Parliamentary questions
Martin Whitfield
543 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that parents of children with additional support needs are included in any decision-making processes regarding their child's care and education.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Parental engagement is vital when there are decisions to be made about the care and education of children, particularly those with additional support needs. The Scottish Government seeks to create opportunities to enable parents and carers to be consistently…
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it incorporates the feedback and experiences of parents and caregivers into the development of policies affecting child welfare and support services.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government has a distinctive way of delivering policy and public services. This has become known as the Scottish Approach and prioritises working in partnership to co-produce policy and shape services. In the development of policies related to ca…
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it collaborates with third sector organisations to provide comprehensive support to parents of children involved in the criminal justice system.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government works closely with third sector partners and all other agencies involved in supporting children and young people who are involved with the criminal justice system, their parents and carers. We fund the Children and Young People’s Cent…
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it collaborates with local authorities to ensure consistency in parent support services across different regions.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government’s Whole Family Wellbeing Funding Programme was established with the purpose of driving the system change required at local level, principally through Children’s Service Planning Partnerships (CSPPs), to deliver holistic fam…
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available for programmes aimed at strengthening parenting skills and improving parent-child relationships.
Answer · Natalie Don: Supporting parents is key to improving outcomes for children and young people. We want to build the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents, so they can be and do the best they can for their children. Since 2010 the Scottish Government has funded the Scot…
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific training programmes are available for parents to help them better support their children’s educational and social development.
Answer · Maree Todd: Support for parents in their children’s development is provided across a range of different resources and programmes covering social and emotional as well as early literacy and speech & language.In 2021 Scottish Government launched the Wellbeing for…
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives are in place to support parents in building the confidence and skills necessary to support their children’s mental health and wellbeing.
Answer · Maree Todd: Maree Todd: The Scottish Government recognises the import role parents and carers play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Because of this, we continue to invest in a range of initiatives to give parents and carers the …
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to address the unique needs of parents and families in rural areas, in light of reported challenges such as limited access to healthcare, education and social services, as well as any transportation barriers.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government recognises the significant and unique challenges faced by our rural communities, and is committed to understanding and tackling those challenges. For example, the forthcoming Mainland Rural Delivery Plan will set out how all parts of …
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what strategies are in place to support parents in crisis situations, to ensure that they receive timely and effective assistance.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Our latest tackling child poverty progress report against our delivery plan ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’, highlighted £2.9 billion investment targeted at low income households. Actions include our unique Scottish Child Payment which we have …
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports initiatives that promote positive community relationships for families to ensure that they have access to local activities and services that benefit their children’s development.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government is providing £18 million funding in 2024-25 through our Children, Young People, Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) and Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learners…
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has in place to provide practical support, such as assistance with housing issues, budgeting, and accessing benefits, to parents of children receiving care services.
Answer · Natalie Don: Children’s Services Plans are key to the delivery of Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) at a strategic, operational, and frontline practice level, and are the legislative, strategic planning and delivery context in which Holistic Whole Family Support a…
25 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve relationships between social services, schools and parents to ensure a coordinated support system for children and young people.
Answer · Natalie Don: Scotland’s ‘Getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC) approach underpins the delivery of high-quality universal and targeted support through a single, coordinated approach to planning across education, social work, and health and social car…
19 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are being implemented to provide disability equality training to childcare providers, in order to ensure that they can meet the needs of disabled children effectively.
Answer · Natalie Don: Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, education authorities have duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs (ASN) of their pupils. The National Occupation Standards (NOS) form the basis of qua…
19 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to integrate inclusive education policies with accessible childcare initiatives to create a cohesive support system for disabled children from early years through to school age
Answer · Natalie Don: The ‘Getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC) approach lies at the heart of all Scotland’s services, including childcare services, to support children and young people. GIRFEC provides a universal and consistent framework for practitioners, together with fa…
19 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support disabled parents in accessing childcare services in order to ensure that they can participate fully in the labour market and community life.
Answer · Natalie Don: Scotland is the only part of the UK to offer 1,140 hours a year of funded ELC to all 3 and 4-year-olds and eligible 2-year-olds regardless of their parents’ working status. This offer has been in place since 2021 and, if families paid for this themselves, it …
19 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that childcare services are accessible to disabled children and their families, particularly in relation to (a) physical accessibility and (b) availability of specialised care.
Answer · Natalie Don: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28663 on 15 August 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-commi…
19 Jul 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for increasing investment in accessible childcare facilities for disabled children, and how any such plans align with the recommendations from the Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA) Manifesto 2024.
Answer · Natalie Don: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28663 on 15 August 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-commit…
3 Jun 2024 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains its position to have a target of 60% of household waste recycled annually by 2020, in light of reports that the target is being dropped.
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many nurseries have closed since 2016, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government does not hold specific data on the number of nursery closures by local authority area. However, the Care Inspectorate publishes data each year in the Early Learning and Childcare Statistics publication that sets out changes across diff…
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many nurseries have cancelled their registrations with the Care Inspectorate since 2016.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government does not hold specific data on the number of nurseries which have cancelled their registrations with the Care Inspectorate since 2016. However, the Care Inspectorate publishes data each year on its website. This data shows that, betwee…
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what early warning systems are in place to identify any nurseries that are at risk of closure due to financial difficulties or staffing shortages.
Answer · Natalie Don: Under Funding Follows the Child, all nurseries who deliver funded early learning and childcare (ELC) must, as part of the criteria in the National Standard for all ELC providers Section 2: The National Standard for all Early Learning and Childcare Providers …
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what long-term strategies are being developed to ensure the financial viability and sustainability of nurseries.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a diverse, sustainable and thriving childcare sector. For those providers in the private and third sector, including childminders, who deliver funded early learning and childcare (ELC) the payment of sustain…
9 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what options are available for early retirement under the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme (STPS), and how any such options impact the final pension amount that a teacher receives.
Answer · Ivan McKee: There are three early retirement options available to members of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme who have reached normal minimum pension age:Premature Retirement is an option if a member is made redundant or retires in the interest of efficiency. The pe…
9 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how early retirement has impacted the number of active teachers, and what steps are being taken to address any potential teacher shortages arising from any such trend.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government's annual teacher workforce planning process is informed by a statistical model which estimates the number of Initial Teacher Education students required to maintain teacher numbers. The model considers a number of inputs, including pro…
9 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average pension pay-out is for teachers who retire under the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme (STPS).
Answer · Ivan McKee: The latest Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme Annual Report and Accounts show that the average annual pension in payment from the Scheme as at 31 March 2023 was £13,842. In addition, the accounts show that lump sums totalling £133.5 million were paid to 2,723 …
9 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address any potential financial hardship faced by retired teachers with low pensions, particularly in light of the current economic climate.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS) continues to be an integral part of the remuneration package for teachers in Scotland. A Defined Benefit scheme, it offers the security of a guaranteed income in every year of retirement for all its members. Pensio…
9 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any provisions within the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme (STPS) that allow teachers to adjust their contribution rates to potentially increase their future pension benefits.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The provisions of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme allow members to adjust their contribution rates and increase their pension benefits by purchasing Additional Pension or opting for Faster Accrual. Additional Pension is an amount of extra pension whic…
9 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the projected costs of the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme (STPS) over the next five years, and whether it will outline any measures being considered to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The projected costs of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme are assessed and managed as part of the scheme actuarial valuation as directed by the UK Government. The latest quadrennial valuation of the scheme is based on data as at 31 March 2020 and was publi…
9 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) has in managing the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme (STPS), and how teachers can raise any concerns or enquiries regarding their pension plan.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) undertakes the role of Scheme Manager of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme, on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Scheme members can raise any concerns or enquiries with the SPPA by using the Contact Us page at www.p…
9 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total percentage is of teachers who are currently not enrolled in a pension scheme.
Answer · Ivan McKee: This information is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government. Whilst the Scottish Public Pensions Agency holds information about teachers who are currently contributing to the Scottish Teachers' Pension scheme, individual local authorities…