Parliamentary questions
Beatrice Wishart
693 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Mar 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who the members are of the Scottish Practitioner Forum; whether their names and positions have been published, and what its reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · John Swinney: The members of the Scottish Practitioner Forum are: Tony McDaid (Chair) Executive Director of Education Resources South Lanarkshire Council John Guidi Chartered Teacher of Physics Mearns Castle High School, East Renfrewshire Richard Bell, Dalbeatt…
4 Mar 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33874 by Fiona Hyslop on 16 December 2020, what analysis it has carried out of the impact of the tourism restrictions on cattery and kennel businesses and, in light of this, whether it plans to reconsider the COVID-19-related support that is availab…
Answer · Kate Forbes: We recognise the financial pressures that COVID-19 is placing on cattery and kennel businesses. Limits on the amount of funding made available to the Scottish Government to provide financial support to businesses means that we are simply unable to establish f…
4 Mar 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many unexploded ordnance clearances it estimates will be required to be carried out by the Seagreen offshore development programme; whether the low-order deflagration technique (partial detonation) will be used for these and, if so, for what reason it has selected this method.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Seagreen Wind Energy Limited estimate there are approximately 10 unexploded ordnance (“UXO”) within their development area. Marine Scotland is currently considering a European Protected Species licence application for a geophysical survey to determine the act…
26 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32746 by Maree Todd on 10 November 2020, whether it can now provide updated analysis of the recruitment of equity and excellence leads for early learning and childcare settings in deprived communities.
Answer · Maree Todd: As outlined in the answer to S5W-32746, The Scottish Government provide funding to local authorities to recruit additional graduate level posts across all 32 local authorities. The allocation of posts and funding have been set by Scottish Government and these…
22 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33517 by John Swinney on 10 December 2020, whether it will provide an updated response.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government. Our local authority partners have made excellent progress during the school closures and have confirmed that access to counselling support servi…
18 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-34198 by Jeane Freeman, which received a holding response on 19 January 2021, for what reason it has not yet provided a substantive answer to the question, and when it plans to do so.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: S5W-34198 was answered on 23 February 20201. 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
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has published regarding how dyslexia assessments should be managed while pupils are not in school.
Answer · John Swinney: Since the first lockdown in March last year we have worked closely with partners to develop continuity in learning guidance. This made clear that local authorities and schools should ensure that personalised support is in place to meet the needs of children a…
15 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government. further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 13 January 2020 (Official Report, c. 17), whether it will provide a breakdown of the allocation of the 70,000 devices for learners by local authority area.
Answer · John Swinney: The following table shows the number of devices, ordered, received and distributed by end-January 2021, as reported by local authorities. Local authorities will report February figures in early March and we expect further devices will have been distributed. …
15 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the prevalence of academic fraud through the use of so-called essay mills, and what legislation is in place or planned to address the issue.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Contract cheating is a global problem affecting higher education. Essay mills have the potential to damage the reputation of higher education throughout the world, so protecting against them is vital and we must be vigilant in cracking down on anyone involved…
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to current probationary teachers who are not able to secure permanent teaching posts when their contracts end.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has provided local authorities with? £80 million of additional investment in education staff, sufficient for the recruitment of around 1,400 additional teachers, and 200 support staff this year. In addition, a package of £45 million o…
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many probationary teachers in each year since 2007 did not find a permanent teaching post after their first year of employment.
Answer · John Swinney: The following table shows the number of Teacher Induction Scheme teachers who were in teaching posts in publicly funded schools in Scotland in September of the year following their probation. Table 1: Post-induction scheme teachers in permanent or temporary …
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of current probationary teachers (i.e. the 2020-21 cohort) who will not secure a permanent teaching post after their first year of employment.
Answer · John Swinney: Whilst the recruitment and deployment of teachers are matters for local authorities, given the significant additional funding we have made available to local government to support education recovery, and the need to ensure that children and young people have…
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Teacher Education Institutes and the General Teaching Council for Scotland about the number of students required on teacher training programmes for the year 2021-22.
Answer · John Swinney: Prior to issuing annual guidance to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) on initial teacher education (ITE), the Scottish Government conducts a teacher workforce planning exercise in partnership with other educational stakeholders, through the Teacher Workforce…
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities about the allocation of roles for probationary teachers for the academic year 2021-22.
Answer · John Swinney: The process to allocate probationer teachers to local authorities is undertaken by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) through the Teacher Induction Scheme. Applications from Initial Teacher Education students for the 2021-22 scheme closed on 12 …
12 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current requirement for teachers in both primary and secondary sectors.
Answer · John Swinney: Each year the Scottish Government undertakes a teacher workforce planning exercise in partnership with other educational stakeholders through the Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group. Statistical modelling and other intelligence relating to teacher suppl…
10 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports victims of crime in remote and rural communities.
8 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is accepting written evidence submissions as part of its review of Curriculum for Excellence, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · John Swinney: The OECD is not taking formal written submissions for the Review of Curriculum for Excellence. The Review is independent and the OECD are international experts in this type of work. This approach has been the OECD’s position from the outset. The Review has b…
8 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) written communications and (b) meetings it has had with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regarding written evidence submissions as part of the review of Curriculum for Excellence.
Answer · John Swinney: Since the beginning of the Review the Scottish Government National Co-ordination Team has had been in regular communication with the OECD, including weekly meetings which focus on planning and implementing the review, in line with the established OECD guideli…
4 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide a substantive answer to question S5W-33857, which received a holding response on 21 December 2020.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We do not have this data readily available. However, a number of individuals with respiratory diseases may fall into the priority groups set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and have either received, or are eligible to receive…
4 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Air Discount Scheme for islands residents will continue beyond 31 March 2021.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-34023 on? 17 December 2020. 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/parliamentarybusin…
4 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the 2021-22 budget will be allocated to the centralisation of air traffic control for Highlands and Islands Airports.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government Draft Budget 2021-22 has allocations for Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) of £24,187,000 for revenue and £57,700,000 for capital. Specific expenditure decisions relating to individual projects are a matter for HIAL.
27 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Shetland Islands Council, and what was discussed.
15 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the agreement reached with the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers in April 2020, whether further support will be made available for supply teachers.
Answer · John Swinney: Pay and conditions of service for teachers are matters for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The SNCT is currently considering whether further support will be required. The Scottish Government would expect that additional supply teacher…
15 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received from (a) local authorities and (b) other relevant partners regarding the work available to supply teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · John Swinney: The recruitment and employment of supply teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual councils, as they have the statutory responsibility for providing a complement of teachers which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupi…
13 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people who employ carers and social care personal assistants using direct payment packages can afford the PPE they require and purchase it without the risk of overspending their package budget.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As at 19 January 2021, over 4.8 million items of PPE had been distributed free of charge via the PPE hubs to unpaid carers and PAs to support the additional need for PPE as a result of pandemic. The Scottish Government is providing additional funding across …
11 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has issued to those (a) running and (b) attending schools during the current COVID-19 lockdown, and whether it will offer any additional support in light of any lessons learned during this period.
Answer · John Swinney: We recognise that the move to remote learning will have created challenges for many. Therefore, since announcing the introduction of remote learning, we have published and updated supplementary guidance on school reopening arrangements for January 2021 , an…
11 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure national consistency regarding how vulnerable children that are not presenting at school are contacted and reached out to.
Answer · John Swinney: The national guidance on Coronavirus (COVID-19): school re-opening arrangements for January 2021 recognises the wide range of circumstances which may lead to a child or young person being considered to be vulnerable at this time. The guidance also makes cle…
11 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the return to the hub model for schoolchildren takes account of the experience of the previous lockdown.
Answer · John Swinney: The recently updated guidance on schools (published on 6 January) and childcare (published on 7 January) provide information on arrangements for vulnerable children and children of key workers, taking on board experience from the previous lockdown. However al…
8 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to extending the use of concessionary ferry travel vouchers that are due to expire on 31 March 2021, in light of the restrictions on travel due to COVID-19.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: In the light of the additional restrictions announced by the First Minister on 4 January, I can confirm that people who use their concessionary ferry vouchers to book a journey by 31 March this year but are not able to travel due to the COVID-19 lockdown rest…
7 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to reintroducing the suspension of the 5p charge for single-use carrier bags, when used for home delivery and collection of groceries and takeaways, for health and safety reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We have laid draft regulations to re-instate the temporary COVID-related exemption from the single use carrier bag charge for deliveries, collection of pre-ordered groceries and takeaways. If approved by Parliament, these regulations will remain in force unti…