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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: S5W-08283

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the submission by the Royal Society of Edinburgh to the Enterprise and Skills Review Phase 2, which states that "the Scottish Government has not made an adequate and persuasive case for the abolition of the independent boards of the four agencies under review", whether it will (a) publish evidence that the review proposals are able to continue as they are currently set out and (b) reassess the plans it set out in Phase 1 and abandon its plan for the creation of an overarching body.

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work made a statement to parliament on Thursday 30 March on the Enterprise and Skills Review. The text of the statement can be found here: https://news.gov.scot/speeches-and-briefings/enterprise-and-skills-review-1

The statement confirmed that a new Strategic board will be established to drive alignment across the work of the agencies and deliver a long-term step change in economic performance.

Each Agency will retain its board and will remain legislatively unchanged, however there is an expectation that all Agencies will work more closely to align their delivery to maximise their positive impact on the economy.

Question reference: S5W-08284

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the submission by the Royal Society of Edinburgh to the Enterprise and Skills Review Phase 2, which suggests that the Crerar report did not declutter the landscape and that the structures it set out only added to the complexity, whether it will seek different independent advice on its proposals under the Enterprise and Skills Review Phase 1.

The Scottish Government has consulted with and listened to a wide range of stakeholders during Phase two of the Enterprise and Skills Review, including representations from the Agencies, trade unions and the academic and business communities.

These consultations demonstrated a positive response to Professor Crerar’s report and widespread support for the creation of a Strategic board.

This was reflected in the statement made to parliament on 30 March 2017 by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, the text of which is available here: https://news.gov.scot/speeches-and-briefings/enterprise-and-skills-review-1

Question reference: S5W-07990

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 24 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06139 by Shona Robison on 25 January 2017, on what date the baby boxes will be rolled out; how it will analyse the effectiveness of the (a) rollout and (b) initiative, and when it will begin a formal evaluation of the scheme.

Further to the answer given by the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Social Care and Sport, I can reiterate that the Scottish Baby Box will be rolled out nationally this summer.

Evaluation of the pilots in Clackmannanshire and Orkney is underway, particularly to establish parents’ views of the Baby Box. These findings will be used to inform how we take forward the national roll-out, including the contents of the Box.

We are currently considering how best to evaluate the Baby Box nationally but intend to keep under review its contents and response of parents.

Question reference: S5W-07952

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the retendering of the contract for clinical systems used by GP practices.

Question reference: S5W-07927

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is the findings of the survey of members of the Modern Studies Association that (a) 85% believe that the SQA documentation and course assessment specification are unfit for purpose and lack clarity, consistency and meaning, (b) 91% agree or strongly agree that there is too much content in the higher democracy unit for it to be delivered within the notional time allocation and (c) 34% agree or strongly agree that they are confident and clear about the standards and expectation of the subject at Higher grade.

Question reference: S5W-07915

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government in light of the report, Drivers and Barriers to uptake of Early Learning and Childcare amongst 2 year olds, which it commissioned, what its position is on reports that (a) there remains uncertainty regarding the exact figures relating to the uptake of the free early learning entitlement, (b) uptake is lower than expected and (c) parents remain unaware of this free entitlement.

We welcome the recommendations provided by the research. Ensuring more eligible two year olds take up their entitlement is a key priority as these children and families stand to benefit most from funded early learning and childcare. As outlined in my answer to S5W-07914 on 22 March 2017, I will set out further actions which the government will take to promote uptake of this entitlement in our response to the consultation "A Blueprint for 2020: The Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland".

On the data, the figures reported by the Scottish Government on the uptake of early learning and childcare entitlement are based on the number of registrations. These figures are quality assured and agreed with each local authority. We would expect the number of registrations reported by local authorities and the Scottish Government to be the same for a given point in time. The accuracy of the uptake figures can be affected by double counting of children with split placements, the difficulty of reporting on children who access their entitlement in a different local authority to where they live, and any inaccuracies in the population projections on which uptake calculations are based. We have a project in place to transform the data collection for this sector which will address the majority of these issues. Uptake figures based on this more comprehensive data should be available in summer 2019.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-07928

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is the findings of the survey of members of the Modern Studies Association, which states that the association "continues to have serious concerns regarding the additional exemplification and detail in the Course Assessment Specification... yet still contains basic errors as well as significant omissions in course coverage".

Question reference: S5W-07914

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report, Drivers and Barriers to uptake of Early Learning and Childcare amongst 2 year olds, which it commissioned, how it plans to take forward the findings.

Question reference: S5W-07708

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S5W-07071 by Maureen Watt on 2 March 2017, how much it allocated through its agencies to the Positive Parenting Programme.

Question reference: S5O-00801

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when details of funding for the third sector interface model for the 2017-18 financial year will be finalised.