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-10245

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 6 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the proportion of school pupils who have access to (a) tablet, (b) laptop and (c) desktop devices (i) in school and (ii) at home.

As part of a bandwidth survey conducted by Education Scotland during late 2011, local authorities were asked to provide details of the number of devices that were available in schools. Not all responded with this information. Information obtained from those that did is summarised at:

https://wikis.glowscotland.org.uk/0000250/Interconnect_Utilisation/Schools_Bandwidth_Survey/2011.

Information on the proportion of school pupils who have access to devices at home is not held centrally. The Scottish Household Survey (2011) shows that 98% of internet users used a personal computer or a laptop to access the internet.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0040/00403747.pdf.

Question reference: S4W-10239

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 6 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the replacement of the schools network, Glow.

The contract with RM Education plc for the existing GLOW services was extended from 15 September 2012 to 15 December 2013 at a value of £5.5m ex VAT. Monthly payments of approximately £367,000 ex VAT are made. During the period of the contract extension, core services are being migrated to Microsoft Office 365. Microsoft are providing Office 365 for free.

The ICT in Education Excellence Group has been tasked with scoping the long-term user-centred future of Glow. To date £670 has been spent to support the work of the group.

Question reference: S4W-10240

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 6 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government when a replacement for the schools network, Glow, will be operational.

Question reference: S4W-10237

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 6 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities regarding internet filtering in schools.

Question reference: S4W-10243

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 6 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether its replacement for the schools network, Glow, will include social network functionality or access to websites such as YouTube.

Question reference: S4W-10387

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what use the NHS makes of scalp coolers to treat patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Question reference: S4W-09976

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers have been disciplined in each year since 2007 for the inappropriate sharing of information with the media.

Question reference: S4W-08619

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many trainees have been (a) recruited to and (b) retained in its legal service in each year since 2007.

(a) The Government Legal Service for Scotland (GLSS) has recruited legal trainees each year since 2007, as set out below. The main offices of the GLSS which use these legal trainees are the SG Legal Directorate, the Office of the Advocate General and the Office of the Solicitor to the Scottish Parliament.

2007 a total of six legal trainees

2008 a total of six legal trainees

2009 a total of six legal trainees

2010 a total of six legal trainees

2011 a total of six legal trainees

We intend to recruit six legal trainees in 2012, and this is in progress.

(b) The number of legal trainees retained by the GLSS on completion of a successful traineeship from 2007 onwards is set out in the following table.

2007	5
2008	5
2009	6
2010	5
2011	0
2012	0

Although no legal trainees were offered permanent legal posts within the GLSS in 2011 or 2012 on completion of their traineeship contracts, all those who wanted to pursue a civil service career and who met the requirements were able to secure posts within the Scottish Government or UK Government Departments.

Question reference: S4W-09925

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 25 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what use it is making of information held by local authority housing or revenue departments to model the likely impact of welfare reform, for example the numbers of tenants who are entitled to disability premiums.

Question reference: S4W-08617

Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 24 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on pin badges since 2007 and from what budget.

The Scottish Government uses pin badges as mementoes for visiting dignitaries and interest groups. They are also used as gifts when ministers visit overseas. In addition, the Scottish Government receive adhoc requests to send mementoes to overseas school children working on Scottish projects or classes who are going on exchanges to other countries seeking items to take to their hosts.

As a result, the cost for pin badges is covered by different budgets and departments throughout the core Scottish Government and this would only be obtained at disproportionate cost.