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-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-19813

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 additional children it expects to receive free school meals under its free school meals policy, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation ranking of local authority.

The following table shows the estimated number of children in primary 1 to 3 in each local authority who are not currently registered for free school meals (FSM) under the national eligibility criteria. This is broadly equivalent to the numbers who will become eligible for free school meals as a result of the extension to all children in primary 1 to 3:

Local Authority	Estimate not currently registered for FSM under national eligibility criteria
Aberdeen City	5,100
Aberdeenshire	8,000
Angus	3,100
Argyll and Bute	2,100
Clackmannanshire	1,400
Dumfries and Galloway	3,700
Dundee City	3,100
East Ayrshire	2,900
East Dunbartonshire	3,300
East Lothian	3,200
East Renfrewshire	3,100
Edinburgh City	10,400
Eilean Siar	700
Falkirk	4,400
Fife	9,600
Glasgow City	11,200
Highland	6,200
Inverclyde	1,700
Midlothian	2,300
Moray	2,600
North Ayrshire	3,200
North Lanarkshire	9,200
Orkney Islands	600
Perth and Kinross	3,900
Renfrewshire	4,400
Scottish Borders	3,000
Shetland Islands	700
South Ayrshire	2,400
South Lanarkshire	8,300
Stirling	2,400
West Dunbartonshire	2,200
West Lothian	5,200
All local authorities	135,000

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation rankings are assigned to data zones and cannot be summed or averaged to provide rankings at local authority level.

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-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-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-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.