Iain Gray

26 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it no longer publishes data on the number of children who are looked after by the local authority as reported by schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Statistics collected from the annual school pupil census on children looked after by the local authority are no longer published due to concerns over the quality of the data. Definitive statistics on the number of children looked after by the local authority …

20 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for introducing a guaranteed minimum income linked to the Real Living Wage for students in (a) further and (b) higher education.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: As set out in the recent debate (S5M-16407), Ministers outlined in June 2018 their response to the Independent Review of Student Support and ambition to deliver upon the recommendation to provide a minimum income guarantee for all students. We have taken the…

19 Mar 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to monitor the number of young people in precarious, temporary and zero-hours work.

19 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that budget allocations for additional support needs will ensure that high quality education and support is available for children with vision impairments and their families, in light of the reported 128% increase in the number of pupils with vision impairment between …

Answer · John Swinney: Local Government Financial Statistics for 2017-18 showed that local authorities spent £5.22 billion on education in Scotland. This has gone up from £5.07 billion in 2016-17 - a 1.0% increase in real terms (3.0% in cash terms). Of that, £628 million was on add…

25 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in light of reports that the UK Government is reviewing the participation of Persimmon Homes in its help-to-buy scheme following allegations of reported poor standards and hidden charges.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: All home builders participating in the Help to Buy (Scotland) schemes are required to enter into a contract with Scottish Ministers, known as a participation agreement. This contains the terms and conditions which must be met in relation to their participatio…

20 Feb 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that social security claimants have access to representation at tribunals.

29 Jan 2019 · Portfolio Question

Withdrawn

23 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide updated housing allocation policy guidance for local authorities.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Social Housing Allocations Practice Guide aimed primarily at local authorities and registered social landlords who allocate homes in the social rented sector will be published by March 2019.

18 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce its decision regarding the planning application by Inchcape for an electrical substation at Cockenzie.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: A Reporter from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals was appointed to examine this case. The Reporter submitted their report and recommendation to the Scottish Ministers on 14 January 2019. Ministers are giving full consideration to the case…

8 Jan 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent EIS survey, which found that 75% of teachers experience stress due to their workload.

20 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Individual Training Accounts are no longer available, and whether it plans to re-introduce these.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Following a hugely successful year for the new Individual Training Account (ITA) programme, demand from individuals has been strong and the target of 18,500 accounts has been exceeded ahead of schedule. It is anticipated that when all verified individuals in …

17 Dec 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on ensuring that the six unlicensed weirs on the River Tyne in East Lothian are properly authorised and provided with fish passages, and for what reason this work did not start in 2017 as planned.

6 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of appeals to the SQA post-results service for 2017-18 from (a) local authority and (b) independent schools was successful.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Qualifications Authority's (SQA) Post Results Service (PRS) data, show that the percentage of upgrades as a result of requests received was (a) 14.4% for Local Authority schools and (b) 14.1% for the independent sector.

6 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of students sitting the 2017-18 SQA exams were from (a) local authority and (b) independent schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the percentage of students sitting SQA exams from local authority and independent schools. The Scottish Qualifications Authority's (SQA) Post Results Service (PRS) data shows that of the total number of en…

6 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of appeals to the SQA post-results service for 2017-18 was from (a) local authority and (b) independent schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Post Results Service (PRS) data shows that from the overall PRS requests made, (a) 79% were from local authority schools and (b) 19% were from the independent sector.

21 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its review into the presumption of mainstreaming in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: As set out in my letter of 30 October to the Education and Skills Committee, I have paused the publication of the revised presumption of mainstreaming guidance and research into the experiences of children receiving additional support for learning. I have tak…

20 Nov 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with implementing its FOI request handling action plan.

29 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to stop people from trying to gain access to individuals' bank accounts through fraudulent telephone calls.

Answer · Ash Denham: The Scottish Government is committed to raising awareness and introducing appropriate preventative measures to ensure people do not become victims of vishing or telephone scams. We have implemented an action plan to protect people from scam callers following…

17 Oct 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure equality of opportunity for young people across all local authorities.

16 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have applied each year for student loans for postgraduate taught degrees, and how many loans were awarded.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The following table shows the number of applications and awards for a postgraduate living cost loan from academic years 2015-2016 to 2017-2018.   Academic year 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Number of Applications 1,640 2,255 3,925 Number of Awards …

16 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the provision of student loans to postgraduate research degrees.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to extend the provision of student loans to postgraduate research degrees. We will always seek to make improvements to the student support package where we can, however in doing so we have to be mindful of the o…

2 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to its STEM bursary scheme have been rejected.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: 47 applications were unsuccessful for the 2018-19 STEM bursary scheme. The applications were unsuccessful for a number of reasons including, students withdrawal from the course after approval, and applicants not meeting the criteria.

12 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to (a) fund and (b) recruit the additional school counsellors that were announced in the Programme for Government, and when they will be in post. 

Answer · Clare Haughey: The creation of 350 school counsellors in school education across Scotland is part of a package of measures to ensure that children and young people get the support that they need. We are commencing work with partners in local government to implement this com…

5 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors and shares data on chemicals of environmental concern, particularly chemicals that are closely related to those that are already restricted.

3 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it informs (a) local authorities and (b) schools about parents' and young people’s rights regarding standardised assessments in primary schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has made clear that the Scottish National Standardised Assessments are part of everyday learning and teaching. The assessments provide teachers with diagnostic information to help them plan next steps in children’s learning. Similar to…

25 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its plans to raise the student loan repayment threshold to £25,000 will include existing students and those who are currently repaying loans.

Answer · John Swinney: The repayment threshold for student loans will be raised to £25,000 for both new and existing borrowers.

19 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many bursaries for people changing career to train as a teacher in STEM subjects have been agreed for the academic year 2018-19

Answer · John Swinney: As at 30 July 2018, the STEM bursary scheme has received 112 applications. To date 58 have been approved, with a further 33 being considered. Applications for the bursary scheme remain open.

28 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in implementing the recommendations in Pathfinder Scotland's report, Transforming futures for women with ovarian cancer, in particular, in relation to the first recommended action in relation to the inclusion of ovarian cancer in a Detect Cancer Early awareness …

Answer · Jeane Freeman: A new Detect Cancer Early campaign, relevant to all tumours, is due to launch later this year to reduce fear of cancer and empower those with a worry or concern to take action. An options appraisal – to review new evidence and consider the addition of a new t…

26 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Ministerial Statement on Scotland's Education Reforms on 26 June 2018, whether it will provide details of the £46 million of investment.

Answer · John Swinney: As set out in my statement to the Scottish Parliament on 26 June 2018, the £46 million of investment is comprised of:Up to £10 million over the next academic year through Regional Improvement Collaboratives and Education Scotland, to enhance regional capacity…

15 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-17017 by Kevin Stewart on 13 June 2018, how much funding has been provided under the Help To Buy Scheme to people purchasing new-build houses from Taylor Wimpey in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The number of properties and total funding received by purchasers through the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme who bought properties from Taylor Wimpey are listed in the following table. Year Units Spend 2013-14 97 £3,698,820 2014-15 511 £20,263,605 20…