- Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that teachers are fully equipped to safeguard the wellbeing of pupils.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2024
- Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has evaluated the extent to which swimming lessons are a part of the school curriculum for primary school-aged pupils.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2024
- Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the proposed closure of Paisley, Ferguslie Park, Greenock, Bishopbriggs and Milngavie police stations.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2024
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 20 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23651 by Siobhian Brown on 7 December 2023, as part of its plans to consult on marriage law reforms, whether it will consult on introducing so-called "no-fault" divorce, not requiring irretrievable marital breakdown.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to do so. The consultation planned for 2024 will, in relation to divorce and dissolution, cover court procedures rather than the grounds of divorce and dissolution.
There has been recent legislation for England and Wales which changed the law on divorce and dissolution of civil partnership. Before the changes, two of the grounds of divorce in England and Wales were based on periods of separation: two years if both spouses consented to the divorce and five years otherwise.
In Scotland, irretrievable breakdown of the marriage for the purposes of divorce can be established in a number of ways, including non-cohabitation. The required periods of non-cohabitation were reduced by the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 to one year if both parties consent to the divorce and two years otherwise. The 2006 Act also reduced the non-cohabitation periods for dissolution of civil partnership.
The vast majority of divorces and dissolutions in Scotland are on the bases of non-cohabitation: Supporting documents - Civil justice statistics in Scotland 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) (see Divorce and Dissolutions Supplementary Tables 2021-22; tables 2 and 3).
- Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the University of Aberdeen is planning cutbacks to its modern languages department, including the Gaelic honours programme
Answer
The Scottish Government is clear that access to learning modern languages is vital at all stages of education, to equip children and young people with the skills they need in an increasingly globalised world. The Scottish Government is also committed to the support of Gaelic and Scots languages as part of our rich cultural heritage and for this reason a number of initiatives and projects have been put in place to support these languages.
Universities, as autonomous institutions, are responsible for their own course provision, and it is for them to decide how to distribute the allocation of funded places between faculties and courses. In any reform of provision, Scottish Government expects the University of Aberdeen to adhere to Fair Work principles. This includes meaningful consultation and constructive dialogue with any staff affected by the proposals to reduce modern languages provision.
In line with our Purpose and Principles for the post-school education and skills system, the Scottish Government will continue to work with the university sector to deliver the best outcomes and impact for learners, the economy and society.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing an updated English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) Strategy for Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone in Scotland whose first language is not English can contribute to Scotland’s future and the society they live in. Having support to learn English is key for many refugees and people seeking asylum, enabling them to participate in learning in schools, colleges and universities; engage within communities; and pursue their employment goals.
Through consultation on the future of adult learning between September 2019 and February 2020, the Scottish Government engaged with over 700 ESOL learners and committed to undertake a review of the impact of ‘Welcoming Our Learners: Scotland’s ESOL Strategy 2015-2020’ to produce recommendations on next steps for these specialisms within the context of the adult learning strategy.
On 5 December 2023, I announced an independent review of Community Learning and Development (CLD) which includes ESOL learning. The Independent Review of CLD offers a timely opportunity to better understand how we can ensure that proposed changes to the education and skills system has a focus on the most marginalised learners. Given the ongoing work to reform the education sector, and the intention of the review to provide recommendations on how CLD can best fit within it, it makes sense to pause implementation of the strategies until such time as the future shape and strategic orientation of CLD is considered.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 20 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it currently assesses the potential impact of new wind farm applications on existing wind farms, particularly in relation to the phenomenon known as wind theft or wind shadow.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23719 on 20 December 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 20 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23651 by Siobhian Brown on 7 December 2023, as part of its plans to consult on marriage law reforms, whether it will consult on abolishing for opposite-sex couples, as well as same-sex couples, the rule that marriage is voidable by reason of impotence.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to do so. The consultation planned for 2024 will, in relation to divorce and dissolution, cover court procedures rather than the grounds of divorce and dissolution or how a marriage can be voided.
The Scottish Law Commission’s 1992 Report on family law (SLC 135) (scotlawcom.gov.uk) recommended that marriages should not be voidable on the ground of impotency (see paragraphs 8.21 to 8.29). The then Scottish Executive indicated in its 2000 White Paper Parents and Children that it did not intend to take forward this recommendation noting that “the concept of a voidable marriage on this ground in civil law would provide a solution to couples who would otherwise be required to seek divorce, against their religious beliefs.”
This matter was further considered in the consultation on the draft Bill which became the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014. Paragraph 139 of the Policy Memorandum for the Bill as introduced said “Consultees suggested that impotency should be abolished as grounds for voiding a marriage. However, other consultees suggested that the concept of “voidable” marriages can have some advantages, particularly for those who might wish to enter another marriage but might not be able to do so (on religious grounds) if they were divorced.”
The Scottish Government’s understanding is the rule that a marriage is voidable by reason of permanent and incurable impotency is little used. However, it is possible that abolishing it could remove an option for some couples.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 20 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on any (a) ongoing and (b) planned initiatives aimed at balancing the expansion of wind energy infrastructure with the protection of existing wind farms from the adverse effects of wind turbine shadows.
Answer
The selection of a site and the configuration of wind turbines is a matter for the wind farm developer. This process involves comprehensive analysis to ensure the most suitable placement and design for wind turbines. Developers may have to balance the benefits of a compact site, which can minimise construction cost, and the gains from maximising energy capture from greater separation distances.
The Hagshaw Energy Cluster provides an example of how industry stakeholders can work collaboratively to promote and adopt a coordinated approach to future renewable energy development.
Policy 11: Energy of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) states that potential cumulative impacts are important considerations in the decision-making process. All applications are subject to site-specific assessments.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 20 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what data it is collecting to understand the extent of wind turbine shadow effects and their impact on the overall efficiency of wind farms.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23719 on 20 December 2024. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
