- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government on what date it first identified that it was necessary to improve ventilation in schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what its position is on whether it would have been possible to make the changes proposed under the £5 million schools/ELC ventilation fund earlier in the pandemic.
Answer
Ventilation has been an important feature of our Reducing Risks in Schools guidance since October 2020. This guidance has been regularly updated in line with the latest expert advice.
Local authorities have undertaken a range of work to improve ventilation in schools in line with guidance and expert advice over the course of the pandemic. This work was initially supported with £90 million of Scottish Government funding for Covid logistics that could be used for a range of purposes including ventilation. A further £10 million of Scottish Government funding specifically for ventilation and CO2 monitoring in schools and ELC settings was provided to local authorities at the start of the new academic year in 2021.
A commitment was provided to local authorities to continue discussions regarding the need for any further funding to ensure effective action on ventilation could continue to be taken. The First Minister announced on 11 January that additional capital funding of up to £5 million would be made available to local authorities to support any further urgent remedial work that is needed to ensure good ventilation in schools and ELC settings.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, how it decided that persistent CO2 readings in excess of 1,500ppm are an indication of a persistently problematic area; what equivalent thresholds adopted by other countries for education spaces it considered, and whether it has considered any alterations to its existing guidance.
Answer
These figures are based on the latest advice from SAGE’s Environmental Modelling Group, which monitors evidence from a wide range of authoritative sources. Our guidance is reviewed as scientific advice develops.
The figures used are aligned with those used in guidance issued by the Department for Education in England and the Welsh Government.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, for what reason information was used from the Department for Education that covered England on the average cost of air cleaning/filtration devices, and what precluded the use of data from authorities in Scotland.
Answer
The Department for Education has undertaken a review of air cleaning devices likely to be suitable for use in schools, and associated costs, to support a centralised procurement strategy. This information was therefore utilised to assist in building up our cost assumptions.
Only a small number of local authorities in Scotland have to date chosen to utilise air cleaning devices, in a very small number of problematic spaces as a temporary measure.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by the First Minister on 3 February 2022 that “we are enabling local authorities, guided by health and safety considerations, to take the actions that they consider to be necessary”, what its position is on whether (a) it had a responsibility to be guided by health and safety considerations prior to providing £300,000 for the identified purpose of undercutting doors or (b) this is the sole responsibility of each local authority.
Answer
We have not asked local authorities to undercut doors in schools, nor was £300,000 provided to them specifically for these purposes.
My letter to the Education, Children and Young People Committee setting out the example scenario was not guidance, and has not been issued to local authorities. It was a response to a request from the Committee to provide more detail on how costings had been arrived at. The letter stated:
“In order to calculate the £5m schools/ELC ventilation fund, we have assumed an example set of remedial measures which could be taken for each problematic space although this will vary depending on local decisions.”
and
“ It is very important to note that these costs will of course vary significantly in practice, as the precise remedial measures used in each problematic space should be informed by local circumstances and expert assessment by local authority teams .”
Local authorities are fully aware that they should undertake any remedial work in line with Scottish Government guidance on ventilation and expert input. Our guidance already makes clear that when implementing any Covid-safety measures, local authorities must continue to adhere to legal obligations with regard to health and safety, including fire safety. It is of course for local authorities as duty holders to ensure appropriate consultation with all relevant authorities when undertaking works in school buildings.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it has (a) contacted and (b) been contacted by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding its announcement of £300,000 for the undercutting of doors in educational spaces, and whether it will publish all associated documentation, including any minutes and correspondence.
Answer
Scottish Government officials have spoken with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) regarding this matter.
SFRS have close working relationships with all Local Authorities, particularly when it comes to fire safety in educational establishments. SFRS have confirmed that they understand the Scottish Government’s approach in seeking to improve ventilation in schools and, in line with business as usual fire safety processes and procedures, they are happy to provide advice and support to Local Authorities regarding any changes to structures which may have an impact upon Fire Risk Assessments.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions since May 2021 the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group has (a) met and (b) cancelled or rearranged a meeting, and of these, for what reason was the meeting cancelled, and whether the implementation of the next phase of the Ending Homelessness Together action plan is on schedule.
Answer
Since May 2021, the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group (HPSG) has met on one occasion, 5 November 2021. Meetings take place once every quarter, subject to parliamentary and local government business, with the next meeting scheduled for March.
A meeting scheduled for June 2021 was cancelled following the Scottish Parliament election to allow time to determine portfolio responsibilities. The meeting scheduled for September 2021 was postponed until November 2021 to accommodate parliamentary business and ensure the co-chair from COSLA was available. The next meeting, which was scheduled to take place in February 2022, has been postponed until March 2022 to accommodate parliamentary business and ensure the co-chair from COSLA was available.
The delivery of the Ending Homelessness Together action plan is on track as demonstrated in our annual progress report, which was laid in Parliament in October 2021. The plan has been welcomed by stakeholders, including HPSG members, who are responsible for overseeing the development and delivery of the plan.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many people the open market shared equity scheme has helped to buy homes that were (a) new build and (b) resold existing property.
Answer
The number of households who have received assistance to purchase under the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme can be found in the attached Affordable Housing Supply Programme out-turn reports and data.
More homes: Affordable Housing Supply Programme - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The Scottish Government does not record if homes are new build or existing homes.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the total energy generation capacity is in Scotland of (a) domestic rooftop solar installation, (b) commercial rooftop solar installation and (c) ground mounted solar PV schemes.
Answer
There is approximately 400MW of solar PV operational in Scotland, equating to 3% of total operational capacity.
As of 2020, there are at least 60,000 domestic level solar PV installations in Scotland with a capacity of just over 200MW, and around 8000 solar thermal installations.
Of the remaining operational Solar PV, approximately 12,000 of these are community and locally owned PV installations. With around 3500 community and locally owned solar thermal projects, these are typically found across housing associations, public sector, communities and other charitable organisations.
The Scottish Government does not hold this data on commercial or ground mounted only solar PV schemes.
There is approximately 350 MW of solar capacity in pipeline in Scotland, including 32MW in planning, 44MW under construction and 281 awaiting construction, representing 2.25% of the overall renewables pipeline in Scotland. This will take the total capacity of both installed and pipeline of solar in Scotland to in the region of 750MW.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) is aware and (b) was provided a copy of the report, Covid-19 Mitigation in Schools, prepared for the City of Edinburgh Council in May 2021, and whether it (i) is aware and (ii) has been provided copies of any equivalent reports by other local authorities or COSLA.
Answer
The City of Edinburgh Council shared this report with officials in the Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust last year.
The analysis was based on a sample of 9 schools in May 2021 and showed, for example, that CO2 levels were high because windows were not being opened and rooms were not being flushed during breaks.
The report helped inform the work that the Council subsequently carried out to improve ventilation in schools.
In addition, the report was used to help further develop Scottish Government guidance.
The report was also shared with the expert Ventilation Short Life Working Group to inform their work.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, whether it will publish a breakdown of the number of problematic spaces by (a) local authority and (b) school.
Answer
Data is currently being collected within local authorities and will be returned to the Scottish Government to provide a national perspective. We intend to provide the Committee with an update on the overall national picture early next month, subject to receipt of local authority returns.
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of problematic spaces in specific schools. This information will be held by local authorities as it is their statutory responsibility to manage their school estate.
