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 MSPs 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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1105 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-25158

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications it has received for funding from the Scottish Educational Exchange Test and Learn Project, broken down by type of educational institution; of those, how many applied for (a) a one-year grant, (b) additional funds for projects involving cross-sector educational partnerships and (c) the full £25,000 one-year grant, and what the total sum of funding that has been applied for is.

All of the test and learn projects in this phase of the Scottish Educational Exchange Test and Learn pilot were led by Scottish higher education institutions.

(a) 23 applications were submitted

(b) 2 projects applied for additional funding for cross sector projects

(c) 3 projects applied for the full £25,000 (in addition to those who applied for extra cross sector funding. The total amount applied for was £345,093.10

Question reference: S6W-25160

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its new funding model for post-school education provision.

Question reference: S6W-25047

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish a list of all colleges identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) present.

Question reference: S6W-25048

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish a list of all universities identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) present.

Question reference: S6F-02861

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the number of people living in temporary accommodation in Glasgow has increased by 25%.

Question reference: S6W-24944

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning has not met since May 2023.

Since May 2023 discussion and work has been ongoing with regards to refining the workplan for and membership of the Gender Equality Taskforce to ensure that it is able to enact the long term systemic change that is needed. The next meeting of the Gender Equality Taskforce is scheduled for 18 April 2024. Contributory work on preventing and responding to gender-base violence in schools has been taken forward by the short-life Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group, with a framework for schools to be published in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-24945

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it expects the Spring 2024 meeting of the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning to take place.

Question reference: S6W-24946

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21164 by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2023, when the Strategic Board for Teacher Education will report on its study into issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers.

The Strategic Board for Teacher Education has developed a workplan which contains a suite of interdependent workstreams, including workforce planning.

These workstreams contain a range of proposed actions which are in the process of being further developed and which will have individual timescales for reporting to the Board.

The Board last met on 1 February 2024 to discuss the workplan. Papers from this meeting and future meetings will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

Question reference: S6W-25244

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its response to the review of purpose-built student accommodation.

The Scottish Government received 11 recommendations formulated by the Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) Review Group. These are listed below and have been fully accepted by Ministers.

Work is now underway on taking forward the three recommendations that fall specifically to the Scottish Government. We will continue to engage with the sectors regarding delivery of those recommendations that are to be progressed jointly or elsewhere, reconvening the Review Group as part of that recommendation.

Recommendations

1. That the Scottish Government works with partners to develop a Model Terms and Conditions to apply across all PBSA, both institutionally and privately operated.

2. That the Scottish Government consults widely on the scope to legislate on PBSA regulation, specifically in respect of notice periods and cooling off period for PBSA tenants, including identifying what circumstances should apply in such cases and potential impact on investment and rent levels.

3. That Higher Education Institutions work with partners to develop and distribute information packs for student tenants in both institutional and private PBSA properties, outlining the existing routes for progressing complaints and redress, including through the SPSO and the First-Tier Tribunals system. These information packs should contain clear links to regularly updated relevant online content.

4. That the Scottish Government works with partners to scope the development of a Model Complaints Procedure to be adopted across all types of PBSA.

5. That the Scottish Government convenes a national round table discussion with HEIs, private PBSA providers, investors/developers, students, and local authorities, to explore improvements in relation to ensuring the housing needs of students are met.

6. That strategic partnerships be established at local level, involving all those involved in provision / use of student accommodation to consider / address supply issues at local level in the short, medium, and long-term.

7. That the Scottish Government works with partners to identify and address barriers to expanding the supply of affordable accommodation for students through e.g. the repurposing of existing buildings and the utilisation of alternative housing models e.g. housing co-operatives.

8. That the Scottish Government and Higher Education Institutions actively engage with property investors/developers in the private sector to encourage the development of a more diverse range of student accommodation properties, which could meet the needs of families and those on lower incomes.

9. That Higher Education Institutions and providers of private PBSA work more closely together to ensure students get the information they need, including consideration of data sharing agreements.

10. That Higher Education Institutions provide to all tenants residing in University or privately-run PBSA information on student support available through institutions, and how to access this. This should be available in formats other than online, and frontline staff working within all types of PBSA should have ready access to this information in order to provide advice when needed.

11. That the Scottish Government engages with Home Office on the provision of student dependents’ data for international students taking up places at Scottish universities.

Question reference: S6W-25245

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which stakeholders it has engaged with regarding its response to the review of purpose-built student accommodation, and when.

The Purpose Built Student Accommodation Review Steering Group, which comprised representation from the Association of Student Residential Accommodation (ASRA), National Union of Students (NUS), Universities Scotland, College and University Business Managers (CUBO), Scottish Property Federation (SPF), private PBSA providers, individual universities, university student representative organisations and Unipol/National Codes, were fully involved in the formulation of the 11 recommendations which have been fully accepted by Ministers. The answer to question S6W-25244 on 22 February 2024 provides details of the recommendations.

The Review Steering Group will be reconvened to determine how best to take forward those recommendations that are to be progressed jointly with or by partners.

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-committees/written-questions-and-answers .