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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-25102

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allocate funding to support the implementation of its Student Mental Health Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-25069

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to investigate ways to determine the accurate cost of teaching delivery in college settings.

It is the responsibility of individual colleges to assess teaching costs. In support, however, the Tripartite Alignment Group of Scottish Government, Scottish Funding Council and Colleges Scotland has been considering the development of a costing methodology for Scotland’s colleges, building on work initiated by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). Given the vast range of provision delivered at and from Scottish colleges, it is highly complex to develop a methodology which is relevant and scalable. However, several colleges are currently piloting a benchmarking exercise. Colleges Scotland expects to report back to the Tripartite Alignment Group on the results of this pilot in the spring. Further information on the Tripartite Alignment Group can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/groups/colleges-tripartitealignmentgroup/

Question reference: S6W-25071

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to recognition and procedures agreements (RPAs) at colleges, whether it is the case that (a) New College Lanarkshire, (b) Newbattle Abbey College, (c) Argyle College UHI, (d) Borders College and (e) Ayrshire College does not have an RPA in place, and, if so, what its understanding is of the reason for this; whether any other college does not have an RPA in place, and what assessment it has undertaken of the reason for which any college does not have an RPA in place.

Question reference: S6W-25074

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many colleges currently have trade union representatives on their boards.

The Scottish Government brought forward the Colleges of Further Education and Regional Strategic Bodies (Membership of Boards) (Scotland) Order 2023, which places a requirement for assigned college boards, regional college boards and both the Lanarkshire Board and the Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board to have two Trade Union nominees, one from the lecturing staff unions and one from the support staff unions.

The Order came into effect on 31 January 2024 and trade unions are currently working through their election processes to nominate individuals to boards.

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-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-25077

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to undertake an evaluation of the inclusion of trade union representatives on college boards.

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-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-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.