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-25076

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost was of commissioning the report, Lessons Learned – resetting national collective bargaining in the colleges sector.

Question reference: S6W-25048

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish a list of all universities identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) present.

Question reference: S6W-24957

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23885 by Jenny Gilruth on 23 January 2024, how many surplus teachers are currently allocated to local authorities.

The Scottish Government does not allocate fully registered teachers to local authorities. Statutory responsibility for the recruitment and employment of teachers and all other support staff in local authority schools sits with individual councils.

Probationer teachers progressing through the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) are placed with local authorities through an allocation process. This is a placement and not employment. Where the number of probationers exceeds the number of places offered initially by local authorities these are subsequently allocated on a supernumerary basis. As previously indicated in answer to S6W-23885 this number was initially 626. To date there are over 500 deferrals and withdrawals from this year’s initial cohort so the 600 “supernumerary” figure as of May 2023 does not mean there are 600 surplus teachers.

Question reference: S6W-24962

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish an update on its reconsideration of delivery options to meet its commitment to support the update of pupils' digital devices when necessary, in light of its announcement that the £13 million allocated for this has been identified as a necessary saving.

An update on the provision of digital devices was given in the 2024-25 Scottish Government Budget.

In order to maximise the impact of capital funding available, we will seek to provide support at a household level, targeting investment specifically at disadvantaged families with children. This approach will improve equity of access to devices and connectivity for those who need it most, helping families realise the broad range of benefits associated with digital inclusion. It will also enable access not only to digital tools and resources for learning, but to digital society and online public services. Through doing so, it will expand the impact of this investment beyond learners to their wider families.

We are currently in the early stages of scheme design with Connecting Scotland, who will use their established model to distribute devices to eligible households, and will provide a further update on this work in due course.

Question reference: S6W-24942

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish minutes of the June 2023 meeting of the headteacher taskforce.

Question reference: S6F-02861

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the number of people living in temporary accommodation in Glasgow has increased by 25%.

Question reference: S6W-24945

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it expects the Spring 2024 meeting of the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning to take place.

Question reference: S6W-24944

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning has not met since May 2023.

Since May 2023 discussion and work has been ongoing with regards to refining the workplan for and membership of the Gender Equality Taskforce to ensure that it is able to enact the long term systemic change that is needed. The next meeting of the Gender Equality Taskforce is scheduled for 18 April 2024. Contributory work on preventing and responding to gender-base violence in schools has been taken forward by the short-life Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group, with a framework for schools to be published in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-24946

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21164 by Jenny Gilruth on 20 September 2023, when the Strategic Board for Teacher Education will report on its study into issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers.

The Strategic Board for Teacher Education has developed a workplan which contains a suite of interdependent workstreams, including workforce planning.

These workstreams contain a range of proposed actions which are in the process of being further developed and which will have individual timescales for reporting to the Board.

The Board last met on 1 February 2024 to discuss the workplan. Papers from this meeting and future meetings will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

Question reference: S6W-25156

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its learning for sustainability action plan.

The refreshed Learning for Sustainability (LfS) Action Plan was published in June 2023 with wide stakeholder support, and sets out a new vision for every 3-18 place of education in Scotland to become a Sustainable Learning Setting by 2030. The plan contains 25 strategic actions to support achievement of ‘Target 2030’ and implementation is underway.

Early delivery priorities have focused on, for example: development of an LfS “portal” to provide practical online resources for educators (the portal will go “live” in 2024); creation of a Mentor Network to support teachers in embedding LfS in curriculum design; and the launch of a national Call to Action on 6 December to encourage an increasing number of schools and other partners to engage in LfS activities.

The Learning for Sustainability Leadership Group – which meets quarterly – is overseeing delivery. Amongst others, members of the group include Education Scotland, Nature Scot, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, and Learning for Sustainability Scotland. Key priorities in 2024 will include the development of LfS Indicators to measure success and progress.