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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-31806

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on developing a replacement notification process for Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) assessors that will maintain GDPR compliance.

Notifications of awards of DSA to assessors are being provided as part of the new DSA online service that Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) released in October 2024.

The service is in a pilot stage where it is being trialled by 3 universities to submit new DSA applications. It is anticipated that the online service will be rolled out by SAAS to every Higher Education Institution during 2025. In the interim, there is an exceptions handling process in place for assessors who require a copy of a DSA award notice from SAAS.

Question reference: S6W-31808

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish an advisory group to consider disability-related issues in further and higher education.

Question reference: S6W-31678

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason neither digital learning nor assistive technology feature in the 43 actions of its Additional Support for Learning Review Action Plan – Update November 2024.

The Scottish Government is developing a new digital strategy which is due for publication in early 2025, for school education in Scotland. This is being developed in partnership with COSLA and key education stakeholders and will help support the use of technology in our schools.

In November 2024, we published an updated Additional Support for Learning Action Plan and a third progress report. The next update is due to be published in 2026. Officials continue to work with local government partners on the ASL Project Board to deliver the remaining actions to improve the experience of children and young people with additional support needs at school, including those who benefit from digital learning and assistive technology.

The Scottish Government also grant fund CALL Scotland £367,177 per year to have a positive and enabling impact on the provision of support to children and young people who can benefit from assistive technology or augmentative and alternative communication.

Question reference: S6W-31811

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a forum for relevant stakeholders to explore and develop evidence-based strategies that could tackle the reported poorer outcomes that some disabled students and graduates, particularly those who are autistic or neurodivergent and those with mental ill health, continue to experience.

A number of forums exist which provide an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss disabled student and graduate outcomes.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) have regular contact with the College Development Network’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion network, which brings together equality leads from Scotland’s colleges. SFC are also developing a relationship with the Scottish Equality Forum, a network which brings together equality leads from across Scotland’s universities and college to provide support to each other on addressing inequality in the sector.

Additionally, through the development of the proposed Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, 3 Bill Advisory Panels were established early last year to co-develop proposals. This includes stakeholder and practitioner panels and a lived experience panel. Those panels provide a forum for wider discussion of the challenges and barriers faced by autistic and neurodivergent people, including their experiences of education.

And in September 2024, the Scottish Government published its Student Mental Health Action Plan which sets out, for the first time, a mainstreamed approach to student mental health. The Scottish Government will work in partnership with NHS Boards, CoSLA, Public Health Scotland and community based providers to join up support that is already available, embedding support for students into the wider communities in which they live and study.

Question reference: S6W-31490

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it issues to (a) its departments and (b) organisations working on its behalf regarding its (i) definition of, (ii) criteria for and (iii) expectations surrounding the process of a peer review.

Two peer review processes are overseen by the social research profession in Scottish Government.

Organisations working for Scottish Government and officials may be involved in an Ethics Peer Review. The Scottish Government Ethics Guidance for Social Research (https://www.gov.scot/publications/ethics-guidance-scottish-government-social-research/) sets out the criteria, expectations and process ensuring ethically highly sensitive projects receive this additional scrutiny.

The Scottish Government Social Research Contractor Handbook (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-social-research-publication-protocol/) suggests peer reviews to assess the quality of completed reports. These are internal or external by independent researchers. Internal social research guidance advises external peer review may be useful at the start of complex projects.

Question reference: S6F-03628

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reported comments from the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland that “children are being let down” by an education system that needs “radical reform”.

Question reference: S6W-31685

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it had at the UK Education Ministerial Council meeting on 20 November 2024, and what representations it made on behalf of (a) pupils, (b) teachers and (c) the (i) further and (ii) higher education sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Government engaged directly with the other UK nations at the UK Education Ministers’ Council on a range of matters within education. This included detailed discussions on teacher professional learning and teacher recruitment and retention, which were the main focus of the meeting. These discussions provided an opportunity to showcase some of the work underway in Scotland in these areas, including on professional update for teachers, and guaranteed induction placements. There was also some discussion of UK Government policy towards international students relating to further and higher education.

Question reference: S6W-31677

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to CALL Scotland's 2023-24 annual report.

We welcome CALL Scotland’s 2023/24 annual report and value the ongoing work they do to provide specialist expertise in support of children and young people with additional support needs who need Inclusive Digital Technology and/or Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

The Scottish Government grant fund CALL Scotland £367,177 per year to have a positive and enabling impact on the provision of support to children and young people with these specific learning needs.

CALL Scotland are represented on the ASL Network and the National Strategic Commissioning Group, and we value their input and expertise in this important area of support for children and young people.

Question reference: S6W-31493

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) asked the SQA to undertake an independent review of the marking of Higher History in 2024 and (b) set the parameters for the independence of that review.

Question reference: S6W-31488

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 December 2024

To ask Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of the methodology used to provide the "independent, external scrutiny and challenge of the review" of the marking of Higher History in 2024, including the conclusions and wider reflections, as set out in the SQA's Higher History Review 2024 report, and whether the individual responsible for the review spoke to any teachers who were not employed by the SQA as markers.

Marking of exams, and quality assurance of the associated processes, is an operational matter for the SQA in its independent role as an examination body.

The Scottish Government did not instruct the review into the marking of Higher History in 2024 carried out by SQA and the detail of the methodology (including who the reviewer spoke to) were operational decisions for the SQA.

The Scottish Government notes that the SQA has undertaken a substantial review which has demonstrably considered a wide range of evidence in reaching its conclusions. These findings have been independently peer reviewed by the Executive Director of Qualifications and Assessment at the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC), who agreed that its conclusions and recommendations are supported by evidence.