Meeting of the Parliament

General Questions Jamie Greene S6O-04330 1. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with SEPA regarding how it will address any environmental concerns that arise from new waste incineration sites that have already received approval. Evelyn Tweed S6O-04331 2. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration is being given to increasing community resilience and supporting their ability to respond to storm-related disruption such as power outages. Michael Marra S6O-04332 3. To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to Dundee Heritage Trust to ensure the long-term future of the organisation. Michelle Thomson S6O-04333 4. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local authorities to sustain and expand Gaelic-medium education. Gordon MacDonald S6O-04334 5. To ask the Scottish Government what impact trade barriers have on the Scottish economy. Stuart McMillan S6O-04335 6. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the representations that it has made to the UK Government regarding reimbursements to the public sector in Scotland due to the increase in employer national insurance contributions. Kevin Stewart S6O-04336 7. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the impact that the UK Government’s decision to raise employer national insurance contributions will have on Scottish public services and the economy of Scotland. Christine Grahame S6O-04337 8. To ask the Scottish Government what research it has recently completed into the efficacy and standardisation of the presumption of inclusion in mainstream education. followed by First Minister's Questions Russell Findlay S6F-03801 1. Question to be taken in Chamber. Anas Sarwar S6F-03802 2. Question to be taken in Chamber. Lorna Slater S6F-03803 3. Question to be taken in Chamber. Clare Adamson S6F-03823 4. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent Labour Market Outlook survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development on UK business confidence. Pam Gosal S6F-03808 5. To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s plans to update the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967. Colin Smyth S6F-03814 6. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce the disability employment gap. followed by Members' Business — S6M-16287 Kenneth Gibson: The Ongoing Impact of PFI/PPP on Scotland’s Public Finances That the Parliament believes that the total unitary charge payments associated with Public Private Partnership/Private Finance Initiative (PPP/PFI) contracts that were paid across the public sector in Scotland from 2006-07 to 2022-23 amounted to £14.173 billion; understands that PFI/PPPs are long-term contractual arrangements between a public sector entity and a private sector provider, which were introduced by the Conservative UK administration in 1992 and then expanded by Labour following its 1997 election victory; believes that the total PFI and PPP unitary charge payments to be paid across the public sector in Scotland in 2025-26 will be £1.25 billion, the highest in a single year, with the remaining cost associated with PFI/PPP being £14.699 billion from 2023-24; understands that, by 2038, North Ayrshire Council will have paid £440.1 million for four schools that were built for £83 million; notes that research carried out by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research shows that successive UK administrations have made payments to private companies associated with PFI contracts at, on average, more than three times the cost of construction, with said companies distributing £300 million in dividends to investors from £1 billion in profits between 2005 and 2022; recognises that the scheme was abandoned by the UK Government in 2018, 11 years after being replaced with an alternative model known as non-profit distributing (NPD) by the Scottish Government to limit excessive private sector profits; notes with concern media reports that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, is considering relaunching the PPP funding model frequently used by Tony Blair’s Labour administration; considers PFI/PPP to have had a disastrous impact on Scotland’s public finances, and notes the calls for the UK Government to end what it sees as its obsession with PFI/PPP.