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-05100

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been awarded each year under the Study in Europe Portability Pilot; what the average award has been, and how many applications have been (a) received and (b) accepted.

The following table shows the number of applications received and accepted by Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) from students undertaking a course as part of the European Portability Pilot.

The table also shows the total amount of funding awarded by SAAS and the average funding per student.

	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17*
Total cost of funding	£40,000	£70,000	£70,000
Average funding per student	£4,400	£4,500	£4,700
Total number of student applications received	15	15	15
Total number of student applications accepted	10	15	15

Source: SAAS

Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 5.

* Provisional figures for 2016-17 are subject to revision, such as the addition of new or unprocessed applications.

Question reference: S5W-04942

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by Michael Russell on 15 November 2016 (Official Report c. 67) that it is possible for Scotland to make a deal with Europe “that is both political and legal”, what arrangements with the EU it is considering that meet those conditions.

Question reference: S5W-04897

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its document, Scotland: A European Nation, accurately reflects the diverse character of the country’s political history.

Question reference: S5W-04912

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent research by Save the Children suggesting that primary school teachers want to see more investment made in the early years to support children’s speech and language skills.

Question reference: S5W-04898

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) historians, (b) academics, (c) experts and (d) other stakeholders it consulted when drafting its document, Scotland: A European Nation; whether they advised that the draft document omitted key information and, if so, (i) what this information was and (ii) whether it chose to subsequently (A) include and (B) exclude this when drafting the final version, and for what reason.

Question reference: S5W-04913

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent research by Save the Children suggesting that 88% of teachers surveyed said that children who start P1 with delayed speech and language skills fall behind others in their learning, find it hard to express thoughts or ideas, and struggle to learn to read.

Question reference: S5W-04914

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the number of teachers in early years schools and nurseries is sufficient.

Decisions regarding how teachers are involved in the delivery of early learning and childcare (ELC) is the responsibility of local authorities.

However, it is a requirement of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) that every manager/lead practitioner of a daycare of children service must hold a relevant teaching qualification that meets the General Teaching Council (Scotland) regulatory requirements or must hold, or be working towards, a relevant degree level Childhood Practice award.

The Scottish Government is committed to going further and will ensure that nurseries in the most deprived areas will have an additional teacher or graduate from 2018.

Question reference: S5W-04896

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it used to develop the timeline on page 13 of its document, Scotland: A European Nation.

Question reference: S5W-04911

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the average nursery class size has been in each year since 2010-11, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S5W-04895

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its timeline of 1,000 years of the Scottish constitution in chapter 4 of its document, Scotland: A European Nation, does not make reference to the (a) 1975 EEC referendum and the positions taken by Scotland's political parties at that time and (b) A Claim of Right for Scotland.

The Scottish Government published, Scotland: A European Nation, on 21 November, to outline Scotland’s extensive historic engagement with Europe, and its present democratic and constitutional position in relation to the UK. The document also aims to increase understanding of our unique political and legal position in relation to the outcome of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.

The Scottish Government recognises Scotland’s rich and diverse history, and acknowledges that it would not be possible to highlight this in one single document. We believe that the timeline, as published, is a reasonable attempt to reflect our history to a European audience.

The document was submitted to the clerks of the of the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee on the day of publication.