Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-21832

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with universities to understand the costs associated with transitioning to net zero.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) regularly engage with universities on a wide range of issues, such as budgets and priorities for the future, including Net Zero.

Published in November 2022, SFC’s ‘Net Zero and Sustainability Framework for Action’ establishes a clear, long-term plan to support Scotland’s colleges and universities through the transition to Net Zero, reflecting improved corporate accountability and collective responsibility across the Further and Higher Education sector.

The plan sets out a clear timeline of actions which aim to embed net zero and sustainability across all aspects of the sector which you can find more information about here: Net Zero response (sfc.ac.uk)

Question reference: S6W-21833

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the costs associated with colleges transitioning to net zero.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) engage regularly with colleges, which, are key anchors for the transition to Net Zero, acting as both community enablers and demonstration hubs in cities and regions.

Published in November 2022, SFC’s ‘Net Zero and Sustainability Framework for Action’ establishes a clear, long-term plan to support Scotland’s colleges and universities through the transition to Net Zero, reflecting improved corporate accountability and collective responsibility across the Further and Higher Education sector.

The plan sets out a clear timeline of actions which aim to embed net zero and sustainability across all aspects of the sector which you can find more information about here: https://www.sfc.ac.uk/net-zero/net-zero-reponse.aspx .

Question reference: S6W-21821

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities on offering temporary contracts to newly qualified teachers (NQTs).

The Scottish Government does not provide guidance to local authorities on offering temporary contracts to newly qualified teachers, as the recruitment and employment of teachers including recruitment practices are matters for individual councils.

All newly qualified teachers in Scotland must complete a period of probationary service to show that they meet the standards for full registration. Meeting this standard means that they can take on the demands and responsibilities of teaching.

Newly qualified teachers are not provided with 'temporary' contracts - they are provided with a probationary contract to ensure they complete the required training. This can be completed via the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) or via the Flexible Route and is financially supported by the Sottish Government.

We are supporting councils with an additional £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers, which provides assurance of funding and removes this as a barrier to employing staff on permanent contracts.

Question reference: S6W-21813

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it plans to publish its new guidance on school uniforms.

Question reference: S6O-02675

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy, following its statement of intent on 28 September.

Question reference: S6W-21835

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its working groups are currently under the remit of its Education and Skills portfolio.

The following working groups sit under the remit of the Education and Skills portfolio:

National Response to Improving Mathematics in Scotland Short Life Working Group

National Response to Improving Literacy in Scotland Short Life Working Group

NIF Statutory Guidance Working group

National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy External Strategic Working Group

Scottish Government Cross-policy Working Group on Transitions

Improvement and Regulation Working Group

Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Working Group

Short Life Working Group on Data Sharing in Relation to Student Sexual Misconduct

Access Data Short-Life Working Group

Short Life Working Group on the Scope of the Accreditation and Regulation Function for the New Qualifications Body

Short Life Working Group on Economic and Social Opportunities for Gaelic

Question reference: S6W-21857

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of any recent discussions with key partners in the social care sector regarding (a) the introduction of a power for ministers to regulate secure transport, (b) the role of the Care Inspectorate in the registration, regulation and inspection of secure transport provision and (c) formal reporting and monitoring requirements for incidents that occur during secure transport journeys.

As outlined in my letter of 6 September secure transport is a complex and long-standing issue. Initial discussions have taken place with key partners to consider the registration, regulation and inspection of secure transport provision, most recently on 2 October. Those discussions are on-going and I hope to be able to update Parliament further during the forthcoming stages of consideration of the Children (Care and Justice) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-21783

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to promoting the Young Person's Guarantee among employability staff since it was launched.

Question reference: S6W-21805

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18146 by Graeme Dey on 6 June 2023, when it expects to receive formal responses from all partners in the collective bargaining progress in relation to the recommendations of the lessons learned report.

Question reference: S6W-21806

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have met the expected level of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy in each of the past 10 years at each stage of assessment.

Information on the proportion of P1, P4, P7 and S3 children achieving the expected Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels in literacy and numeracy is available from 2016-17 from Table 1 of the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) publication which can be found on the Scottish Government website: www.gov.scot/publications/achievement-curriculum-excellence-cfe-levels-2021-22/

Between 2011 and 2016 the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) was used to monitor national performance of school children at P4, P7 and S2 in literacy and numeracy in alternate years. The SSLN provided information on reading, writing and listening & talking individually but not for literacy as a whole. Reading, Writing and Listening & Talking data for 2014 and 2016 can be found in table 1 and Numeracy data for 2013 and 2015 is in table 2.

The data collected via the SSLN differed from that collected via ACEL. The SSLN reported on the proportion of pupils "performing well or very well" at the relevant CfE level. Data was collected through a sample survey rather than for all pupils and was based on the results of assessments completed by participating students as opposed to being based on teacher professional judgements, as is the case for ACEL. As a result SSLN results are not directly comparable with ACEL results.

Table 1: Proportion of pupils performing well or very well in Reading, Writing and Listening & Talking, 2014 and 2016

Stage	Organiser	2014		2016
Stage	Organiser	Percentage of pupils	Confidence interval 95%	Percentage of pupils	Confidence interval 95%
P4	Reading	78	(76 , 80)	77	(75 , 79)
P7	Reading	88	(87 , 90)	88	(86 , 89)
S2	Reading	80	(78 , 82)	82	(81 , 84)
P4	Writing	64	(62 , 66)	62	(60 , 64)
P7	Writing	68	(66 , 69)	65	(62 , 67)
S2	Writing	55	(53 , 57)	49	(47 , 51)
P4	Listening & Talking	59	(56 , 62)	60	(57 , 64)
P7	Listening & Talking	66	(63 , 69)	67	(64 , 70)
S2	Listening & Talking	52	(49 , 55)	49	(47 , 52)

Table 2: Proportion of pupils performing well or very well in Numeracy, 2013 and 2015

Stage	2013		2015
Stage	Percentage of pupils	Confidence interval 95%	Percentage of pupils	Confidence interval 95%
P4	69	(67 , 71)	66	(64 , 68)
P7	66	(64 , 68)	66	(64 , 68)
S2	42	(40 , 44)	40	(38 , 42)

Note: As the SSLN was based on a sample of pupils rather than on the whole population, the results shown are estimates. That is to say there is an element of uncertainty within the results because the pupils sampled may not reflect the population exactly. Associated confidence intervals are shown in the table.

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