Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-15926

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how data is recorded when, following sentencing, a decision is made that an individual is not allowed to own a dog.

Question reference: S6O-02053

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it produces guidance for local government on how allegations of sexual misconduct against councillors should be handled.

Question reference: S6W-15923

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering introducing legislation to require professional dog walkers to hold a licence.

Question reference: S6W-15924

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 in relation to introducing guidelines that require owners to control their pets in public spaces.

Question reference: S6W-15925

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken to ensure the implementation of Dog Control Notices throughout all local authorities in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-11889

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged:
Current Status: Answered by on

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10940 by Clare Haughey on 22 September 2022, whether it has any plans to provide support for parents who cannot access online platforms, such as Parent Club, to access information and advice regarding parent and child rights in relation to the school starting age, and whether it will have a role in providing any other support for parents to help them understand their legal rights to access automatic deferral funding for early learning and childcare for four-year-olds.

Question reference: S6W-11883

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what funding decisions require to be taken prior to the implementation date of the proposed change that will enable parents to access automatic deferral funding for early learning and childcare for four-year-olds.

Funding decisions relating to Early Learning and Childcare (ELC), which includes implementation of the legislative commitment on deferrals, will be taken through the usual Scottish Government Budget process for 2023-24.

The ELC Finance Working Group, a joint Scottish Government/COSLA group which includes representation from SOLACE, CIPFA Directors of Finance and ADES Resources, plays an important role in informing funding decisions relating to the 1140 programme and deferrals policy.

Question reference: S6W-11884

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-10939, S6W-10940 and S6W-10941 by Clare Haughey on 22 September 2022, whether it has any plans to promote, including through the launch of a national campaign, the proposed change that will enable parents to access automatic deferral funding for early learning and childcare for four-year-olds, prior to the implementation date of 1 August 2023.

Local authorities are responsible for school enrolments in their area, including providing information for parents and carers who may wish to defer their child’s primary school start. We have written to local authorities to encourage them to update the communications they share with parents to reflect the change in legislation. The Scottish Government provides information about deferrals on the Parent Club website .

Question reference: S6W-11888

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, from the implementation date of the proposed change that will enable parents to access automatic deferral funding for early learning and childcare for four-year-olds, what data it expects to receive from local authorities regarding the number of four-year-olds for whom parents have accessed such automatic deferral funding.

There will be an Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) census in September 2023 which, as in previous years, will collect information on the number of deferrals but not on the age of the children. The new individual level child census, due to take place for the first time in May 2024, will collect data on children registered for funded ELC, including the date of birth of the child. At that point it will be possible to identify how many children registered for funded ELC were eligible under the change in legislation on deferrals. Some local authorities already provide funded ELC for deferred children regardless of the child’s birthday, so we will not be able to identify if these children would have been registered for funded ELC if the legislation was not changed.

Question reference: S6W-10941

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 22 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a timeline regarding the proposed change that will enable parents to access automatic deferral funding for early learning and childcare for four-year-olds.

The expansion of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) for deferrals is a legislative commitment. From 1 August 2023, if a parent or carer of a child that is still 4 years old on the date they are eligible to start school defers their entry to school for a year, they can automatically access an additional year of funded early learning and childcare. Details are available on the Scottish Government website: Deferred school entry and eligibility from 1 August 2023 - Early learning and childcare: statutory guidance - July 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Chamber and committees