Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-23573

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the social security experience panels research on seldom-heard groups did not take place as planned in 2018-19.

Question reference: S5W-23572

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what social security experience panel projects have been planned for April 2019 to March 2020, and whether it will publish an updated research plan.

Question reference: S5W-23454

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-22836 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 May 2019, how many recipients of Carer's Allowance have had (a) recovery action and (b) criminal proceedings taken against them as a result of having had overpayments going undetected because of reduced compliance checks.

Under section 10 of the Carer’s Allowance Agency Agreement:

DWP will not create new management information reports that detail performance specifically for customers resident in Scotland.

Management information will only be supplied showing performance, at a Great Britain level, of delivering the functions discharged on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. (DWP will not supply data specific to Scotland unless it is currently available and easy to access)

The information requested is not currently produced by the DWP.

The agency agreement can be found at:

Question reference: S5W-23667

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-23317

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with the private and third sectors to report on their disability pay gap.

As employment law is currently reserved, the Scottish Government cannot oblige employers in the third and private sector to report their disability pay gaps. However, the Scottish Government is committed to working with stakeholders to deliver improvements in equality. In December last year, we published ‘A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan’ , which, among other things, sets out our ambition to work with employers to support them in recruiting and retaining disabled people. The plan was developed in close collaboration with disabled people’s organisations, and the third sector.

The plan also commits the Scottish Government to showing leadership in this issue, that is why this year we will publish a Recruitment and Retention plan, setting out the actions we will take as an employer to support disabled people in the workplace. Upon publication, we will share learning from this experience to encourage other organisations to follow our example.

Question reference: S5W-23331

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the disability pay gap of (a) it and its agencies and (b) the (i) third and (ii) private sectors.

The Scottish Government measures the disability pay gap of its own workforce and that of the agencies for which it holds relevant information, by analysing payroll data. Analysis of the disability pay gap is dependent on the voluntary declaration of disability, or non-disability by employees. Employees that do check ‘Prefer not to say’ are excluded from the pay gap calculation, as are those who have not made any declaration.

The Scottish Government does not directly measure the disability pay gap of the third and private sector. However, we can estimate the median disability pay gap using Annual Population Survey data. The disability pay gap represents the difference between disabled and non-disabled full-time hourly earnings, expressed as a percentage of non-disabled full-time hourly earnings.

Question reference: S5W-23316

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the disability pay gap is in (a) the Scottish Government, (b) its agencies, (c) NHS boards and (d) all other public bodies, broken down by public body.

Table 1 shows the mean and median disability pay gap for a) Scottish Government core and b) the agencies for which it holds pay data. Data for the Scottish Housing Regulator, the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and Revenue Scotland has been withheld, due to the small number of staff within these organisations that have self-declared a disability, and the challenges that this would represent in preserving anonymity for those who have self-declared a disability.

For the purposes of this table, pay includes both salary and on-going allowances such as pay supplements, but does not include overtime. Part-time staff are reckoned at their full-time equivalent salary.

Table 1

Disability Pay Gap as at 31 Dec 2018		Pay Gap
		Mean	Median
SG Core	SG Core	14.23%	12.56%
Executive Agency	Accountant in Bankruptcy	11.40%	7.11%
	Disclosure Scotland	17.93%	21.88%
	Education Scotland	14.97%	33.88%
	Student Awards Agency for Scotland	19.67%	8.14%
	Scottish Public Pensions Agency	-4.13%	10.21%
	Social Security Scotland	20.76%	25.81%
	Transport Scotland	10.51%	17.89%
Non-ministerial offices	Food Standards Scotland	7.72%	13.18%
Non-ministerial offices	National Records Scotland	4.25%	12.69%

The Scottish Government does not hold relevant payroll data relating to: b) agencies, other than those which are outlined above; c) NHS boards; or d) all other public bodies. A list of public bodies, and their contact details, are available at:

Question reference: S5W-23534

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23072 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 May 2019, what the latest date a decision must be made by the programme to (a) extend the contract with IBM and (b) make arrangements for alternative procurement to begin.

Question reference: S5W-23503

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answers to questions S5W-23030, S5W-23031, S5W-23032, S5W-23033 and S5W-23034 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019, whether it will abide by the principle of non-regression when formulating the entitlement rules for disability assistance.

Question reference: S5W-23497

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) caseload and (b) financial cost modelling it has conducted regarding the replacement of the 20-metre rule in disability assistance for working age people, and whether this modelling has been shared with experience panels and stakeholders.

The analysis of responses to the Disability Assistance consultation will be used to inform our approach to assessing mobility for Disability Assistance for Working Age People. Any modelling required will be carried out at the appropriate time in order to assist in the policy development process. The Scottish Government is committed to co-designing our Disability Assistance provision with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations.