Parliamentary questions
Pam Duncan-Glancy
1,119 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will update the additional support for learning statutory guidance, Supporting Learners’ Code of Practice in Scotland, including to strengthen the section on transitions to adulthood, to promote good practice.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government has committed to refresh the Additional Support for Learning Statutory Code of Practice Guidance as part of the delivery of the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan. We have been working collaboratively with a range of education…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that practitioners understand their roles, responsibilities and statutory duties in relation to young people in the transition to adulthood.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39323 on 5 August 2025. 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…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking as a result of the newly published transitions to adulthood strategy to ensure that parents and carers have the right information when they need it.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Clear and accessible information is included as a key priority within the National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy. One of the actions linked to this priority is a commitment to take forward a wider review of the information in Scottish Government’s S…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support young people in accessing peer support networks as part of the transitions to adulthood strategy
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Actions outlined in the recently published The National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy that the Scottish Government will take forward to help young people to access networks of peer support include:exploring models of peer support which can help young disa…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support practitioners to adopt person-centred approaches to transition to adulthood planning.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39324 on 31 July 2025. 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/…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements it expects to be in place for joint working with agencies involved in supporting children and young people with additional support needs transitioning to adulthood, and who will be responsible for ensuring that they are in place.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39323 on 5 August 2025. 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…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what changes it will make to ensure that there is enough time for the planning process as part of a young person’s transition to adulthood.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39324 on 31 July 2025. 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/…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support young people are entitled to during their transition to adulthood.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The support provided to young disabled people during their transition to adulthood should be person-centred and tailored to the young person and their specific needs and goals.Young disabled people are entitled to support in planning for transitions through T…
24 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement of £40 million to support the University of Dundee, from which part of the Scottish Budget this will be allocated.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: This funding will be met from across Scottish Government portfolios through reprioritisation and demand-led savings from existing spending. Future year budgets will form part of the upcoming spending review.
16 Jun 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s position on the funding of Scotland’s higher education institutions.
22 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it considers to be the purpose and scope of the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s accreditation function.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: SQA Accreditation quality assures and regulates qualifications offered in Scotland. It does this by approving awarding bodies and accrediting their qualifications, ensuring that accredited qualifications are of an appropriate standard and meet the needs of le…
20 May 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Glasgow City Council regarding support for the reported development of community food production and short supply chains, as outlined in the Glasgow City Food Plan.
19 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the £100 million of funding allocated to tackle waiting times by (a) NHS board and (b) specialty.
Answer · Neil Gray: The funding committed to date in respect of the circa £100 million extra investment to address long waits is shown in Table 1 broken down by health board and in Table 2 broken down by specialty; this is over and above other funding to improve waiting ti…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities it is working with during the academic year 2025-26 to pilot approaches that amplify good practice in supporting school leavers into positive destinations, as part of its commitment to focus on areas with the lowest rates of school leavers entering such destinatio…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Work is at an early stage on this Programme for Government commitment and is currently focused on identifying best practice that can be used to inform the pilots. The opportunity to engage in this work will be available to all Local Authorities.The aim is to …
6 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the commitment in its Programme for Government 2025-26 to commission Enquire, the national advice and information service on additional support for learning, to improve the communication of the key information that different audiences need to meet the needs of children with ad…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Communications were discussed in detail at the ASL Project Board’s meeting on 30 January 2025 when the Project Board agreed to engage Enquire to draft a communications strategy.It is anticipated that the strategy being produced by Enquire will focus on …
6 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who will be invited to the data summit on additional support for learning, as announced in its Programme for Government 2025-26.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government will hold a data summit with all local authorities in Scotland on Additional Support for Learning focused on recommending actions for improving consistency of identification, support and reporting of children’s needs at a local l…
6 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify the meaning of its aim to "rationalise the qualifications offer in the senior phase", and how it will do this.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I made it clear when responding to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (IRQA) in September last year that it is vitally important that all young people have a clear and coherent senior phase offer, which aligns with pathways that are avail…
6 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its updated guidance on consequences in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The guidance is expected to be published before summer recess.
6 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to involve parents in the design and delivery of the national campaign on school attendance, as announced in its Programme for Government 2025-26.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is committed to meaningful parental involvement in the national attendance campaign announced in our Programme for Government 2025-26.As part of the development of the campaign, qualitative research was undertaken in 2024 with parents,…
6 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the construction of six new school building projects through the Learning Estate Investment Programme, and the delivery of 47 modern, state-of-the-art schools by the end of 2027-28, as set out in its Programme for Government 2025-26, will be supported by the updated guidance that…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate, therefore, school design is ultimately a matter for them.However, our Learning Estate Strategy - which was produced in collaboration with COSLA - underpins the £2bn L…
6 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions it will take to ease teacher workload, as announced in its Programme for Government 2025-26.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government will work with teacher unions, and COSLA through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers to agree our approach to delivering a reduction in class contact time.The Scottish Government and COSLA are committed to working in partne…
6 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will deliver its commitment to reduce teacher class contact time.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government and COSLA are committed to working in partnership with the teacher unions to set out a timeline for implementation of this important commitment, so that meaningful progress can be made as soon as is practical.Any changes to terms and c…
29 Apr 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on implementing the "Land use and agriculture" measures set out in its Climate change action: policy package published in April 2024.
25 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Funding Council will publish its report on the financial state of the university sector in Scotland; whether the Minister for Higher and Further Education has been kept informed of the reasons for any delay in publication, and, if not, what information it has on the rea…
Answer · Graeme Dey: The publication date of the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) annual report on the financial sustainability of the higher education sector is a matter for the SFC. They have made the decision to amend the timing of their publication cycle primarily due t…
15 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last spoke to businesses about their expectations regarding opportunities through the funding provided through the Skills and Growth Levy and when they would be able to access such opportunities.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Employers are key to the delivery of our ambitions for a skilled workforce to meet the demands of an ever-changing economy and society. The Scottish Government is committed to working with them and listening to them as we take forward our programme of post-sc…
15 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in developing a replacement vehicle for the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, in light of the findings of the report that it commissioned EKOS Ltd to prepare, Evaluation: Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF), which was published in January 2023.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Our programme of reform of post-school education will see us develop a streamlined funding system more focussed on the needs of employers and the economy through improved national skills planning and reformed apprenticeships.As we take this work forward, we w…
15 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to bring back the Flexible Workforce Development Fund through the Skills and Growth Levy.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government is committed to offering flexible training pathways for learners and employers. That is why in 2025/26, Scottish Government investment will support 25,500 new Modern Apprenticeships, 5,000 new Foundation Apprenticeships and over 1,200 …
9 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report in The Herald on 4 April 2025 that critical materials have failed to be kept secure before the date of the assessment, what its response is to reported concerns that marking for the National 5 History paper has been compromised.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Operational responsibility for the qualifications, such as the marking of assignments and associated quality assurance processes, is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).The Scottish Government has received reassurance that the annotated m…
9 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33240 by Jenny Gilruth on 28 January 2025, when the School Libraries Education and Policy Working Group will next convene.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government has invited members of the School Library and Education Policy Group (SLEPG) to meet in June 2025.
8 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no school in the East Lothian Council area is reportedlyoffering Advanced Higher English for 2025-26; what discussions it has had withthe local authority regarding this, and what support it can offer to pupils inthe area seeking to study the subject.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Responsibility for the delivery of education, including decisions on which courses are offered, is a matter for individual local authorities.However, I understand that Education Scotland Attainment Advisors have been engaged with East Lothian Council and have…