Parliamentary questions

Margaret Smith

931 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

12 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address any shortage of science teachers in schools.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The most recent survey of teacher vacancies does not indicate a significant shortage of science teachers in Scottish schools. It shows that there were five vacancies for biology teachers, eight for chemistry teachers, two for general science teachers and five…

4 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to make sure that all kinship carers receive financial assistance.

Answer · Adam Ingram: For the first time ever, the Scottish Government has recognised the needs of kinship carers of looked after children by allocating central financial resources to local authorities to meet the agreed commitment within the concordat to pay a weekly financial al…

3 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on supplying Saltire flags to schools, pre-schools, nurseries, playgroups and family centres for use in the St Andrew’s Day celebrations.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The cost of Saltire flags sent to schools, pre-schools, nurseries, playgroups and family centres was £12,330.

17 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will begin its consultation on student support.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The consultation on student support will be launched later this year.

11 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to close or resite the South Gyle railway station as part of the proposals for a railway station at Gogar.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland has no plans to close or resite the South Gyle Railway Station at present.

9 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what engagement it and Transport Scotland have had with local businesses and other stakeholders about the location of the proposed railway station at Gogar.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland officials have held discussions with officials of City of Edinburgh Council and Transport Initiatives Edinburgh Limited concerning proposals for a new railway station in the Gogar area designed to integrate with the Edinburgh tram for onw…

5 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has given consideration to supporting pupils for whom English is an additional language through the establishment of short-term, intensive, language immersion schools or courses for new arrivals in Scotland prior to children entering local schools.

Answer · Maureen Watt: There is a range of approaches which can be used to support pupils for whom English is an additional language. It is for local authorities to decide how to provide support to pupils with English as an additional language taking account of each pupil''s indivi…

5 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that there are sufficient numbers of specialist teachers to support more than 15,000 pupils for whom English is not their first language.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government is investing record levels of funding in local government, £34.9 billion over the period 2008-11, to enable local authorities to respond appropriately to their own local needs and priorities. As employers, local authorities should ensu…

5 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the adequacy of the provision of specialist foreign language teachers.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government undertakes an annual teacher workforce planning exercise at a national level to ensure there are sufficient numbers of teachers in publicly funded schools. The exercise takes account of pupil projections and numbers of teachers leaving…

5 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is providing for more than 15,000 pupils for whom English is not their first language.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government is investing record levels of funding in local government, £34.9 billion over the period 2008-11. Education authorities have the flexibility to allocate the resources available to them to meet their local needs and priorities. This inc…

27 Aug 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list recidivism figures for each prison for each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally. The source of information for Scottish Government reconviction rates does not hold information on the prison in which an offender served his or her sentence.

27 Aug 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the recidivism figures for prisoners who have been released from HM Prison Peterhead and have been reconvicted of sexual offences in the north east in each of the last five years.

20 Aug 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what sentence was imposed in each case for the offence of selling a knife to a person under 18 years of age in each of the last five years and, where fines were imposed, what the (a) smallest, (b) largest and (c) average fine imposed was in each year.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: In the last five years for which information is available (2002-03 to 2006-07), there have been four people sentenced for selling a knife to a person under 18 years of age, where the offence was recorded under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 141. …

20 Aug 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were sentenced for the offence of selling a knife to a person under 18 years of age in each of the last five years, broken down by sherrifdom.