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: S7W-01622

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 what estimate it has made of the annual cost of its proposed three-year job guarantee scheme for newly qualified teachers.

Question reference: S7W-01615

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 work it has carried out to date regarding the development of its proposed three-year job guarantee scheme for newly qualified teachers.

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-01620

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 from which academic year it anticipates that newly qualified teachers will first be eligible to participate in its proposed three-year job guarantee scheme.

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.

Question reference: S7W-01626

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 will guarantee employment within a specific school, a local authority area or elsewhere within Scotland.

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-01627

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 teachers who completed their Teacher Induction Scheme probationary year before the introduction of the proposed three-year job guarantee scheme will be eligible to apply for participation in the scheme, if they are still within three years of completing their newly qualified teacher year.

Question reference: S7W-01617

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 newly qualified teachers participating in its proposed three-year job guarantee scheme will be considered as probationers for the full duration of the three-year period.

Question reference: S7W-01625

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 newly qualified teachers participating in its proposed three-year job guarantee scheme will be expected to remain in the same school for the duration of the scheme.