Tavish Scott

15 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many probation teachers have started in each August since 2007, broken down by subject, and how many it expects to start in August 2018.

Answer · John Swinney: Information on the number of probationary teachers who started on the Teacher Induction Scheme in each year from 2007 to 2017 is provided in the following table. This information is broken down by primary and secondary school, as a subject breakdown is not av…

13 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Assessment and National Qualifications Group will next meet.

Answer · John Swinney: The Education Governance: Next Steps document sets out a commitment to establish a Scottish Education Council. As part of that process, we are reviewing existing governance structures, including the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board, the Curriculum f…

12 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10920 by Humza Yousaf on 12 September 2017, by what date Transport Scotland will complete its consideration of the legal, financial and policy implications relevant to the ongoing review into the future approach to the procurement of ferry services.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Consideration of the legal, financial and policy implications that will inform the emerging findings report will be completed in advance of the publication of that report in the autumn of 2017.

12 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10920 by Humza Yousaf on 12 September 2017, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding what its definition is of the "Autumn" period.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The on-going review into the future approach to the procurement of ferry services follows the meteorological autumn period which begins on 01 September 2017 and ends on 30 November 2017.

12 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10884, what its definition is of "near future", and whether it will confirm by what date the report will be published.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: It is expected that the report will be published before the end of the year. The report is currently with Serco NorthLink Ferries for consideration of commercially sensitive data and to review Peter Brett Associates’ interpretation of the operational side of …

28 Aug 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to assist NHS Shetland in filling GP vacancies across the board's area.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government’s commitment to general practice is clear, with an additional £250m per year is going in direct support of general practice by the end of this Parliament. But we know that GP recruitment and retention can at times be challenging, in ou…

24 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10412 by Humza Yousaf on 21 August 2017, what its definition of "Autumn" is and whether it will confirm on what date it will publish the emerging findings of the review.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland are currently considering the legal, financial and policy implications relevant to the ongoing review into the future approach to the procurement of lifeline ferry services supported by the Scottish Government. Once this consideration has b…

22 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will take account of the impact of the ending of the streamline shipping lift-on lift-off cargo service to the islands when planning future freight ferry services for routes between the Scottish mainland and (a) Shetland and (b) Orkney.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland and Serco Northlink Ferries (SNF) have confirmed that, at present, there is expected to be sufficient overall capacity to accommodate any increased freight traffic resulting from the ending of the Streamline service. Transport Scotland and …

22 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will take account of the impact of any increase in (a) passenger and (b) vehicle numbers arising from the planned lower fares from 2018 when planning future ferry service contracts for routes between the Scottish mainland and (i) Shetland and (ii) Orkney.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Ministers & Transport Scotland commissioned Peter Brett Associates to undertake a comprehensive transport appraisal, in line with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG), which involved exploring and assessing the specification of both the n…

22 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the planned lower fares from 2018 will have on (a) passenger and (b) vehicle numbers on the (i) Aberdeen – Lerwick, (ii) Aberdeen – Kirkwall, (iii) Kirkwall – Lerwick and (iv) Scrabster – Stromness NorthLink ferry service routes.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Ministers and Transport Scotland commissioned Peter Brett Associates to undertake a comprehensive transport appraisal, in line with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG), which involved exploring and assessing the specification of both the…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09484 by John Swinney on 13 June 2017, what ways there are to measure the attainment gap.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to questions S5W-10674 on 24 August and S5W-09484 on 16 June 2017. 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.s…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09484 by John Swinney on 13 June 2017, whether the measures will enable direct comparisons to be made with the attainment gap in years prior to 2017-18.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10674 on 24 August 2017. 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/parliamentarybusiness/…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09484 by John Swinney on 13 June 2017, which measures will be used at each stage of school to identify the attainment gap.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10674 on 24 August 2017. 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/parliamentarybusiness/…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09484 by John Swinney on 13 June 2017, when the work with stakeholders will (a) begin and (b) conclude; who will be consulted, and what this will involve.

Answer · John Swinney: Initial discussions with stakeholders have already begun. The Scottish Government will continue to consult with a wide range of interests over the coming months, through a variety of channels and networks that will include the International Council of Educati…

27 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what projects it has introduced to encourage coding in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Throughout education, the Government and its partner bodies are working to equip all young people with the digital skills they need to thrive in modern society and the workplace, from basic digital literacy through to more specialised computing science discip…

27 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with religious groups that want to set up faith schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government regularly meets with religious groups to discuss the provision of education, however, no discussions have taken place recently regarding the setting up of faith schools. In accordance with Section 17 of the 1980 Act, local authoritie…

27 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in light of the vote on motion S5M-04920 on education 29 March 2017, what consideration it has given to separating the curriculum and inspection functions of Education Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: We have considered the role of Education Scotland as part of the Education Governance Review which seeks to ensure that the Scottish Government and the national education bodies provide the right support to an empowered and flexible education system. Scotlan…

27 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will hold a full independent enquiry into its practices into dealing with freedom of information requests.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: As I said in the debate on 21 June, the Scottish Information Commissioner who is completely independent of government is already scrutinising our FOI performance. We are co-operating fully with that scrutiny and have a programme of action under way to improve…

20 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10393 by Humza Yousaf on 20 July 2017, when it will determine whether to retender shipping services from Shetland and Orkney to Aberdeen or bring them under the direct operational control of ministers.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In my answer to S5W-10393 I noted that the timeline for the policy review would be extended and that a report on the emerging findings of the review is due for publication in Autumn 2017. We will set out in that report our plans for ensuring the continued del…

22 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09864 by Keith Brown on 22 June 2017, who the members are of the implementation board and who chairs it.

Answer · Keith Brown: Following publication of the report on Phase 2 of the Enterprise and Skills Review on 22 June 2017, an Implementation Board has been established to lay the groundwork for the creation of the Strategic Board that will co-ordinate the activities of Scotland's s…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current extent of cross-subsidising by early education providers between the provision of free government-funded places and the rates charged to parents of other children, and what it anticipates the value of this cross-subsidy will be in each of the ne…

Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government values the key role that providers in the private and third sectors play in delivering the funded early learning and childcare entitlement, and we have provided the resources to ensure that the current entitlement of 600 hours per year…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the finding of the NDNA Annual Nursery Surveys 2017 that funding for the provision of free early education places is falling short of costs for the "vast majority" of providers by an average of £1,000 per child per year for three- and four-year-olds.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government values the key role that providers in the private and third sectors play in delivering the funded early learning and childcare entitlement, and we have provided the resources to ensure that the current entitlement of 600 hours per year…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost of upgrading existing (a) nursery sites and (b) childminders' facilities to meet the expanded provision that they are anticipated to deliver.

Answer · Mark McDonald: We are currently working with local authorities to produce estimates of the potential capital costs associated with delivering the expansion to 1140 hours by 2020. To aid this process a funding letter was issued to local authorities on 19 May 2017 indicating…

21 Jun 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce its decision on the procurement of the next phase of superfast broadband expansion.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We will launch procurement to deliver the initial phase of our 100% superfast broadband commitment by the end of this year. This will follow a State Aid Public consultation - a necessary precursor to public investment in broadband infrastructure – that will b…

19 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools have been built in each year since 2007, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: Prior to 2009-10 local authorities were not asked to specify whether a school was built or refurbished and information for 2007-08 and 2008-09 is outlined in table 1. In 2009-10 this information was collected for the first time, however, not all schools were …

19 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on school repairs in each year since 2010, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 places a statutory responsibility on all local authorities to manage and maintain the school estate and provide a safe school environment for all school users.

19 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools have operated in each year since 2007, and how many of those (a) had and (b) did not have school building certificates.

Answer · John Swinney: The number of schools operational in each year since 2007 are as follows: Number of local authority schools1,2 as at 1 April, 2007-2016 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 All schools …

19 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many clerks of works (a) have been employed and (b) were new starts in each year since 2007, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Each local authority should be contacted for this information.

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 15 June 2017 (Official Report, c. 46), how the regional improvement collaboratives will be structured, including which local authority areas each will cover.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-09727 on 30 June 2017. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28…

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment in the report, Education Governance: Next Steps - Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to Deliver Excellence and Equity for our Children, that "there was strong opposition against the uniform establishment of educational regions, particularly from loc…

Answer · John Swinney: The reforms set out in Education Governance: Next Steps, including the regional improvement collaboratives, reflect evidence from the OECD, the International Council of Education Advisers and other international evidence as well as the messages we heard durin…