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.

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Question reference: S3W-24579

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Care Commission and Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report, Remember, I’m still me, what guidance it has issued on the importance of ensuring that the likes and dislikes of care home residents with dementia are recorded as fully as possible.

Question reference: S3W-24581

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Care Commission and Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report, Remember, I’m still me, what importance it places on the need for quiet areas for people with dementia in care homes and what guidance it has issued to ensure that noise levels are not high.

Question reference: S3W-24580

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Care Commission and Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report, Remember, I’m still me, what action it is taking to ensure that covert medication for care home residents with dementia is undertaken legally.

Question reference: S3W-24448

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to discuss with Alzheimer Scotland how its Words into Action on Dementia consultation with carers and people with dementia that will inform the work of the Cross-party Group on Alzheimer’s could be used to shape the development of the national strategy on dementia.

As Alzheimer Scotland is represented on the Dementia Forum of experts in dementia care that offer advice to the Scottish Government on driving the dementia priority agenda forward, it will be involved in the development of the Dementia Strategy. I next meet with the Dementia Forum on 14 July and look forward to hearing their views on this exciting development for people with dementia, their carers and families.

Question reference: S3W-24163

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of figures that indicate a fall in modern language learning, what action it is taking to promote uptake.

There has not been a fall in modern languages learning in Scotland, with increases at nearly all levels and languages and year on year in most cases since 1999.

For example, total presentations for French have increased from 39,466 in 1999 to 41,018 in 2008 and, at a time of falling school rolls, the number of pupils taking modern languages highers has increased from 5,402 pupils in 1999 to 6,374 in 2008. Furthermore, the numbers of pupils taking modern languages to Higher and Advanced Higher has increased proportionately with 94.2 presentations per 1,000 pupils in 2008 at higher compared to 84.0 per 1,000 in 1999 - a 12% increase - and 29.8 presentations per 1,000 pupils in 2008 at advanced higher compared to 22.0 per 1,000 in 1999 “ a 35% increase.

The following table shows Modern Languages Qualification Entries (Presentations) from 1999-2008 in publicly-funded Schools in Scotland for pupils in Secondary 4 and Secondary 5/6.

Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Numbers of entries for:- Access 3, Standard Grade, Intermediate 1 & 2 (taken in S4)	54,962	56,373	58,162	58,185	57,699	56,682	54,133	54,945	53,066	51,801
Numbers of entries for Access 3, Standard Grade and Intermediate 1 & 2 / 1,000 pupils in S4	933	928	926	924	900	891	874	857	822	819
Numbers of entries for Higher	5,402	5,596	5,993	6,645	6,652	6,385	6,212	5,650	6,263	6,374
Numbers of entries for Highers/ 1,000 pupils in S5/6	84	87	92	102	101	96	94	88	95	94
Numbers of entries for Advanced Higher	579	504	671	736	777	805	757	781	655	820
Numbers of entries for Advanced Highers/ 1,000 pupils in S6	22	19	25	28	28	30	28	29	25	30

The following table shows Modern Languages Qualification Entries (Presentations) from 1999“2008 in publicly-funded Schools in Scotland for French, German and Spanish at Higher and Advanced Higher.

Year	French		German		Spanish
Year	Higher	Advanced Higher	Higher	Advanced Higher	Higher	Advanced Higher
1999	3,196	357	1,519	154	537	60
2000	3,259	330	1,650	111	537	54
2001	3,495	388	1,726	186	625	83
2002	3,929	441	1,884	169	614	105
2003	4,078	462	1,631	205	735	89
2004	3,855	531	1,535	170	764	94
2005	3,749	455	1,443	174	784	109
2006	3,568	483	1,143	167	745	96
2007	3,859	441	1,375	115	845	77
2008	3,922	547	1,276	157	960	98

We are promoting the uptake of modern languages in primary and secondary schools through Curriculum for Excellence which aims to raise the bar of modern languages learning and teaching in Scotland and ensure that all young people are prepared for life in the globalised 21st century world. The Experiences and Outcomes for Modern Language, published on 2 April 2009, reinforces the expectation that schools will offer a modern language no later than primary 6 and states that every child and young person in Scotland is entitled to experience a broad general education, which includes learning modern languages, to the end of secondary 3. In addition, modern language learning and teaching through Curriculum for Excellence will be more exciting, engaging and relevant.

The new Scottish Language Baccalaureate will also be an important element within the Curriculum for Excellence programme to promote modern languages. The award aims to encourage more of our young people to continue to study language courses through to the later stages of secondary school thereby raising the status of the final years of Secondary school and assisting our young people in making the transition from school to higher and further education and employment.

We have also just completed the launch of eight Confucius Classroom Hubs, involving 13 local authorities across the country, which are promoting the learning of Chinese language and culture. These are outlined in the following table:

Confucius Classroom Hub	Launch Date	Hub Location	Local Authorities Involved
Edinburgh	9 May 2008	St Georges School	Edinburgh
Perth and Kinross	3 November 2008	Perth High School	Perth and Kinross
Ayrshire	12 January 2009	Grange Academy	North, East and South Ayrshire
West Lothian	30 January 2009	Bathgate Academy	West Lothian
East Dunbartonshire	13 February 2009	St Ninians High School	East Dunbartonshire
North Lanarkshire	20 February 2009	Our Lady''s High School	North Lanarkshire
Glasgow	27 February 2009	Hillhead Academy	Glasgow
North East	5 March 2009	Hazelhead Academy	Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Angus

Question reference: S3W-24451

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it sees a role for the charter of rights being developed by the Parliament’s Cross-party Group on Alzheimer’s in informing the recommendations for the development of a national strategy on dementia.

The care and treatment of those with mental illness is governed by existing laws, including laws promoting and protecting their rights. In addition, those with mental illness should receive care and treatment delivered in accordance with the principles set out in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003, and the application of those principles is monitored by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland.

We will consider the outcome of the work of the Cross Party Group in that context.

Question reference: S3W-24449

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm the commitment made by the Minister for Public Health and Sport on Good Morning Scotland on 28 May 2009 that adequate additional resources would be made available to implement a national strategy for dementia.

Question reference: S3W-24447

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for agreeing a national strategy for dementia.

Question reference: S3W-24452

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Parliament’s Cross-party Group on Alzheimer’s can contribute to the development of the national strategy on dementia.

Question reference: S3W-24450

Asked by: Irene Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the role of the dementia forum will be in the development of a national strategy for dementia.