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-23416

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received a response from the UK Government to the letter that it sent on (a) 3, (b) 5 and (c) 15 September 2023 regarding reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Question reference: S6W-22975

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to (a) schools, (b) colleges and (c) universities, what the current average caseload of additional support needs staff is, and how this compares to recommended standards or benchmarks.

The term additional support needs under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (the 2004 Act) applies where for whatever reason children or young people are unable to benefit from school education without the provision of additional support. Therefore, the information requested in relation to colleges and universities is not applicable.

There are no national recommended standards or benchmarks for the caseload of school staff working with children and young people with additional support needs. School staffing decisions are the responsibility of individual local authorities. Therefore the information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.

All teachers are responsible for supporting pupils with additional support needs, not just those teachers whose role is specifically related to additional support for learning. The ratio of pupils to teachers has remained at its lowest since 2009.

Question reference: S6W-23770

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure Scottish representation and impact at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

World Expos are regulated by the Intergovernmental Organisation - Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and membership is reserved. Scotland’s participation is reliant on invitation from the UK Government to be a sponsor partner of the UK Pavilion. Building on Scotland’s successful participation at Expo 2020 in Dubai, the UK and Scottish Government are in discussion about opportunities to showcase Scotland at Expo 2025 in Osaka.

Question reference: S6W-23499

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to provide an update to the Parliament on its national action plan on violence and behaviour in schools.

Question reference: S6W-23493

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with local authorities regarding their (a) strategic and (b) implementation plans for improving school attendance, and how it is encouraging any local authorities that do not have a plan in place to develop such a plan.

The Scottish Government has published guidance for local authorities and schools, Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1: Promoting and Managing School Attendance , as well as guidance for parents which reinforces the message that they should support children to attend school.

The guidance sets out how to promote engagement and motivation, including among those who may be at risk of poor attendance.

It also sets out action schools should take in response to a child’s or young person’s absence from school.

Earlier this year I asked Education Scotland to undertake work to better understand the current barriers and challenges experienced by schools, children and young people and their families which influence school attendance. Education Scotland published this report on 28 November.

We are currently reviewing the findings of this report and will consider the recommendations for any future work on addressing attendance in schools.

We are also considering the findings from our Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research, also published in November, which provides evidence-based information on the extent to which pupils are disengaging from learning. We are currently considering the findings of BISSR and plan to publish an action plan early in the new year.

Question reference: S6W-23511

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government from what part of its Budget it has allocated the £900,000 for local authorities to offer support training for staff to tackle post-COVID-19 pandemic challenges in schools, as announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 29 November 2023.

Question reference: S6W-22984

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider reviewing the current relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education resources to ensure that sufficient education on abortion is included.

It is up to schools and teachers to decide what resources to use when delivering relevant and engaging learning. A summary of resources that may be used to support delivery of RSHP education is available on Education Scotland's National Improvement Hub at https://education.gov.scot/resources/a-summary-of-rshp-resources/. One of these resources is the RSHP National learning and teaching resource which contains a learning activity at third/fourth level (Secondary 1 to Secondary 3) on abortion. This activity lets young people know that abortion or termination services are available and that sexual health services are confidential. The partnerships of health boards and local authorities who supported development of this resource conducted a review of all learning activities this year.

Officials have also been working with key stakeholders to review and revise the statutory teaching guidance on RSHP education. The public consultation on the revised guidance closed on 23 November 2023 with over 3,800 responses received. Officials are now analysing the contributions to the public consultation with a view to finalising and publishing the statutory guidance for the start of the next academic year.

Question reference: S6T-01709

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 18 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out and use of tasers within Police Scotland, in light of reports that they have been used 131 times, and discharged nine times, against children since 2018.

Question reference: S6T-01702

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Police Scotland is considering closing more than 40 police buildings.

Question reference: S6F-02675

Asked by: Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that Creative Scotland's National Lottery Extended Programme Fund has received applications equating to double the available budget, leaving some organisations and charities without funding.