- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it was made aware of the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses for schools.
Answer
Scottish Government was made aware of the proposed changes when Microsoft announced them in August 2023. Local authorities were made aware by the Scottish Government in August 2023.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with teaching organisations regarding increasing the timetabling of computing science at Higher level, and what the outcomes were of any such discussions.
Answer
The timetabling of Computing Science in the senior phase is the responsibility of individual schools who have discretion to deliver a curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils and the wider community.
Since September 2022, Education Scotland has overseen a national timetabling group bringing school leaders and local authority representatives together to focus on innovative approaches to timetabling across all curricular areas.
The Scottish Government also continues to fund and engage with the organisation, Scottish Teachers Advancing Computing Science (STACS), to support Computing Science as a subject area. One of the key aims of STACS is to promote Computing Science as a desirable career option to young people and their parents/carers.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills held, between 1 April and 22 May 2024, to discuss its guidance on mobile phones in schools, and what the outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Between 1 April and 22 May 2024 I held three meetings to discuss the revised guidance on use of mobiles phones in schools:
? Two meetings with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) on 16 April 2024 and 15 May 2024. Minutes of these meetings are available at: Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .
? A meeting with the Head Teacher Taskforce on 22 May, the minutes of which can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/head-teacher-taskforce-minutes-may-2024/
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish its response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment.
Answer
The Scottish Government will publish its response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment as soon as practically possible in the new school year.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out its long-term strategy for
addiction recovery services, and how will it ensure a comprehensive and effective
approach to addressing both alcohol and drug misuse.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to addressing the twin public health emergencies on alcohol and drugs and recognises the key role treatment and recovery services play.
Implementation of the Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards in such services is being supplemented with the implementation of UK-wide clinical treatment guidelines for alcohol services. Both MAT and the UK-wide clinical treatment guidelines will feature in the National Specification for alcohol and drugs services. We have committed to publishing the Specification and subsequent overarching guidance for treatment and recovery services, in response to recommendations made by the Drug Deaths Taskforce. The Specification and guidance, alongside MAT standard implementation and UK-wide guidelines, will help to ensure that high-quality treatment options, for those affected by addiction, will be met for years to come.
In addition, a comprehensive range of initiatives to improve alcohol and drug outcomes for people is set out in our National Mission, including investment in prevention and early intervention, improved treatment services and long-term recovery support for problematic alcohol and drug use. Investment in residential rehabilitation has increased the number of spaces for people, both now and in the future, and our work on tackling stigma aims to fundamentally break down barriers for those seeking support.
To ensure that our future strategic plans are evidence-based, they will be informed by the National Mission evaluation, with the final publication expected in 2026. In accordance with democratic processes, any future strategic plans will also take into account the outcomes of the 2026 Scottish election.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28303 by Christina McKelvie on 9 July 2024, how it will ensure transparency and accountability in the reporting of residential rehabilitation treatment lengths once the data infrastructure is in place.
Answer
We have responded to calls for more transparency and accountability by commissioning Public Health Scotland to carry out an independent evaluation of the Residential Rehabilitation programme as part of the wider evaluation of the National Mission.
By collecting and publishing robust data, we will be able to increase the evidence base that will help us to best direct financial resource. This improved understanding means that more people will be able to access the treatment type that is right for them at the right time.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills held, between 1 April and 22 May 2024, to discuss its action plan on behaviour in schools, and what the outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Between 1 April and 22 May 2024 I held four meetings to discuss the relationships and behaviour action plan:
? Two meetings with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) on 16 April 2024 and 15 May 2024, the minutes of which are available at: Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .
? A meeting with Opposition Party Spokespeople on education on 16 April to discuss their priorities for the development of the action plan, with actions to provide further information and further explore some of the issues discussed.
? A meeting with the Head Teacher Taskforce on 22 May, the minutes of which can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/head-teacher-taskforce-minutes-may-2024/
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the housing emergency, what action it is taking to ensure that child refugees arriving in Scotland through family reunification (a) have access to suitable housing and (b) are not required to present as homeless and stay in temporary accommodation for extended periods.
Answer
We understand that reunion and contact with family members are vitally important to refugees living in Scotland. Although asylum and immigration are reserved matters, we want the process of family reunion to be simpler and safer for refugees in Scotland.
The legal duty for housing and homelessness, including responsibility for managing and allocating temporary accommodation, sits with local authorities and neither Ministers nor Scottish Government officials are able to intervene in those decisions. Support with finding suitable housing for refugees and their children are the responsibility of the local authority who should be contacted if housing circumstances change.
In some cases, where there is a change of circumstances, the local authority will require the individual/family to register as homeless. Refugees and their dependents, are entitled to access homelessness support from their local authority. Most funding for homelessness is provided through the local government settlement. In addition to this, the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with £60.5m since 2018 to support the implementation of rapid rehousing transition plans and provide £30.5m annually for their work to prevent homelessness.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many discussions it has had with teaching organisations regarding its plans to deliver a national digital academy in 2024, and what the outcomes were of any such discussions.
Answer
Scottish Government and Education Scotland have begun user engagement around the development of a National Digital Academy. A survey capturing the views of 2,229 learners has been undertaken, and a series of interviews and focus groups have been held with learners, parents and virtual learning environment providers. Education Scotland will continue this engagement with teaching organisations and other national bodies over the next few months, with overall findings from engagement being shared in due course.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it had (a) completed all the work required to produce and (b) finalised a draft action plan on behaviour in schools, prior to the commencement of the purdah period for the 2024 General Election.
Answer
The relationships and behaviour action plan had been agreed by the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) at its meeting on 15 May 2024, subject to some identified drafting changes. The guidance was in the process of being finalised when the need to consider whether or not it could be published during the pre-election period arose. The guidance would otherwise have been published prior to the end of school year.
