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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-25970

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the proposed introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers, as set out in its Budget for 2024-25, would result in any grocery stores liable for the surtax paying the highest business rate poundage in the UK.

Question reference: S6O-03200

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken regarding the incorporation of the definition of deafblindness into the work of Social Security Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-25654

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with organisations to facilitate the development of leadership programmes to upskill and resource educational leaders to tackle gender inequality in education and learning, as part of the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning.

The Gender Equality Taskforce in Education & Learning developed a set of ambitions in order to help inform its work, including the development of leadership programmes with a focus on gender inequality in education and learning. Development of this particular ambition was undertaken in consultation with Education Scotland, COSLA, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, the Scottish Council of Deans of Education and gender equality organisations including Close the Gap, Zero Tolerance and Rape Crisis Scotland. Since then, discussion and work has been ongoing to refine the overall workplan, including this particular ambition, to ensure that it is able to foster the type of long term, complex, systemic change that is needed. I am committed to continuing and accelerating such work to ensure that girls and young women have a gender equal experience of education and learning. The next meeting of the Taskforce will take place on 18 April.

Question reference: S6W-25659

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to develop and deliver survivor-centred and trauma informed policies and procedures with regards to the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning.

Members of the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education & Learning, including representatives from Zero Tolerance and Rape Crisis Scotland, have participated in the Gender Based Violence in Schools Working Group, helping to drive forward the production of the Gender Based Violence in Schools Framework. The Framework, which will be launched on 4 March, provides schools with survivor-centred and trauma informed approaches to tackling Gender Based Violence in schools.

Question reference: S6W-25653

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what working groups within the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning it has formed to take forward the activities for each goal of the Taskforce.

The Gender Equality Taskforce in Education & Learning developed a set of ambitions in order to help inform its work, including consideration of the optimum way in which to deliver these ambitions, including through the establishment of working groups. Since then, discussion and work has been ongoing to refine the workplan, to ensure that it is able to enact the type of long term, complex, systemic change that is needed. I am committed to continuing and accelerating such work to ensure that girls and young women have a gender equal experience of education and learning.

Question reference: S6W-25652

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of gender-competent school estate planning.

The Scottish Government recognise the importance of gender-competent school estate planning.

The guiding principles within our Learning Estate Strategy, which was produced in collaboration with COSLA and sets out our strategic approach for managing the learning estate, makes clear that learning environments should support the wellbeing of all learners. Furthermore, it states that good consultation about learning environments, direct engagement with learners about their needs and experiences, and an involvement in decision making processes should lead to better outcomes for all.

It is the statutory responsibility of all Local Authorities to manage their school estate and the Scottish Government expects them to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all school users.

Question reference: S6W-25655

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has developed a gender-competency framework for education and learning that incorporates intersectionality and anti-racism competencies, as part of the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning.

The Gender Equality Taskforce in Education & Learning developed a set of ambitions in order to help inform its work, including the development of an intersectional framework. Since then, discussion and work has been ongoing to refine the workplan, to ensure that it is able to enact the type of long term, complex, systemic change that is needed. I am committed to continuing and accelerating such work to ensure that girls and young women have a gender equal experience of education and learning.

Question reference: S6W-25656

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development and resource of intersectional data collection and analysis mechanisms to provide baselines for all activities within each goal of the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning.

The Gender Equality Taskforce in Education & Learning developed a set of ambitions in order to help inform its work, including focusing on data collection and analysis mechanisms. Since then, discussion and work has been ongoing to refine the workplan, to ensure that it is able to enact the type of long term, complex, systemic change that is needed. I am committed to continuing and accelerating such work to ensure that girls and young women have a gender equal experience of education and learning.

Question reference: S6W-25657

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, which provide interactive feedback loops and testing assumptions threaded throughout all work, with regards to the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning.

The Gender Equality Taskforce in Education & Learning developed a set of ambitions in order to help inform its work, including the development of monitoring and evaluation frameworks. Since then, discussion and work has been ongoing to refine the workplan, to ensure that it is able to enact the type of long term, complex, systemic change that is needed. I am committed to continuing and accelerating such work to ensure that girls and young women have a gender equal experience of education and learning.

Question reference: S6W-25658

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what work it has done with relevant bodies to support them in the development of resources that contribute to a gender-competent, gender-equal curriculum.

Education Scotland’s Improving Gender Balance and Equalities (IGBE) programme aims to establish interventions to effect long term cultural change with a particular focus on challenging gender stereotypes, and addressing the impacts of unconscious bias to encourage greater gender balance across occupations. The IGBE Programme works with school clusters to explore and assess interventions to address gender imbalances in participation, curricular preferences and learner pathways at every stage (3-18 years). The Programme is supported by £300,000 of Scottish Government funding in the current financial year.