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-19811

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what nutritional information it provides to parents on food that children receive in school.

<>The Scottish Government guidance Healthy Eating in Schools, which provides information about the nutritional standards of food and drink provided in schools, is available for parents to access through the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/12090355/0.

Local authorities and schools may also provide parents with specific nutritional information about the food provided as part of their school meals service.

Question reference: S4W-19805

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met teaching unions to discuss its free school meals policy, and what issues were discussed.

A representative from the Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS) met with the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 7 January 2014 alongside a wider group of stakeholders. The discussion focussed on the First Minister’s announcement that day to extend the entitlement for children in primary 1 to 3 to a free school meal from January 2015. Attendees indicated that they would be willing to engage in on-going discussion about the policy as it progresses towards implementation.

Question reference: S4W-19808

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many primary schools have kitchen facilities that are only suitable for heating already prepared meals, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-19807

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many primary schools have kitchen facilities that allow for hot meals to be prepared, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-19799

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered whether the consumption of free school meals for all children in P1-3 will affect the length of time required for providing lunch.

Question reference: S4W-19797

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many primary schools have no canteen, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-19812

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost of a school meal is, broken down by local authority.

The following table shows average expenditure per school meal by local authorities in Scotland in financial year 2012-13:

Local Authority	Average expenditure per school meal (£:p)
Aberdeen City	2.56
Aberdeenshire	3.20
Angus	2.25
Argyll and Bute	4.13
Clackmannanshire	2.30
Dumfries and Galloway	3.63
Dundee City	2.47
East Ayrshire	2.88
East Dunbartonshire	2.42
East Lothian	2.77
East Renfrewshire	2.81
Edinburgh, City of	2.31
Eilean Siar	4.05
Falkirk	2.27
Fife	3.08
Glasgow City	2.68
Highland	3.43
Inverclyde	2.60
Midlothian	3.31
Moray	3.47
North Ayrshire	3.50
North Lanarkshire	2.53
Orkney Islands	5.44
Perth and Kinross	2.14
Renfrewshire	2.37
Scottish Borders	2.45
Shetland Islands	4.74
South Ayrshire	3.54
South Lanarkshire	2.26
Stirling	3.71
West Dunbartonshire	4.72
West Lothian	2.70
Scotland - average	2.86

Question reference: S4W-19806

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it will give to primary schools and teachers in the event that not all children are able to eat in the school canteen.

Question reference: S4W-19803

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how much local authorities will spend on additional catering staff hours in order to meet its free school meals commitments.

Question reference: S4W-19800

Asked by: Cara Hilton, MSP for Dunfermline, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the preparedness of schools to deliver its free school meals policy with regard to (a) capital and (b) staffing costs.