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: S5W-12219

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11908 by John Swinney on 25 October 2017, whether it considers that the role of the International Council of Education Advisers should or should not include "second-guessing" the reforms proposed by ministers, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Question reference: S5W-12218

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11909 by John Swinney on 25 October 2017, on what date in 2018 the two-year appointment of the council expires.

Question reference: S5W-12217

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11909 by John Swinney on 25 October 2017, whether after seeing the report (a) ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials are expecting, prior to the council deciding its final wording, to provide it with (i) feedback, (ii) comments on the facts contained therein, (iii) comments on the council's analysis and recommendations and (iv) alternative wording.

Question reference: S5W-12216

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11902 by John Swinney on 25 October 2017, whether the media was made aware of how to contact individual members of the council, and the contact details of each member, or was it advised that it would have to go through government communications officers to acquire this information.

Question reference: S5W-12214

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11906 by John Swinney on 25 October 2017, what is its officials' role has been in producing the statements.

Question reference: S5W-11798

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 31 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Education Scotland (a) is removing public access to inspection reports more than five years old and (b) has deleted inspection data from before April 2008, and on what date ministers were advised of this policy.

a) The public will continue to be able to access these inspection reports by requesting a copy from Education Scotland. Inspection reports more than five years old will no longer be available via Education Scotland’s website.

b) Education Scotland has not deleted all inspection records from before April 2008 - it holds the most recent inspection report for each school which has been inspected. Centrally-held lists of which individual schools were inspected prior to 2008 had been deleted. Education Scotland has now reconstructed these lists using the range of records they retain.

Question reference: S5W-11888

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 31 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the total weekly (a) car and (b) passenger capacity of the timetabled CalMac ferry services between (i) Oban, (ii) Mallaig, (iii) Uig and (iv) Ullapool and the Western Isles was in summer (A) 2007 and (B) 2017, and what the capacity will be when the ferry under construction is introduced to services from Uig.

The requested information is provided in the following table. In 2007 there were no services between Mallaig and the Western Isles.

Total Weekly Car and Passengers Capacity on Timetables Services - covers mainland to Western Isles Routes in summer
Year	Port	Passengers	Cars
2007	Oban	9836	1202
	Uig	25704	3780
	Ullapool	28000	2828
2017	Oban	9920	1468
	Mallaig	7084	686
	Uig	28152	4140
	Ullapool	19600	3640
Post New Uig Vessel
	Oban	9920	1468
	Mallaig	7084	686
	Uig	46000	5198
	Ullapool	19600	3640
Total Weekly Car and Passengers Capacity on Timetables Services - covers mainland to Western Isles Routes in summer
2007		63540	7810
2017		64756	9934
Post New Uig Vessel
		82604	10922

Question reference: S5W-11792

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government regarding establishing a Tier 4 visa pilot programme similar to that being trialled at universities in England, and what analysis it has carried of this trial.

The Scottish Government is concerned that the UK Government’s Tier 4 pilot was introduced without any prior consultation in Scotland and that Scottish institutions were not included. Scotland’s Higher Education institutions, and key stakeholder Universities Scotland, were similarly disappointed at the limited scope of the pilot.

Myself and the Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science jointly wrote to the UK Immigration Minister on 5 August 2016, asking that the UK Government consider widening the scope of the pilot to include Scottish institutions. The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science wrote to the UK Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation on 6 September 2016 expressing concern about the lack of consultation in Scotland in advance of the introduction of the pilot. The Minister for International Development and Europe also raised the issue at a meeting with the UK Immigration Minister on 1 December 2016.

The UK Government advised that the Tier 4 pilot was deliberately narrow in scope, to ensure that the outcomes could be adequately monitored. They advised that it has not been decided if and when the pilot will be rolled out more widely, and committed to undertaking a formal evaluation and engaging with stakeholders before any further steps are taken. Although the Scottish Government are not involved in evaluating the pilot which is taking place at four English Universities, we understand that the evaluation will be undertaken in mid 2018.

We remain concerned that UK immigration policies pose a significant risk to Scotland's Further and Higher Education institutions. The restrictive, one-size-fits-all UK approach to immigration doesn’t address the distinctive demographic, economic and social needs of Scotland, and there is growing support for Scotland to have powers needed to decide our own immigration policy. The Minister for International Development and Europe has a longstanding request to meet the UK Immigration Minister and intends to raise these issues in person when they meet.

Question reference: S5W-11907

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will publish the minutes of the meeting of the International Council of Education Advisers of 21 September 2017.

Question reference: S5W-11903

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government which members of the media it informed in advance about the meeting of the International Council of Education Advisers on 21 September 2017.