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: S6W-25464

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when Individual Training Accounts administered by Skills Development Scotland will reopen to new applicants.

Question reference: S6W-25645

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Coalfields Regeneration Trust small grants were deemed to be in breach of procurement rules.

Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s (CRT’s) grant for 2023-24 has been agreed following the principles of the Scottish Government’s latest grant management guidance which ensures adherence to the Scottish Public Finance Manual instructions. These state that contracts that include services to distribute grant funds must be awarded through genuine and effective competition. In light of that, the previous historical arrangement with CRT has been reviewed and the Scottish Government can no longer provide a proportion of the grant for CRT to use as a budget to then operate a small grant fund.

The Scottish Government’s procurement rules exist to ensure funds are spent in a way that delivers the most benefit to society. The Scottish Government is discussing with CRT other ways in which they can best support community organisations where these meet the regeneration outcomes and conditions of its existing grant award.

Question reference: S6W-25633

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to mesh survivors in Scotland, whether it supports the recommendations in The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh.

Question reference: S6W-25634

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it approaching four years since the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, First Do No Harm, was published, and that three years have nearly passed since the Scottish Government published its plan for delivering on its commitment to implement, in full, the recommendations of the review, whether it will (a) provide an update on its delivery plan and (b) confirm when it expects to implement the remaining recommendations of the review to improve the lives of those impacted by sodium valproate, Primados and mesh implants.

There has been progress in implementing the Scottish Government’s delivery plan:

the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act 2023 established a Parliamentary Commissioner on patient safety
the Glasgow Complex Mesh Surgical Service offers mesh removal surgery, and women can also choose an NHS England surgeon or an independent provider
25 women have had the costs of previously arranged private mesh removal surgery reimbursed
the NHS Scotland Scan for Safety Programme for implantable medical devices is planned to roll out across territorial boards by the end of March 2026
on valproate, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency introduced regulatory measures for the prescribing of valproate and we are working closely with the agency to support their implementation

The Scottish Government considers, further to the undertaking offered in 2021, that it is taking appropriate action to pursue the outcomes sought by all of the recommendations of the 2020 report insofar as they relate to devolved matters.

Question reference: S6W-25357

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scottish National Standardised Assessments and National Standardised Assessments for Scotland reportedly do not include a calculation of pupil reading age, in light of it being recommended during specification meetings in 2015 that a functional reading age test for P7 pupils was required.

When the National Standardised Assessments for Scotland were first being developed, it was agreed in consultation with Scottish literacy experts that the reading assessments should be based on specific organisers within the Curriculum for Excellence – these being “Tools for reading”, “Finding and using information”, and “Understanding, analysing and evaluating”. This was because the relationship between the assessments and CfE was deemed a more useful output for teachers than a notional reading age.

As learners can undertake the assessments at any time in the school year, teachers are able to compare learner outcomes against a cohort of learners who completed their assessments at a similar stage in the year, rather than by age. This comparison has been statistically validated through norming studies and provides valuable diagnostic information to teachers, helping to inform their wider assessment of learner progress in literacy.

Question reference: S6W-25358

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the total number of pupils have left primary school functionally illiterate with a reading age of below nine and a half years, in each year since 2017.

Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) data for 2022-23 showed record levels of attainment in literacy with 73% of primary school pupils achieving the expected Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) level for literacy, the highest figure since records began in 2016/17.

The proportion of P7 pupils achieving the expected level were at record highs in 2022-23 for literacy, and for each of the literacy organisers including reading where 81% achieved the expected level. The literacy gap between Primary 7 pupils from the most and most deprived areas and those from the least deprived areas was the narrowest on record in 2022-23 (20.5 percentage points). More information can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/achievement-curriculum-excellence-cfe-levels-2022-23/documents/

Question reference: S6W-25364

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the total number of pupils have not completed the Scottish National Standardised Assessments and National Standardised Assessments for Scotland assessment questions for their year group, in each year since 2017.

Question reference: S6O-03174

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support rural NHS boards.

Question reference: S6W-25360

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government who took the decision to not automatically provide a copy of Scottish National Standardised Assessments pupil assessment reports to the pupil and their parent(s), and for what reason this decision was taken.

I am advised that this decision was taken jointly by the Scottish Government and Education Scotland when the assessments were introduced in 2017. This position fits within a wider policy approach, guided by Education Scotland, around discussing assessment outcomes with parents and learners.

I am advised that the view at that time was that presenting National Standardised Assessment data or reports to parents and learners on a standalone basis would run contrary to the diagnostic purpose of the assessments, and the central role of teacher judgement in considering NSA data amongst wider assessment activities.

NSA reports are designed for teachers, who have access to training and guidance on the use of these adaptive assessments and their outputs, allowing them to interpret and use the report format appropriately.

Question reference: S6W-25363

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the AlphaPlus annual report for 2022-23 regarding the National Standardised Assessments for Scotland will be published.

Academic Year	17-18	18-19	19-20	20-21	21-22	22-23
P1	6%	11%	90%	21%	19%	13%
P4	4%	4%	57%	6%	7%	5%
P7	3%	3%	45%	7%	5%	7%
S3	9%	10%	54%	49%	22%	20%