Parliamentary questions
Martin Whitfield
543 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to address any delays in the processing of checks by Disclosure Scotland.
Answer · Natalie Don: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows: Disclosure Scotland regularly exceeds the Service Level Agreement to complete 90% of applications within 14 days. During 2022-2023 we completed 98% of ap…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that children and young people are involved in decisions that affect them during the disclosure process, particularly regarding sensitive information and disclosures.
Answer · Natalie Don: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows: The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 raised the age of criminal responsibility from 8 to 12 years old in Scotland. The Act sets out tha…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the views and experiences of children and young people are taken into account when reviewing and improving the disclosure process.
Answer · Natalie Don: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows: Three recent Acts of the Scottish Parliament - the Management of Offenders (Scotland Act 2019, the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 and…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on any trends in student debt borrowing patterns and repayment rates, including in relation to missed payments and the collection rate of payments.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Student Loan Company (SLC) collects and publishes data on student loan outlays, repayments, and borrower activity for Scottish SLC customers each year. This includes information on the total student…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of students are currently in debt due to student loans.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Student Loans Company (SLC) collects and publishes data on student loan outlays, repayments, and borrower activity for Scottish SLC customers each year. Student Loans in Scotland: Financial Year 202…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will fulfil the 2007 Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to abolish student debt.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Our commitment to free tuition means that unlike elsewhere in the UK, Scottish students studying in Scotland do not incur additional debt of up to £27,750, and average student loan debt for Scottish students is the lowest in the UK at around a third of the le…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average amount of student debt is per student.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The latest Student Loans Company figures published in June 2023 show that the current average student loan debt for Scottish borrowers on entry into repayment is £15,430. This compares to £44,940 in England, £35,780 in Wales and £24,500 in Northern Ireland.
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any recent changes or developments in student loan policies and regulations.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We have recently announced that from the start of the 2024-25 academic year we will introduce a Special Support Loan across the main undergraduate and postgraduate packages of support. The Special Support Loan will be equivalent to £2,400 and will be for the…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total value is of student debt accumulated between 2007 and 2024, broken down by year.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information . The Student Loans Company (SLC) collects and publishes data on student loan outlays, repayments, and borrower activity for Scottish SLC customers each year. Student Loans in Scotland: Financial Year 20…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many students have defaulted on student loans since 2007 (a) in total and (b) broken down by year.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information . The Student Loans Company (SLC) collects and publishes data on student loan outlays, repayments, and borrower activity for Scottish domiciled SLC customers each year. Student Loans in Scotland: Financi…
22 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of student debt on the wider economy and society.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government uses Student Loans Company (SLC) statistics to inform a number of workstreams. The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a Student Finance and Wellbeing Study (SFWS) for Scotland for academic year 23/24 to gather evidence on st…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Gaelic-medium education teachers have been employed in each year since 2016.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The following figures, drawn from the Scottish Government’s annual school census show both the number of primary and secondary Gaelic medium teachers that have been employed in each year since 2016 and the number that would be able to teach through the medium…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the 2021 Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to "support the digital capabilities of artists and creative businesses with a £1 million programme of workshops, mentoring and courses".
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Creative Digital Initiative was a £1 million national programme which ran from April 2021 to the end of March 2022 to help the sector develop digital capabilities in response to the limitations imposed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Led by Crea…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a timeline for the implementation of the key actions in its International Education Strategy.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government is establishing an Implementation Group to drive forward the International Education Strategy and is developing an implementation plan that will set out timelines for delivering priority actions. We are already making progress, for exa…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its International Education Strategy will facilitate the recognition of Scottish qualifications and degrees internationally.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The International Education Strategy lays out the Scottish Government's commitment to promoting Scottish institutions and degrees internationally. This includes supporting universities and colleges in establishing new transnational education partnerships such…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07275 by Patrick Harvie on 22 March 2022, whether it will provide an updated table regarding the number of children who have undertaken cycling proficiency training, based on the latest information available.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Further to question S6W-07275, the latest Bikeability Scotland participation statistics are as follows: LOCAL AUTHORITY 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Aberdeen City 21% …
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will engage with stakeholders, including educational institutions, industry partners and international organisations, in order to implement its International Education Strategy effectively.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Continuing the collaborative approach to developing the International Education Strategy (IES) the Scottish Government will establish an Implementation Group to oversee its implementation, with representation from partners across the sector. This Group will p…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its estimate of the future potential costs of delivering a new national digital academy.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22502 on 8 November 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-committ…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to deliver on the 2021 Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to "ensure every child in Scotland leaves school with the ability to cycle safely", and how much it has spent on this work in each year since 2016.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Bikeability Scotland is the national cycle training programme for school children which supports the next generation of confident and responsible people travelling by bike. A record 60,000 children benefited from cycle training across all levels of the progra…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what plans it has to deliver a new national digital academy.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22501 on? 8 November 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-commit…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many schools currently pay the costs of school trips and extra-curricular activities for pupils from lower-income families, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Statutory responsibility for the delivery of school education, including any school trips, rests with local authorities. Local authority data on the number of schools trips and how those are funded is not collected centrally.
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it expects to deliver on its reported commitment to establish a new professional teaching qualification related to climate change.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: In Scotland, climate change is part of the cross-curricular entitlement of Learning for Sustainability (LfS). As part of the 2021-22 Programme for Government the Scottish Government committed to work with the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS) to: “…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether free wraparound childcare is available to all low-income families.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government set out plans to build a system of funded school age childcare for low-income families in our "School Age Childcare Delivery Framework", published in October 2023. The Framework can be found on the Scottish Government website at: www.…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the percentage of the total number of schools that have abolished fees for school trips and extra-curricular activities for pupils from lower-income families.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Statutory responsibility for the delivery of school education, including any school trips, rests with local authorities. Local authority data on the number of schools that have abolished fees for school trips and extra-curricular activities for pupils from lo…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to devolve power and financial discretion to school teachers.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As set out in the Headteachers’ Charter and the associated empowerment guidance, the Scottish Government is fully committed to ensuring that schools are empowered and supported in taking the decisions they need to improve pupil outcomes. The Scottish Governm…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to measure the success and impact of its International Education Strategy.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Implementation plans for each priority theme of the IES are currently being developed. These plans will set out specific and measurable actions that we will prioritise to drive forward our shared ambitions. We will also establish an IES Implementation Group, …
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all one- and two-year-olds in low-income families receive free early years education.
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government funds delivery of 1140 hours of high quality funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to all three and four-year-olds and around a quarter of families with an eligible two-year-old, who experience the most disadvantage, across Scotlan…
20 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it has fulfilled the 2021 Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to create a system of "wraparound childcare".
Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government remains committed to building a system of school age childcare which will be funded for those families who need it most. Our "School Age Childcare Delivery Framework", published in October 2023, sets out the action areas for the next …
14 Feb 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the First Minister’s reported comments that it “has to go further” to ensure that plans to radically reform how young people are cared for in Scotland are realised, whether it has identified what steps it will take to achieve this.
9 Jan 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve lifelong learning in Scotland.