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: S6W-30356

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 29 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29171 by Kaukab Stewart on 3 September 2024, whether it will provide further details of the “restrictions related to legislative competence” that led to the decision to stop work on the proposed, and reportedly widely supported, new public sector equality duty on inclusive communication.

The content of any legal advice is confidential. By long-standing convention, successive Scottish and Westminster Governments have not disclosed the source or content of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.

However, we have sought to provide some further details of the relevant legal background. There are multiple constraints on the ability to legislate in relation to this matter. Firstly, the Scottish Parliament cannot make laws which relate to a reserved matter. The relevant reserved matter is Section L2 of Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 which reserves the subject matter of “Equal opportunities”. A proposed new duty relating to inclusive communications relates to this reserved matter and therefore falls within one of the limited exceptions to this reservation.

Further, in terms of section 29(2)(c) and schedule 4 of the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Parliament cannot make laws which modify the law on reserved matters. The Equality Act 2010 is a law on reserved matters and as such a new duty related to inclusive communications cannot modify any provision of it. Lastly, the enabling power for a new duty was limited to the following (as per section 153 of the Equality Act 2010): regulations which have the purpose of enabling the better performance of listed authorities of their public sector equality duty.

Question reference: S6W-30355

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 29 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29171 by Kaukab Stewart on 3 September 2024, how it plans to monitor the use of inclusive communication guidance, tools and resources and the impact of powers under Regulation 11 of the Scottish Specific Duties on listed public authorities.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of accountability and seeks to ensure that it is built into everything that we do. Regarding monitoring arrangements, the responsibility for oversight of compliance with the Equality Act 2010, including compliance with the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 including Regulation 11, rests with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which has issued guidance on how the Regulations should be applied in practice.

Question reference: S6W-30353

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 29 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its commitments on inclusive communication, what alternative legislation or regulations were considered beyond any restrictions identified under the Equality Act 2010, and what the reasons were for any such alternative routes not being pursued.

Our commitment relating to inclusive communication was part of our work considering improvements to the operation of the Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”) in Scotland, which is contained in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Government has limited competence to legislate in relation to equal opportunities including the PSED.

In relation to supporting public authorities to better comply with the PSED, the only available legislation making power Scottish Ministers have is to impose specific duties under the Equality Act 2010, therefore no other alternative legislative route is available.

Question reference: S6O-03871

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S6O-03839

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work on inclusive communication.

Question reference: S6W-29611

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on issuing pupils with free laptops and digital devices, and what evaluation it has carried out of the impact of this policy on the educational performance of the pupils who have received these devices.

Question reference: S6W-29693

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its reported cessation of all “non-essential” advertising for the remainder of the financial year, what advertising it considers to be “essential”.

Question reference: S6W-29612

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it has allocated to and (b) has been spent by the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund, and whether its commitment to invest £500 million in the fund by the end of the current parliamentary session remains its position.

The Scottish Government remains committed to investing £500m in Whole Family Wellbeing to improve holistic family support so that families get the right support, in the right way and at the right time.

Since 2022 over £110m of Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) was invested by the Scottish Government to deliver a transformational change in holistic family support so that families get the right support, in the right way and at the right time. The funding was distributed as follows:

•£96m provided for Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) (Element 1) to build local service capacity for change and to transform family support services.

•£1.6m National Support for Local Delivery(Element 2), includes a package of activity aimed at supporting local transformation. This part of the funding also supports the wider evaluation and research work for WFWF.

•£13.1m for taking a cross Scottish Government approach to system change(Element 3) which is supporting 12 projects across Scottish Government policy areas to help progress the aims of the Programme.

Question reference: S6W-29546

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out its working definition of austerity.

Austerity measures are those which take forward a definite policy of reducing public spending on programmes and activity irrespective of the impact on the outcomes of those programmes and activity.

For example, the Labour UK Government’s severe restriction on the Winter Fuel Payment, and its consequent impact of reducing the budget for these programmes in Scotland by up to £160m, is a clear implementation of Westminster austerity.

This has followed Scotland long being subject to the austerity policies of the Conservative UK Government. In the face of this, the Scottish Government has stepped in to support people and services where it has been needed most – on social security, health, public sector pay, and public services – and has used all levers at its disposal to do so and mitigate the impact of Westminster austerity in Scotland. This includes an around £1.5 billion in 2024-25 from Scotland’s progressive Income Tax policy.

The new Labour UK Government’s commitment to the same debt rule as the previous government was always going to entail a similar fiscal constraint, and the UK Government is now pursuing policies that appear to be a continuation of Conservative austerity. Further spending cuts and austerity by the new UK Government will impact on the funding available for the budget here in Scotland.

Question reference: S6T-02092

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Commonwealth Games potentially being hosted in Glasgow in 2026.