Iain Gray

22 Mar 2021 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding planned industrial action by college staff this week.

2 Mar 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with East Lothian Council regarding its Climate Change Strategy 2020-2025.

23 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met East Lothian Council and what was discussed.

16 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to prioritising COVID-19 vaccinations for teachers in the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI) priority groups 5 to 9, and whether it has held discussions with the JCVI regarding this.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that …

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the safe restart of meaningful indoor visiting at care homes, and when it expects this to resume.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35500 on 24 February 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…

8 Feb 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how far people should be expected to travel to attend a vaccination appointment at a COVID-19 vaccination hub.

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding for the delivery of new affordable homes was allocated to East Lothian in each year since 2016-17, and how this compares with the local authority area average in each year.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government publishes annual Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) Outturn Reports. These Outturn Reports have details of all Resource Planning Assumptions by local authority area, as well as actual outturn expenditure. You can access the Out…

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of households in East Lothian have access to superfast broadband, and how this compares with the average for local authority areas in (a) the Lothians and (b) Scotland.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Independent broadband analysis site, thinkbroadband, shows that 92.6% of all properties in East Lothian now have access to superfast broadband of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps). This compares with 98.8% in the City of Edinburgh, 94.3% in Midlothian and 98.1% i…

2 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what public awareness campaigns it has run since the commencement of the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 on 7 November 2020.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has taken a variety of steps to raise public awareness about the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019, including:Information about the Act on gov.scot Information about the Act on mygov.scot A dedicated page a…

2 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on public awareness campaigns to promote section 1 of the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 between (a) 1 November 2019 and 6 November 2020 and (b) 7 November 2020 to date. 

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has always been committed to taking steps to raise awareness about the removal of the reasonable chastisement defence in section 1 of the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019. Our approach to awareness raising …

2 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Law Society of Scotland regarding the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 since the bill was passed in October 2019.

Answer · Maree Todd: Since the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 passed its final Stage in the Scottish Parliament on 3 October 2019, the Scottish Government has written to stakeholders, including the Law Society of Scotland, twice. The letters are ava…

2 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with organisations representing the interests of children and young people about public awareness campaigns to promote the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 since the bill was passed.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has discussed work to raise awareness of the 2019 Act with a number of bodies. In particular, organisations which represent the interests of children and young people are members of the Implementation Group the Scottish Government form…

19 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it is providing to supply teachers in the 2020-21 academic year.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has provided local authorities with £80 million of additional investment in education staff, sufficient for the recruitment of around 1,400 additional teachers, including supply teachers, and 200 support staff this year. In addition, …

19 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the availability of the Supply Teachers Job Retention Payments for the 2020-21 academic year.

Answer · John Swinney: Pay and conditions of service for teachers are matters for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The SNCT issued guidance on a job retention scheme JS/20/78 for supply teachers in April last year. The payment was available to supply teacher…

19 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to local authorities regarding the Supply Teachers Job Retention Payment for the 2020-21 academic year. 

Answer · John Swinney: Pay and conditions of service for teachers are matters for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The SNCT issued guidance on a job retention scheme for supply teachers in April last year. The payment was available to supply teachers during …

19 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has held with the General Teaching Council for Scotland regarding the continuation of the Supply Teachers Job Retention Payment for the year 2020-21. 

Answer · John Swinney: Pay and conditions of service for teachers are matters for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) and therefore not a matter for the General Teaching Council for Scotland. The SNCT is currently considering whether further support might be req…

19 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people accessed the Supply Teachers Job Retention Payment since it was introduced, and how much has been spent on these payments.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold the information on how many people accessed the Supply Teachers Job Retention Payment. Recruitment and deployment of teachers are matters for local authorities to determine. The Scottish Government has provided £80 milli…

15 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the strategy, Cleaner Air for Scotland, what plans it has regarding the domestic combustion of wood.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The draft new air quality strategy for Scotland sets out several proposals relating to the domestic combustion of wood. The proposals focus on correct use of fuels and appliances through education and awareness raising, together with controls on the sale of w…

14 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding has been provided to Police Scotland to allow support staff to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: This year the Scottish Government has increased funding for policing in Scotland by £60 million to more than £1.2 billion. This 5.1% rise, compared to 2019-20, is ensuring that Police Scotland can maintain officer numbers, enhance its community policing capab…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the risk to (a) nursery schools and (b) other early years settings of the decision to close them in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Maree Todd: The decision to introduce these restrictions was based on clinical and expert advice provided by the Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues as to the public health risks of the new strain of the COVID-19 virus. We r…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether any of the new variants of COVID-19 disproportionately affect young children.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: All viruses mutate over time and there are many variants of SARS-CoV-2 in circulation. This answer focuses on variants of concern discussed recently. With respect to VOC 202012/01 there is no evidence currently that the new strain infects or affects young ch…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what resources it has made available for parents and carers to deliver childcare and education for children whose nurseries have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what new and additional support it plans.

Answer · Maree Todd: We recognise the value that families place on access to high quality early learning and childcare, and understand the decision to restrict attendance at these settings is very difficult for both children and their parents and carers. For all our learners, an…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the evidence it received to inform the decision to close nursery schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues has committed to producing and publishing an updated evidence report on children, schools, early learning and childcare and transmission by the end of January. In the meant…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the risk that the COVID-19 pandemic brings to (a) staff and (b) children at (i) nursery schools and (ii) other early years settings.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues considered the risks of a return to education across all stages, in the context of the Variant of Concern 202012/01, in an extraordinary meeting held on 31 December. The ad…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) the SQA and (b) teaching unions regarding the time available for teaching staff to accumulate sufficient evidence to estimate student grades for the 2021 awards.

Answer · John Swinney: The National Qualifications 2021 Group draws its membership from the Scottish Government, Education Scotland, Scottish Qualifications Authority, the Educational Institute of Scotland, School Leaders Scotland, the Scottish Council of Independent Schools, Assoc…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are being drafted with the SQA to adjust the timeline for awards based on teacher judgement of evidence of pupils’ attainment if the COVID-19 lockdown continues to March 2021,

Answer · John Swinney: Following the announcement of the introduction of remote learning on 4 January, and its extension on 19 January, the National Qualifications 2021 Group has been considering the impact this will have on delivery of National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher course…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has held with the SQA regarding the publication date of the 2021 results and, to allow more time for teachers to assess and compile evidence and additional learning time for students, what its position is on pushing back the 6 August date.

Answer · John Swinney: The priority for schools and colleges during this time should be to maximise learning and teaching time to ensure that young people have the necessary foundation and coverage of course content. Young people's mental health is a priority and I recognise that t…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has held discussions with the SQA regarding providing more time for teachers to provide estimates of students’ attainment, in line with what was required in May 2020.

Answer · John Swinney: The National Qualifications 2021 Group, which draws its membership from the Scottish Government, Education Scotland, Scottish Qualifications Authority, the Educational Institute of Scotland, School Leaders Scotland, the Scottish Council of Independent Schools…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the SQA will advise teachers of the timescale for recording and uploading Higher and Advanced Higher award estimates based on their judgement of evidence of students’ attainment.

Answer · John Swinney: The National Qualifications 2021 Group published guidance on the alternative certification model for National 5 on 8 December 2020. The model for Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications will follow a similar process. Following the move to remote learning, …

28 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many students from Scotland have participated in the Erasmus scheme in each of the last five years.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: ERASMUS+ does not provide a breakdown for Scottish- domiciled students only. Table 2 of https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/file/6042/download published on the central UK Erasmus+ website shows the outgoing student numbers for all UK Higher Education Institution…