- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what recent analysis it has conducted of the amount of higher education funding per student in Scotland compared with other UK nations, and what steps it will take to close any identified gap.
Answer
It is not appropriate to undertake such analysis given Scottish and rUK education systems are not comparable due to several key reasons, including but not limited to:
Higher education is 'free' at the point of delivery in Scotland, and not in the rest of the UK (rUK) and hence student numbers and cost per student are not comparable.
Scottish Colleges provide a higher proportion of Higher Education in Scotland than rUK equivalents.
Degrees are typically longer in Scotland (4 years versus 3 in rUK) and Scottish students start university at a younger age.
The English landscape changed following the Higher Education & Research Act 2017 which meant that the way in which Higher Education Institutions and Alternative Providers were funded, badged and treated changed. The governance and funding of HEIs and Alternative Providers in Scotland have remained unchanged over the same time period.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether any consideration has been given to an emergency dental scheme that prioritises dental treatment for vulnerable groups who lack access.
Answer
Patients who are not registered with a dentist can access emergency and urgent dental care via the Public Dental Service.
The Scottish Government also has a range of programmes to support those in vulnerable groups to maintain and improve their oral health:
- 'Childsmile' our flagship programme designed to reduce oral health inequalities and improve oral health among children;
- 'Caring For Smiles' for dependent older people over 65;
- 'Smile4Life' for people experiencing homelessness;
- 'Mouth Matters' for people with experience of the justice system;
- 'Open Wide' for adults between 16-64 years of age with additional care needs.
More information on our oral health improvement programmes is available online at: Oral Health Improvement – Scottish Dental
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that no pupil is disadvantaged as a result of the recently reported administrative failure at the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish in full the reported internal review undertaken by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in relation to secure assessment materials being compromised, and what lessons will be learnt from this incident.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025.
Responsibility for any decisions on whether to publish the results of their investigation conducted in relation to the sharing of annotated materials is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken of any impact of non-residential social care charges on the uptake of social care by people eligible or already in receipt of social care.
Answer
The Scottish Government has been working with CoSLA to look at options for removing non residential care charging. Given pressures being faced across the system, this has focussed on financial analysis but has also included modelling on potential increases in the number of people accessing social care should charges be removed.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that cost information for publicly funded care home places is being withheld on the grounds of commercial confidentiality, and what its position is on whether this is acceptable.
Answer
The Scottish Government understands concerns regarding the withholding of cost information for publicly funded care home places under claims of commercial confidentiality. While commercial interests are protected under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), such exemptions are subject to a public interest test. While respecting legitimate commercial interests, the Scottish Government encourages public authorities and care providers to adopt best practices in information sharing
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether any repeated failures by the Scottish Qualifications Authority erode trust in the national qualifications system, and what reforms it plans to implement in this regard.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what immediate steps it is taking to address the reported alleged breach of exam marking security procedures at the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much it invested in battery reprocessing and recycling facilities in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answer
The Scottish Government invested in battery reprocessing and recycling facilities through the Recycling Improvement Fund, but these were delivered prior to the 2024-25 financial year.
Dumfries and Galloway Council has introduced a kerbside battery collection service. This new service is open to domestic properties and commercial customers, as well as local primary and secondary schools. Batteries are collected in a dedicated battery recycling bag which is placed on top of the bin for collection by bin crews who will leave a replacement bag for future use. It is expected this new service will collect an additional 12.45 tonnes of material for recycling and reduce the volume and risks of batteries being disposed of within the residual waste stream. The grant award for this project was £70,759.00 in 2023-24.
East Lothian Council included batteries in the kerbside service change implemented with a Recycling Improve Fund grant. It is not possible to identify the specific battery-related cost of the wider service change programme, but the overall project award was £2,747,531.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of its upcoming investment for the 2025-26 financial year in efforts to inform and educate the public on waste separation best practice.
Answer
Local authorities are responsible for decisions relating to the operation and delivery of waste management in their area. This means that local authorities operate different systems of waste separation, making local authorities themselves best placed to inform and educate residents on the systems and services available to them locally and any separation required.
The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 set out that Scotland will move from a voluntary to a statutory household recycling Code of Practice to deliver better and more consistent recycling services. A benefit of the increased standardisation across Scotland would be to enable effective national communications on waste separation best practice.