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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-35447

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to creating a unique learner number system; whether legislation would be required to implement such a system, and, if so, whether it plans to bring forward such legislation.

Question reference: S6O-04444

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support cultural activities for children and young people in Glasgow.

Question reference: S6W-35365

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Educational Institute of Scotland's MSP Briefing on Instrumental Music Provision, which was published in February 2025.

The most recent Instrumental Music Survey published in January 2025 shows the number of pupils accessing free instrumental music tuition was the highest on record since the survey began in 2012.

Since 2021-22 we have provided dedicated funding to local authorities to support the removal of fees for instrumental music and in 2025-26 we will provide £12m to support this policy.

Local authorities are responsible for delivering education and so it is for individual councils to make choices about levels and means of provision that meet their local circumstances and the needs of pupils. No Council has charged for IMT since 2020-21.

The Scottish Government has been engaging closely with EIS and a range of partners to implement our commitments on instrumental music tuition and will continue to do so.

Question reference: S6W-34590

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32776 by Jenny Gilruth on 14 January 2025, whether it will publish its analysis of the relocation options for the accreditation function of the SQA, and, if so, by what date.

Question reference: S6W-35265

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support data-sharing arrangements as part of the pilot of the wider basket of measures on widening access to higher education.

The Scottish Government is committed to breaking down the barriers to higher education. To help towards achieving the widening access targets we are working with partners in the North-East of Scotland on a pilot to evaluate the impact of Free School Meal data sharing on university admissions. Partner organisations leading on the work are Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen.

Partners are responsible for their own data sharing arrangements, drawing on existing data sharing protocols they have in place. The Scottish Government continues to provide support where necessary in liaison with partner organisations.

We will provide evaluation of the pilot, due to take place later this year.

Question reference: S6W-35278

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to outline its plans to examine options for teacher training on additional support needs (ASN) and analyse the number of teacher training hours attributed to ASN.

All teachers undertake additional support needs (ASN) training during Initial Teacher Education (ITE), which is a requirement to meet the Professional Standards for registration with the General Teaching Council of Scotland.

We have asked the Scottish Council of Deans for Education (SCDE), through their Scottish Universities Inclusion Group, to undertake an analysis of the way ASN are addressed in ITE. We expect to receive an update from SCDE on the progress of this work shortly.

Question reference: S6W-35264

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported proportion of blind or seriously visually-impaired entrants to university in 2022-23 being 0.1%, the same proportion as 2012-13, and what action it has taken to improve this figure.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all students with a disability, long term medical condition or additional support needs are able to access further and higher education and are fully supported throughout their studies.

It is for institutions to make decisions on their intake but they are required under the Equality Act (Scotland) 2010 to provide equal opportunities and prevent discrimination.

It is worth noting that the retention rate for this group of students, which in the last four years has been above the sector average, is currently (in AY 2021-22 into AY 2022-23) 91.8% for FTFD Scottish Domiciled Entrants.

PERSISTENT INEQUALITIES

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are currently working together to enhance the SFC’s leadership and oversight role in tackling persistent inequalities in the tertiary system.

Through this, SFC and EHRC have established a set of National Equality Outcomes (NEOs) for the tertiary education sector through their Persistent Inequalities work. Disability, as a protected characteristic, is included as part of this work, and the following National Equality Outcomes related to disabled students:

Disabled students report feeling satisfied with the overall support and reasonable adjustments received, including from teaching staff, while on their course.
Disabled staff and students report feeling safe in the tertiary system.
Where representation is not proportionate to the relevant population, increase the representation of disabled staff in the workforce and on college Boards and university Courts.

SFC will be reviewing progress made by the sector through the upcoming Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) reports as part of SFC’s Outcome Framework and Assurance Model.

DSA

The Scottish Government (via the Scottish Funding Council and the Student Awards Agency Scotland) provides various funding mechanisms in the form of the Additional Support Needs for Learning Allowance, the Access and Inclusion Fund, and the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA).

This vital support ensures that those with a disability or additional support needs are able to access further and higher education and continue to be well supported throughout their studies.

In 2023-24 the number of full-time students with disabilities or additional support needs who were supported by DSA increased to 5,855. This totals £14.1 million in support, an 18.4% increase.

Data also shows that we now have a record number of students at university with a recorded disability or additional support need (6,765).

Question reference: S6W-35258

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has given to youth work organisations to engage in the Scottish Educational Exchange Programme (SEEP); how many such organisations have (a) applied for and (b) received funding each year through SEEP; how it is ensuring that SEEP has a focus on quality, and how many students from the poorest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintiles have participated in the programme.

The Scottish Education Exchange Programme Test and Learn Project (SEEP) has been developed in partnership with colleges and universities and over the first 2 years has supported 56 projects focusing on closing the shortfall between the UK Government Turing Scheme and Erasmus+.

Applications for the SEEP must be submitted by a Scottish college or university. The amount of funding for each institution is capped at £25,000. Each applicant has the opportunity to apply for an additional (up to) £10,000 to partner with a recognised Scottish youth work organisation.

Whilst the first year of SEEP focused on staff mobility, criteria in year 2 was extended to include short-term mobility opportunities for Scottish students, addressing a gap in the Turing Scheme. These projects are live, institutions will provide student participation data once the projects conclude in March 2025.

An evaluation of the programme has been commissioned and will be published this summer.

Question reference: S6W-35300

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to change initial teacher education places for primary school teachers, and, if so, what changes it is considering.

Following our annual teacher workforce planning process, which included detailed statistical modelling, and advice from the Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group, we wrote to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in February 2025, with recommendations for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) intakes for the 2025-26 academic year.

Recommendations included a reduction in intakes to primary programmes, with further consideration to be given to the level of any further reductions for the 2026-27 academic year.

This advice to the SFC will assist in the setting of intakes to ITE programmes for individual higher education institutions. These will be shown in SFC’s final funding allocations for 2025-26, due to be published at the end of May 2025.

Question reference: S6W-35297

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available for NHS boards to implement A&E department opt-out HIV and blood borne virus testing.

The Scottish Government has provided specific funding (totalling around £145,000) for Emergency Department (ED) opt-out blood borne virus testing pilots in NHS Lothian, Grampian and Highland. At present, any other ED opt-out testing would be delivered by NHS Boards using the core funding they receive from the Scottish Government which includes baselined funding for sexual health improvement and blood borne virus elimination.