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: S2W-26576

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 20 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26029 by Nicol Stephen on 6 June 2006, how its guidance issued to further and higher education colleges in May 2005 meets the requirements of HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE); why HMIE has raised the issue of enhanced disclosure for staff in a position of trust with students under 18 or vulnerable adults in inspection reports, and why students under 18 and vulnerable adult learners are still exposed to risk as a result of non-compulsion of disclosure checks of college staff.

HMIE’s expectations in this areaare founded on legislation, Lifelong Partners (the Scottish Executive’s school-collegepartnership strategy), and its own evaluation of existing good practice. HMIE wereheavily involved in both the policy development for Lifelong Partners, and in theproduction of the accompanying guidance documents. College review reports routinelycomment on the effectiveness of child protection arrangements, including collegepolicies and procedures and arrangements for disclosure. During its reviews, HMIE uses the Standards and Quality in Scottish FurtherEducation Quality Framework for Scottish FE Colleges (May 2004). In line withthis framework and relevant legislation, HMIE expects that colleges:

·have relevant policies and procedures in place (includingdisclosure) and that these are implemented effectively when necessary;

·have a nominated protection co-ordinator/s;

·undertake Enhanced Disclosure for staff working regularlywith pupils and students under 18 years of age, and with vulnerable adults, and

·provide appropriate staff development and training inthe area of protecting young people and staff.

Where colleges fail to meet theseexpectations adequately, HMIE will raise the issue in inspection reports, and Collegesare required to submit an action plan to the Scottish Funding Council for Furtherand Higher Education to bring about improvement. Progress against this plan is thenmonitored by HMIE.

On the general issue of compulsionof disclosure checks, the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 requires thateducational establishments take reasonable steps to ensure that people working inthem are not on the Disqualified from Working with Children List (DWCL). However,a new vetting and barring scheme, buildingon the current system and the recommendations from the Bichard inquiry, is currently being developed. According to this, therewill be a list and arrangements for the protection of adults at risk as well asa need for all those working in child care or “adult at risk” settings to registerwith the new scheme. This will be done via an enhanced disclosure in the first instance,which can then be updated should any new information come into the system. Legislationto provide the framework for the new scheme is proposed for this autumn, with animplementation programme for the new scheme commencing at the end of 2007.

While disclosure checks providea valuable contribution to the protection of young people and vulnerable adults,this does not remove the need for robust recruitment practices and sound child protectionpolicies and procedures.

Question reference: S2W-27725

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 4 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides to local authorities to combat any problems caused as a consequence of increasing numbers of seagulls.

Question reference: S2W-27726

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 4 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it records the number of attacks by seagulls on members of the public.

Question reference: S2W-27035

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 14 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that appropriate numbers of teachers are trained each year.

The Scottish Executive carriesout an annual teacher workforce planning exercise to ensure at a national leveladequate numbers of newly qualified teachers are trained for publicly funded schools.This takes into account factors such as the age profile of the profession; changingpupil numbers; numbers of new entrants to the profession and those leaving due toresignation, retirement etc. In recent years the exercise has been carried out inthe context of our commitment to increase teacher numbers to 53,000 by 2007.

Question reference: S2W-27036

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 14 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure that teachers who successfully complete their probation in 2005-06 but who have not obtained teaching posts remain within the education sector.

The employment of teachers inteaching posts is a matter for education authorities. In order to meet the nationaltarget of 53,000 teachers by 2007, additional funding of £18 million in 2006-07and £44 million in 2007-08 has been provided for the employment of teachers. Beforelocal authorities receive funding for 2007-08 they will be required to commit toa number of teachers which will in total achieve our target.

We recently decided that a further£14.5 million of central resources would also be distributed through the NationalPriorities Action Fund for the employment of additional teachers this year, bringingthe total additional resources for 2006-07 to £32.5 million. The aim of the additionalfunding is to allow authorities to increase the number of teachers they employ in2006-07 over and above previously planned levels.

Question reference: S2W-27034

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 14 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what tracking mechanism it has in place to ensure that there is appropriate placement of probationer teachers.

Question reference: S2W-27037

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 14 July 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to support probationer teachers who are placed in denominational schools for their probationary period and who are not able to apply for posts in denominational schools following successful completion of their probation.

Question reference: S2W-25213

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-22919 and S2W-23443 by Nicol Stephen on 22 February and 6 April 2006, what consultation will take place with MSPs who are not members of the appropriate committee to ensure that Scottish Enterprise is aware of their views on the impact at local level of the proposals for structural change.

Question reference: S2W-26029

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 6 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will instruct all colleges to undertake disclosure checks for all staff who have contact with under 18-year-olds and vulnerable adult learners.

The Scottish Executive hasno powers to direct Scotland's Colleges offurther and higher education. However, we issued guidance in May 2005 to advisethat colleges should not place staff without an enhanced disclosure in aposition of trust for school pupils or students under 18 or vulnerable adults. Itis recommended best practice that all college staff should be activelyencouraged to undergo voluntary standard or enhanced disclosure, and that thisshould be renewed every three years, reflecting the general practice of otherpublic service bodies.

In addition, the Executiveis working collaboratively with Scotland's colleges andother partners to enhance systems of protection for those under 18. This work includesthe production of a best practice guide; specialised staff developmentopportunities provided by the Scottish Further Education Unit; updatedprofessional standards for college lecturers which refer explicitly to theprotection and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable learners, andimproving the disclosure system itself.

Question reference: S2W-26218

Asked by: Margaret Jamieson, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 5 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25841 by Lewis Macdonald on 23 May 2006, what involvement the local police have in determining the community assessment of a patient transferring to less secure accommodation and in providing assistance to multidisciplinary teams at case conferences.

Clinical staff will involve thepolice in multidisciplinary care programme approach meetings where that is appropriate.New guidance on the care programme approach, including how the police should beengaged in that process, is being developed to reflect the provisions of the Managementof Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act 2003. That guidance is being developed in conjunctionwith the police and others and will be published later this year. The police arealways represented at care programme approach meetings in respect of sex offenders.