Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-06365

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, how many classes it anticipates will “relocate to alternative spaces while alternative, longer-term measures are put in place”; whether it will update the Parliament on the number of classrooms that are taken out of use on this basis, and whether it has assessed how many alternative spaces are available.

Question reference: S6W-06362

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it first identified that it was necessary to improve ventilation in schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what its position is on whether it would have been possible to make the changes proposed under the £5 million schools/ELC ventilation fund earlier in the pandemic.

Ventilation has been an important feature of our Reducing Risks in Schools guidance since October 2020. This guidance has been regularly updated in line with the latest expert advice.

Local authorities have undertaken a range of work to improve ventilation in schools in line with guidance and expert advice over the course of the pandemic. This work was initially supported with £90 million of Scottish Government funding for Covid logistics that could be used for a range of purposes including ventilation. A further £10 million of Scottish Government funding specifically for ventilation and CO2 monitoring in schools and ELC settings was provided to local authorities at the start of the new academic year in 2021.

A commitment was provided to local authorities to continue discussions regarding the need for any further funding to ensure effective action on ventilation could continue to be taken. The First Minister announced on 11 January that additional capital funding of up to £5 million would be made available to local authorities to support any further urgent remedial work that is needed to ensure good ventilation in schools and ELC settings.

Question reference: S6W-06358

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, how it decided that persistent CO2 readings in excess of 1,500ppm are an indication of a persistently problematic area; what equivalent thresholds adopted by other countries for education spaces it considered, and whether it has considered any alterations to its existing guidance.

Question reference: S6W-06361

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, for what reason information was used from the Department for Education that covered England on the average cost of air cleaning/filtration devices, and what precluded the use of data from authorities in Scotland.

The Department for Education has undertaken a review of air cleaning devices likely to be suitable for use in schools, and associated costs, to support a centralised procurement strategy. This information was therefore utilised to assist in building up our cost assumptions.

Only a small number of local authorities in Scotland have to date chosen to utilise air cleaning devices, in a very small number of problematic spaces as a temporary measure.

Question reference: S6W-06350

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by the First Minister on 3 February 2022 that “we are enabling local authorities, guided by health and safety considerations, to take the actions that they consider to be necessary”, what its position is on whether (a) it had a responsibility to be guided by health and safety considerations prior to providing £300,000 for the identified purpose of undercutting doors or (b) this is the sole responsibility of each local authority.

We have not asked local authorities to undercut doors in schools, nor was £300,000 provided to them specifically for these purposes.

My letter to the Education, Children and Young People Committee setting out the example scenario was not guidance, and has not been issued to local authorities. It was a response to a request from the Committee to provide more detail on how costings had been arrived at. The letter stated:

“In order to calculate the £5m schools/ELC ventilation fund, we have assumed an example set of remedial measures which could be taken for each problematic space although this will vary depending on local decisions.”

and

“ It is very important to note that these costs will of course vary significantly in practice, as the precise remedial measures used in each problematic space should be informed by local circumstances and expert assessment by local authority teams .”

Local authorities are fully aware that they should undertake any remedial work in line with Scottish Government guidance on ventilation and expert input. Our guidance already makes clear that when implementing any Covid-safety measures, local authorities must continue to adhere to legal obligations with regard to health and safety, including fire safety. It is of course for local authorities as duty holders to ensure appropriate consultation with all relevant authorities when undertaking works in school buildings.

Question reference: S6W-06351

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it has (a) contacted and (b) been contacted by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding its announcement of £300,000 for the undercutting of doors in educational spaces, and whether it will publish all associated documentation, including any minutes and correspondence.

Scottish Government officials have spoken with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) regarding this matter.

SFRS have close working relationships with all Local Authorities, particularly when it comes to fire safety in educational establishments. SFRS have confirmed that they understand the Scottish Government’s approach in seeking to improve ventilation in schools and, in line with business as usual fire safety processes and procedures, they are happy to provide advice and support to Local Authorities regarding any changes to structures which may have an impact upon Fire Risk Assessments.

Question reference: S6W-06363

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) is aware and (b) was provided a copy of the report, Covid-19 Mitigation in Schools, prepared for the City of Edinburgh Council in May 2021, and whether it (i) is aware and (ii) has been provided copies of any equivalent reports by other local authorities or COSLA.

The City of Edinburgh Council shared this report with officials in the Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust last year.

The analysis was based on a sample of 9 schools in May 2021 and showed, for example, that CO2 levels were high because windows were not being opened and rooms were not being flushed during breaks.

The report helped inform the work that the Council subsequently carried out to improve ventilation in schools.

In addition, the report was used to help further develop Scottish Government guidance.

The report was also shared with the expert Ventilation Short Life Working Group to inform their work.

Question reference: S6W-06354

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, whether it will publish a breakdown of the number of problematic spaces by (a) local authority and (b) school.

Data is currently being collected within local authorities and will be returned to the Scottish Government to provide a national perspective. We intend to provide the Committee with an update on the overall national picture early next month, subject to receipt of local authority returns.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of problematic spaces in specific schools. This information will be held by local authorities as it is their statutory responsibility to manage their school estate.

Question reference: S6W-06360

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the impact on children’s cognitive function of learning in education environments where the CO2 readings are in excess of (a) 800, (b) 1,000, (c) 1,500 and (d) 2,000 ppm, and what studies it has taken into account on this matter.

Question reference: S6W-06357

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, what criteria and definitions were used for categorising a learning, teaching or play space as “problematic” in relation to ventilation; what CO2 reading thresholds were taken into account; whether it will publish details of the descriptions of other categories, broken down by the number of spaces that fall into each category, and whether it considers that the remaining 48,000 spaces are not problematic.

Our guidance on ventilation for schools, updated most recently in December 2021, indicates that problematic spaces are where readings above 1500ppm are persistent despite mitigation measures being taken. Areas of high aerosol activity may use 800ppm as the threshold for high CO2 concentration.

Ventilation is a complex issue requiring, among other things, ongoing monitoring and management. For example, changes in room use or weather conditions can result in assessments of air quality changing over time, requiring fresh remedial action.

The Scottish Government has agreed formal reporting requirements regarding the number of remaining problematic spaces with local authorities. We will provide an update to the Education, Children and Young People Committee in due course, subject to receipt of local authority returns.

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