The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S7W-02465

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the role of healthy peatlands in helping it to meet its climate change targets.

Question reference: S7W-02464

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to introduce a ban on the sale of peat for use in horticulture in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-02412

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether the current concessionary travel reimbursement rate model adequately reflects the higher average fare, and therefore higher revenue-forgone cost, of rural bus journeys compared with urban journeys.

Question reference: S7W-02381

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether its pre-election commitment to expand funded childcare to children from 9 months old to the end of primary school, available 52 weeks a year, remains government policy.

Question reference: S7W-01764

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it plans to have with the independent panel of experts developing recommendations for the UK Department for Education and UK Department of Health of Social Care on the design, structure and content of the draft National Inclusion Standards and Specialist Provision Packages.

Proposals announced by The Department for Education in April 2026 seek to implement major structural change to the system of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

As part of the proposals, expert panels are being established to develop recommendations on the design, structure and content of the National Inclusion Standards and Specialist Provision Packages. These expert panels will establish the recommended level of support required for children and young people in both mainstream settings and specialist provisions as well as identifying the appropriate means of delivering this support.

Scottish Government officials are actively engaged with colleagues within the Department for Education on the ongoing reforms, and will engage with the Expert Panels for National Inclusions Standards and Specialist Provision Packages where appropriate.

Question reference: S7W-01763

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop national training programmes to support educators to identify and respond to children's needs, and what funding and resources it will provide to ensure that staff across nurseries, schools and colleges receive such training.

Scotland’s education system is designed to be inclusive for all children and young people, with or without additional support needs(ASNs).

In Early Years provision, the recent National Occupational Standards review is informing the redevelopment of qualifications and associated learning resources to ensure those entering and working within the profession develop the knowledge, skills and values needed to support children's learning, development and wellbeing, including identifying and responding to diverse ASNs.

The Scottish Government also worked with the Scottish Social Services Council to develop an online professional learning portal specifically for childcare professionals.

In schools, every teacher is trained to assist those with ASNs to meet professional registration standards as part of Initial Teacher Education. In addition, teachers and school staff have access to Education Scotland’s Inclusion Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework.

We are investing a further £29 million this year to support ASN staff. This is in addition to the record local authority spend on ASN of nearly £1.1 billion in 2024-25.

The National ASN Data Improvement Programme is focusing on improving the consistency of how additional support needs are identified and recorded across Scotland. As part of this work, the Scottish Government is working with local authorities and national partners to develop and deliver professional learning and guidance to support staff in identifying and responding to additional support needs.

Colleges work closely with schools and other relevant agencies to ensure children accessing further education benefit from an inclusive learning environment that supports the needs of a diverse range of learners. Operational decisions, such as staff training requirements to enable colleges to fulfil legal and wider duties, is the responsibility of individual colleges.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to build on these professional learning opportunities during this parliamentary session.

Question reference: S7W-01761

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government's plan to set out "evidence informed approaches for educators to identify and support children with additional needs, including for autistic children with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile", whether it will adopt a similar approach.

In Scotland, the existing additional support for learning framework is well established and considered the right approach for our children.

Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004 education authorities have duties to identify, provide for and review the additional needs of their pupils including those with a Pathological Demand Avoidance profile.

Support should be evidence led and we have worked closely with partners to develop resources for teachers such as the Autism Toolbox. The toolbox provides a range of information and guidance to support the education of autistic learners. We have also created resources to support universities teaching their students about autism and how best to support autistic children and young people in schools. We will continue to work with education partners and the wider autistic community to consider and develop new areas of work to improve the support on offer to autistic children and young people.

An expert review into Additional Support for Learning carried out in 2026 by Professional Education Advisor Janie McManus included a recommendation for a new National Staged Intervention model. This will help set clearer expectations for early intervention and stronger pathways to support across education, health and social care services. I will set out the Scottish Government’s route map for delivering this work in due course.

Question reference: S7W-01762

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to revise guidance to local authorities on supporting autistic children with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile.

Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 education authorities have duties to identify, provide for and review the additional needs of their pupils including those with a Pathological Demand Avoidance profile.

Support should be evidence led and we have worked closely with partners to develop resources for teachers such as the Autism Toolbox. The toolbox provides a range of information and guidance to support the education of autistic learners. We have also created resources to support universities teaching their students about autism and how best to support autistic children and young people in schools. We will continue to work with education partners and the wider autistic community to consider and develop new areas of work to improve the support on offer to autistic children and young people.

Question reference: S7W-01616

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether its proposed three-year job guarantee scheme for newly qualified teachers will replace the existing one-year probationary period under the Teacher Induction Scheme or whether the probationary year set by the General Teaching Council for Scotland will remain unchanged and form part of its proposed three-year job guarantee.

Question reference: S7W-01618

Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the consultation it plans to carry out regarding its proposed three-year job guarantee scheme for newly qualified teachers, including which organisations, bodies and stakeholders it plans to consult, and what timetable it has established for the process.

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Question reference: S7W-02465

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