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: S4W-18795

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government in what year additional support for Scottish students studying in London was last made available and what the (a) maximum value of additional support and (b) total amount paid was that year.

Additional support was last made available to students studying in London in 2012-13.

a) The maximum support for students studying a 30 week course in London was £6,690. This was £1120 higher than students studying a 30 week course elsewhere.

Courses longer than 30 weeks in London attracted additional support of £109 per week. This was £24 higher than the additional support for a course elsewhere.

b) It is not possible to identify the total amount of additional support awarded in 2012-13 to students studying in London.

Question reference: S4W-18796

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17798 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, whether it will publish the text used in the email sent to students by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) already provided this information to Ms Dugdale on 9 September 2013, following a Freedom of Information request.

Here is the original email sent to students in August 2012.

‘The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has announced a new funding package for living costs which will apply to Scottish domiciled undergraduate students, studying a course of higher education within the UK in academic year 2013-2014 onwards. The full statement can be found here (link to press release).

Details of the new funding package are available at:

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/funding_update.htm (web page no longer available)

Please note that these changes apply to both new and continuing students from academic year 2013-2014 onwards, regardless of when you start your course. Students in attendance this year (autumn 2012) will receive the existing funding package for academic year 2012-2013. If you have already received your SAAS award notice for academic year 2012-2013, there will be no change to the amounts shown on this letter. The new funding package will then apply to all undergraduate students from academic year 2013-2014 (autumn 2013) onwards.

If you have any queries relating to this announcement, please call our contact centre on 0300 555 0505’.

Question reference: S4W-18786

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many students at further education colleges who were awarded a Young Student Bursary in 2012-13 received (a) the maximum bursary, (b) £1,000 to £2,639 and (c) below £1,000.

Question reference: S4W-18783

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18325 by Michael Russell on 28 November 2013, how many applications were unsuccessful in each year since 2009-10.

Question reference: S4W-18942

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it seeks to encourage the uptake of Scottish Qualification Authority awards in cooperative studies.

Question reference: S4W-18935

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct a review of e-book provision and lending across the country.

Public libraries and the lending of books and e-books are the responsibility of local authorities in Scotland. The Scottish Government supports the work of public libraries through the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) which, working with local authorities, can advise on the need for any review of e-books and lending in Scotland. SLIC has advised that 28 local authorities in Scotland provide some e-book lending at present. SLIC, in partnership with local authorities, intends to set up an E-book Consortium, similar to that set up in Wales, which will allow local authorities in Scotland to develop best practice in e-lending in Scotland.

The Public Library Improvement Fund, provided by the Scottish Government, has been used to support e-book projects and could be used to support e-book activity in the future. Findings from a recent Independent Review of E-Lending in Public Lending in Public Libraries in England, are also relevant to e-lending in libraries in Scotland; some, such as the extension of the Public Lending Right, are reserved matters to the UK Government.

Question reference: S4W-18841

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when it will establish a public inquiry into the Edinburgh Trams project; who will chair it, and what its (a) remit and (b) budget will be.

Question reference: S4F-01801

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2014

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government considers that schools, pupils and teachers are adequately prepared for the new National 4 and 5 qualifications.

Question reference: S4O-02767

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it will allocate the Barnett consequentials arising from the Autumn Statement.

Question reference: S4W-18575

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the dates of all communications between the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth and the University of Edinburgh regarding the use of so-called zero-hours contracts since 2011, broken down by (a) telephone calls, (b) letters, (c) emails and (d) face-to-face meetings.

This issue was raised by the University and Colleges Union (UCU) during the STUC bi-annual meeting with the First Minister in June 2013, which the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth attended. Under direction from the Cabinet Secretary, Scottish Government officials raised the matter with the University of Edinburgh on 4 July 2013. As a result, the Principal of the University of Edinburgh, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, wrote to the Cabinet Secretary on 5 July 2013 advising that the University was committed to working in partnership with UCU. A response was also received from the University’s Director of Human Resources on 5 July 2013 which confirmed that the University would work with UCU on a comprehensive review of the use of zero-hours contracts.