work of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers Reduced Time Contact Time working group to i…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The 2021 SNP manifesto included a commitment to give teachers more time out of the classroom to prepare lessons, undertake professional development and tackle the challenges of closing the attainment gap.The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering…

6 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether an updated status was confirmed for all 512high-rise buildings with known cladding by the end of October 2025, as set outin the Cladding Remediation Programme: Next Phase Plan of Action.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: We are currently assessing the outcomes of the cladding remediation information and assurance exercises, as described in the Next Phase Plan of Action, and will be sharing this with Parliament shortly.

6 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Developer Remediation Contract.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41723 on 24 November 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…

6 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many developers signed (a) its previous "in principle" agreement regarding the removal of unsafe cladding and (b) the Developer Remediation Contract by the deadline of 31 October 2025, as set out in the Cladding Remediation Programme: Next Phase Plan of Action.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Information on which developers signed the Developer Commitment Letter can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-safer-buildings-accord-developer-commitment-letter/pages/list-of-developers/It was these developers who were invited to sign o…

31 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the costs of illicit drug use since the publication in 2009 of its report, Assessing the scale and impact of illicit drug markets in Scotland, and what comparable research it has produced or commissioned since the publication.

Answer · Angela Constance: No further assessment of the cost of illicit drug use has been made by the Scottish Government since this report was published in 2009, nor has comparable research been produced or commissioned. However, the harms of problem drug use are clear and well eviden…

30 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30681 by Paul McLennan on 8 November 2024, how many live homeless applications there were in each local authority area on Christmas Day in 2024, and how many (a) adults and (b) children these related to.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The following table gives the number of live homelessness applications at 25 December 2024 for each local authority, along with the number of adults and children these applications refer to.Live homelessness applications, refer to applications that have a rec…

2 Oct 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established remediation pathways for all buildings over 18m that were included in the High Rise Inventory and highlighted through other data sources, as set out in the Cladding Remediation Programme: Next Phase Plan of Action, and how many such buildings required direct in…

Answer · Mairi McAllan: We have made substantial progress in establishing remediation pathways for buildings over 18 metres in height that were included in the High-Rise Inventory and highlighted through other data sources, irrespective of tenure.We continue to work closely with par…

24 Sep 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will change the college and university funding frameworks to reflect the hybrid nature of Scotland's Rural College, which has both higher and further education provision.

22 Sep 2025 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendation made by the Commission on School Reform report, Behaviour in Schools, that teachers should be able to suspend or exclude pupils who exhibit persistent behaviour issues.

17 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what further evaluation it is carrying out of the 1,140 hours early learning childcare expansion, and by what date any reports regarding this work will be published.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Working with our Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group, we published our Evaluation Strategy on the impacts of the 1140 expansion on outcomes for children, parents and families over the 2018-2025 period in October 2022.The Scottish Study of Early Learning a…

16 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the University of Aberdeen is considering suspending the student intake for its Diploma in Dental Technology programme for (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27.

Answer · Jenni Minto: While we are disappointed about the University of Aberdeen’s decision to pause the student intake for their dental technology programme in 2025-26 and 2026-27, the Scottish Government remains committed to the provision of dental technology training in S…

8 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40340 by FionaHyslop on 5 September 2025, whether it plans for battery-electric trainsprocured for routes in Fife to be used in the operation of services in theNorth East Fife constituency.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The battery-electric trains that will be procured for Fife, which will replace the current ScotRail diesel fleet that operates on Fife Circle services, will be deployed on services operating within the North East Fife constituency.

2 Sep 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the University of Dundee and the Scottish Funding Council regarding the university’s financial situation.

1 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Single Building Assessments relating to all of the buildings identified as having (a) high pressure laminate (HPL) (96) and (b) aluminium composite material (ACM) (48) as part of their external wall system were commissioned on or before 1 September 2025, as indicated in its Cladd…

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Substantial progress has been made by building owners in taking forward the commissioning of Single Building Assessments for these buildings, making use of the financial support available from the Scottish Government. In a small number of cases where building…

1 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it completed its information-gathering exercise to verify the cladding status of buildings between 11 and 18 metres in height by the end of August 2025.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: There has been a strong response to our information-gathering exercise on social housing. This is allowing us to work with partners to determine, drive and prioritise the necessary action on assessment and mitigation, on which the Scottish Government is offer…

1 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether all priority Single Building Assessments via its assessment process were completed and returned by the end of August 2025.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: All of the Single Building Assessments directly commissioned by the Scottish Government were returned by 31 August. A minority of these have yet to complete the final peer review stage of the process; this is expected to be concluded for all by 19 September.

26 Aug 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with GFG Alliance, Liberty Steel and Alvance British Aluminium regarding the companies’ operations in Scotland.

29 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend its Cladding Remediation Programme Single Open Call beyond 30 September 2025.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Single Open Call (SOC) has been incredibly successful in identifying buildings at risk within the Single Building Assessment (SBA) specification, with over 600 buildings, as of 30 June 2025, being identified for review. As confirmed in the Cladding Remedi…

29 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 600 expressions of interest, which its Cladding Remediation Programme has received via the Single Open Call, relate to buildings that it was already aware may need an assessment or remedial work, broken down by the type of applicant.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Information on the number of expressions of interest submitted to the Cladding Remediation Programme via the Single Open Call by applicant type is now published quarterly on the Scottish Government website: An Official Statistics in Development publication - …

15 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the information provided in response to Freedom of Information request 202500455118, whether it has received the evidence and further information that it required from GFG Alliance on its global refinancing, and, if not, when it anticipates that it will receive this evidence …

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government engages with the GFG Alliance at group level and local level on a regular basis to remain informed on the progress of their ongoing refinancing.

15 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the information provided in response to Freedom of Information request 202500455118, whether GFG Alliance secured finance following the "critical date" of 5 November 2024.

Answer · Ivan McKee: It is well known that GFG Alliance continues to progress its global refinancing despite challenging market conditions.