Parliamentary questions

Pam Duncan-Glancy

1,119 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses for schools, what plans it has to ensure that pupils and staff across the country have access to Microsoft tools..

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Microsoft tools remain available through the web-based versions in Glow to all learners and teachers. These are available on any internet-connected device and at any time.

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses will impact on school devices.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The free offer of offline desktop applications for Office 365 was intended for personal and home use. The vast majority of local authorities have not relied on this for school-based devices. In all cases, local authorities have in place, or are putting in pla…

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses for schools will impact on (a) teachers and other school staff and (b) pupils.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Microsoft announced global changes to their licences in August 2023. At that time, Education Scotland took lead responsibility for communicating this change to all local authorities via their nominated Glow Key Contact, given that the statutory responsibility…

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses for schools, what plans it has to renew or replace these, including whether it will purchase additional (a) A3 and (b) A5 licenses.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The A1 licence in Glow remains in place and will continue to provide access to the web-based version of Microsoft Office until our contract end-date in September 2027. The Scottish Government has commissioned Education Scotland to undertake a review of needs …

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Microsoft regarding the continuity of its IT services to schools in Scotland following the withdrawal of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Education Scotland and the Scottish Government have been in regular and direct contact with Microsoft officials since the global changes were announced by Microsoft to their services in August 2023. That engagement has primarily focused on wider changes to te…

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost of Microsoft licensing to ensure that schools can continue to have the same access to IT services following the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: This global change implemented by Microsoft change only pertains to Microsoft Office desktop apps. Schools, learners and teachers can continue to access web-versions of Microsoft Office products through Glow. Ultimately, local authorities are responsible for …

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

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 · Jenny Gilruth: 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.

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses for schools will have on the storage available to teachers and other school staff to store key course content.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The withdrawal of Office 365 A1 Plus by Microsoft will not impact storage. This withdrawal relates only to the offer to download Office desktop applications for personal use.

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it has engaged with teaching (a) staff and (b) trade union representatives to prepare for the changes to Microsoft licensing arrangements following the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Local authorities are responsible for communicating any Glow service changes to their staff. Education Scotland made local authorities aware of this global change announced by Microsoft at the Glow Key Contacts meeting in August 2023, which is the primary con…

11 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted an equality impact assessment of the withdrawal by Microsoft of its Office 365 A1 Plus licenses for schools and, if so, whether it publish the outcome of that assessment.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: An equality impact assessment for Glow is published on the Education Scotland website - Equality Impact Assessment - GLOW (education.gov.scot).

28 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the deeming of wages is in line with its Fair Work agenda.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is supportive of workers’ legal right to strike, and to take action short of a strike. We would in all situations encourage employers, workers, and their representatives to work together and engage in meaningful dialogue to ensure a sa…

27 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce teacher workload.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We recognise the concerns around teacher workload, which is why we remain committed to reducing class contact time by 90 minutes giving teachers more time out of the classroom. To help inform this discussion the WPI report which was commissioned by the Scott…

25 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there should be trade union representation on the board of Qualifications Scotland.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Education (Scotland) Bill, introduced by the Scottish Parliament on 4 June, sets out the provisions for Board membership of Qualifications Scotland to include one or more member who has relevant knowledge of the interests of employees within Qualification…

19 Jun 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the impact of a reduction in teacher numbers in some areas on pupils with additional support needs.

13 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) it and (b) the Scottish Funding Council last offered to work with universities to develop alternative routes into teaching subjects that have traditionally been difficult to recruit for, and what options were considered.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government engages regularly through the Teacher Workforce Planning process, and recently discussed this with the Scottish Council of Deans of Education. Previously, this has led to the Scottish Government supporting a number of Initial Teacher E…

13 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered an "earn-as-you-learn" route to midwifery as a means to widen access and help address any recruitment challenges in remote and island NHS boards.

Answer · Neil Gray: We recognise that alternative career pathways such as earn-as-you-learn can widen access to midwifery careers by providing an alternative route into the profession for those who may not want or be able to choose the undergraduate route, including those who ar…

13 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors student retention data in colleges and universities.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Information on university retention rates is published by the Scottish Funding Councils (SFC) in the statistics publication “Report on Widening Access”. The latest publication is available on the SFC’s website: Report on Widening Access 2021-22 - Scottish F…

6 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support with energy costs is available to organisations in the cultural sector.

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government recognises the ongoing and serious impact that high energy costs is having on the culture sector in Scotland and that is why we are increasing funding to the culture sector by £15.8m this financial year. The Scottish Government continu…

3 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many bursaries are available in 2024-25 as part of the teaching bursary scheme.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: During the 2024-25 Teaching Bursary scheme, 84 bursaries will be available. Modern Languages will also be included this year as additional subjects.