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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2683 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-06408

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 1 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria, guidance or support local authorities will receive to help them make decisions about the deployment of additional graduates to nurseries.

As part of the announcement on the Additional Graduate commitment on 18January 2017 the Scottish Government set out more details and guidance as to how this commitment would be delivered. This can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Young-People/early-years/ELCTrials/AdditionalGraduateCommitment.

In order to support delivery of the commitment the Scottish Government will invest nearly £1.5 million in 2017-18 to fund additional places for teacher training and the BA Childhood Practise.

We are currently working closely with local authorities on the implementation of this commitment.

Question reference: S5W-06406

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 1 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter by the Minister for Childcare and Early Years to the Education and Skills Committee of 18 January 2017 on the additional graduate commitment, for each local authority area, what proportion of allocations of additional graduate places will be for (a) teachers with early years expertise and (b) graduate practitioners with the BA Childhood Practice award.

The balance between the contribution of teachers with early years expertise and graduates with the BA Childhood Practice towards delivering the commitment will reflect a number of factors including the supply of suitably skilled professionals with early years expertise within local areas.

We are currently working closely with local authorities on progressing this commitment, and will ask them to provide plans setting out how they propose to allocate, and fill, the additional places in their area.

In order to support delivery of the commitment the Scottish Government will invest nearly £1.5 million in 2017-18 to fund additional places for teacher training and the BA Childhood Practice.

Question reference: S5W-06407

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 1 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what planning and reporting requirements will be placed on local authorities to (a) assess how they allocate nursery places and (b) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of additional graduates to nurseries within the authority areas, and when it will report on these findings.

Question reference: S5W-06192

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05809 by Mark McDonald on 13 January 2017, whether it will consider updating the way in which information for nursery registrations is collected in order to take account of the three terms, instead of figures just for term one as currently recorded.

Question reference: S5W-06194

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05809 by Mark McDonald on 13 January 2017, what is meant by 395 registrations "could not be assigned to a local authority", as noted in Table (a); how many registrations in this category there have been in each of the last five years, and how the cost of these registrations is met.

For the 2011 census the information received from certain local authority run centres could not be assigned to a local authority as during the quality assurance process, the identification number provided by the centres involved had been deemed invalid. This resulted in 395 registrations being excluded from the census results.

The census process has changed since 2011 and this problem can no longer occur. We conduct a pre-survey prior to the main census in September, checking which centres should be involved in the census, and returns are now validated by the local authorities.

Question reference: S5W-06193

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of the cost of collecting nursery registration information at the start of each new term, instead of the annual September census that it currently carries out.

The Scottish Government has not assessed the cost of collecting nursery registration information at the start of each new term. Currently the data is collected from Early Learning and Childcare centres and although we do not have a cost for them to complete the census, it is estimated that it costs local authorities £27,000 for their involvement to validate the data collected. We are currently reviewing the timing of the Early Learning and Childcare data collection, and are considering the most beneficial time to capture this information.

Question reference: S5W-06244

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity on 12 January 2017 (Official Report, c. 2) that “Highlands and Islands Enterprise has played a significant role in supporting the achievement of our commitment to provide broadband to 95 per cent of premises by the end of 2017”, what assurances it can provide that the planned board centralisation will not negatively impact this and the 2021 commitments.

Scottish Ministers have made it clear that Highlands and Islands Enterprise will continue to be locally-based, managed and directed providing dedicated support to the local economy. The new arrangements will protect the unique service that HIE delivers for our Highland and Island economies and will enhance the support that is available to businesses, employers and communities across the region. This move will not negatively impact delivery of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband contract or our commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband by 2021.

Question reference: S5W-06173

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in light of the finding in the Civil Service People Survey 2016 that suggests that 35% of Education Scotland staff “want to leave Education Scotland as soon as possible, or within the next 12 months”, and what its position is on whether the organisation can continue in its present structure.

Historically, staff turnover in Education Scotland has been relatively low. In common with most organisations, Education Scotland expects a degree of turnover in staffing. To that extent, Education Scotland succession plans wherever possible to ensure that vacant posts in the organisation are filled swiftly. All structures and agencies within Scottish Education are being looked at as part of the Education Governance review. The role and functions of Education Scotland are being considered in that context.

Question reference: S5W-06174

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the Civil Service People Survey 2016 that suggests that 11% of Education Scotland's staff consider that "change is managed well in Education Scotland", what its position is on how the organisation manages change.

Question reference: S5W-06245

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity on 12 January 2017 (Official Report, c. 2 and 4) that "Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has played a significant role in supporting the achievement of our commitment to provide broadband to 95 per cent of premises by the end of 2017" and that providing broadband across Scotland "is not a case of one size—or one technology—fits all", whether it has assessed how the planned centralisation of HIE will impact both this and the 2021 commitments.