Liam Kerr

30 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21980 by Graeme Dey on 31 October 2023, whether it has concluded and published the findings of the Student Finance and Wellbeing Study, and, if not, when it will do so.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Social Research Report on the findings from the Student Finance and Wellbeing Study is currently being finalised and will be published on the Scottish Government website later this year.

29 Sep 2024 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that pensioners can afford to heat their homes this winter.

19 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the regeneration capital grant fund for the community element of the Victoria Road School project in Torry has been allowed to roll over into 2024-25.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The remaining Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) allocation for the community element of the Victoria Road School project has been reprofiled into 2024-2025. Confirmation on whether the project will be progressed in 2024-2025 is awaited from Aberdeen City…

18 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out how it measures economic growth, including what metrics it uses to assess success in economic growth. 

16 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28938 by Fiona Hyslop on 9 September 2024, whether its restatement of the position is confirmation that it has not made an assessment of the scope of the role of Transport Scotland, including any duplication of (a) responsibility and (b) funding in …

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland considered carefully the respective roles of ScotRail Trains, Scottish Rail Holdings and Transport Scotland when establishing the appropriate arrangements under the requirements of the current flawed UK rail legislation.An important conside…

16 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly removed funding for upskilling and reskilling Scotland's workforce in its Budget 2024-25; what assessment it has undertaken of any impact of this on (a) equalities and (b) the future economy, and whether it has any plans to reintroduce any such funding in th…

Answer · Graeme Dey: Despite facing the most challenging fiscal position since devolution, the 2024-25 Budget allocates around £2bn to both colleges and universities – supporting their delivery of high-quality education, training and research.In this challenging fisca…

3 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the return has been on any anticipated community, biodiversity and environmental outcomes resulting from the £17.6 million public purchase of Glen Prosen by Forestry and Land Scotland.

29 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement on 28 August 2024 of £2.6 million being provided to Sistema Scotland, when that funding will be provided to Sistema Scotland; whether the funding will be provided in full or in tranches, and whether the Scottish Government will decide how the funding wi…

Answer · Angus Robertson: As with any grant agreement, in providing funds to Sistema Scotland, the Scottish Government and Sistema Scotland agree how funds will be used and when payments will be made. In 2024-25 the Scottish Government will provide £2.6m to Sistema Scotland from…

29 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs there have been in the hospitality sector in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), is the preferred source for jobs estimates for industry sectors. The latest available BRES jobs estimates are for 2022 with consistent time series availa…

29 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue has been received through non-domestic rates from the hospitality sector in each year since 1999.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Non-domestic rates are administered by local councils, and the Scottish Government does not routinely hold information on the amounts actually paid by individual businesses or properties. However, we are able to estimate the amounts some property types would …

29 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on how many job vacancies there have been in the hospitality sector in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of job vacancies by sector.However, the Scottish Government monitors vacancies in the hospitality sector using data and intelligence from a number of sources including the Business Insights and Conditio…

29 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what economic assessment it has made of the recovery of the hospitality sector since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Latest data shows that both output and employment in the hospitality sector are above pre-pandemic levels. However, the sector continues to face challenges related to rising costs, squeezed household budgets and staff shortages. Whilst cost rises and recruitm…

29 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds in relation to the gender pay gap within the hospitality sector.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Estimates of the gender pay gap for full-time employees in the accommodation and food services sector in Scotland are published in Table 2.5 of the Scottish Government’s summary of earnings statistics from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings: An…

29 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what the median hourly pay in the hospitality sector has been in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government monitors pay in the hospitality sector using data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (table 5.6a) published by the Office for National Statistics. This data is available at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peo…

29 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the gross value added (GVA) by the hospitality sector to the economy has been in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Statistics on gross value added (GVA) by industry are published in the Quarterly National Accounts for Scotland, covering periods from 1998 onwards. The latest estimates of current price GVA for the accommodation and food services sector can be found in Table…

28 Aug 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to local authorities whose housing stock and former housing stock requires demolition and rebuilding due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

2 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the scope of the role of Transport Scotland, including any duplication of (a) responsibility and (b) funding in the period (i) before and (ii) after the new structures were put in place regarding the nationalisation of ScotRail.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: ScotRail was brought into the public sector under Scottish Government control.Transport Scotland carries out, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, the role of the Franchising Authority. ScotRail Trains Limited (SRT) is a train operating company who provides certa…

2 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has consented to Transport Scotland issuing a notice for the procurement of new rolling stock for ScotRail, and, if it is not the case, when it expects to do so.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland is not the procuring authority for new rolling stock for Scotrail therefore it would not be the party issuing procurement notices for rolling stock procurement.

2 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic value of a new train fleet procurement programme for ScotRail.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Business cases for new train fleets for ScotRail are undertaken by ScotRail on a fleet by fleet basis as necessitated by renewal requirements. Such business cases include analysis of the socio-economic case for renewal.

29 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) will be granted taught degree awarding power through secondary legislation, and, if so, within what timeframe.

Answer · Graeme Dey: An Order granting SRUC taught degree awarding powers was made by the Privy Council on 29 August, and was laid in the Scottish Parliament on 2 September 2024. Once the parliamentary process is complete, the Order will come into force on 14 October 2024.

29 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will grant Scotland’s Rural College taught degree awarding powers through secondary legislation for its veterinary training programme, and, if so, when.

Answer · Graeme Dey: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28810 on 3 September 2024. 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-Closeco…

15 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27078 Natalie Don on 9 May 2024, in which it indicated its expectation that data on the scale, uptake and delivery models of breakfast provision across Scotland, both at local authority and schools' level, would be submitted to the Scottish Governme…

Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government has been working with AssistFM and Improvement Service to map existing breakfast provision across Scotland, including a survey to all primary and special schools to understand the scale and uptake of provision. A report with the findi…

4 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills held, between 1 April and 22 May 2024, to discuss its action plan on behaviour in schools, and what the outcomes were of any such meetings.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Between 1 April and 22 May 2024 I held four meetings to discuss the relationships and behaviour action plan: ? Two meetings with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) on 16 April 2024 and 15 May 2024, the minutes of…

4 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills held, between 1 April and 22 May 2024, to discuss its guidance on mobile phones in schools, and what the outcomes were of any such meetings.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Between 1 April and 22 May 2024 I held three meetings to discuss the revised guidance on use of mobiles phones in schools: ? Two meetings with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) on 16 April 2024 and 15 May 2024. …

4 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it had (a) completed all the work required to produce and (b) finalised a draft response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment, prior to the commencement of the purdah period for the 2024 General Election.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government was at the final stage of completing the work required to publish a response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment when the need to consider whether or not it could be published during the pre-election period arose…

4 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it had (a) completed all the work required to produce and (b) finalised its guidance on mobile phones in schools, prior to the commencement of the purdah period for the 2024 General Election.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The revised guidance on use of mobile phones in schools was fully drafted and had been agreed by the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) prior to publication. The document was in the process of completing final due dil…

4 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills held, between 1 April and 22 May 2024, to discuss the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment, and what the outcomes were of any such meetings.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As part of routine government business, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills met with officials between 1 April and 22 May 2024. The Scottish Government response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment was discussed and refinement…

4 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it had (a) completed all the work required to produce and (b) finalised a draft action plan on behaviour in schools, prior to the commencement of the purdah period for the 2024 General Election.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The relationships and behaviour action plan had been agreed by the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) at its meeting on 15 May 2024, subject to some identified drafting changes. The guidance was in the process of bein…

4 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish its response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government will publish its response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment as soon as practically possible in the new school year.

4 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in what way any technological and connectivity restrictions have impacted its ability to deliver its planned national digital academy.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Scottish Government and Education Scotland have been working with stakeholders to determine the potential shape of a National Digital Academy. I am advised that this development work has not been affected by technological or connectivity restrictions.