Liz Smith

1 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the Glasgow Regional Colleges Board has cost to run and operate in each financial year since it was established, and whether these costs are top-sliced from the funding allocation to the three Glasgow colleges.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: From information we have received from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), I can advise that: in 2014-15, the total operating costs for the Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board (GCRB) were £287,617 of which £125,415 was deducted from the SFC funding allocation …

1 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Glasgow Regional Colleges Board has not yet assumed responsibility for the distribution of funds for the college sector in Glasgow, and when it expects it to do so.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board (GCRB) has not yet assumed responsibility for funding Glasgow’s three colleges as the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is not yet fully satisfied that all suitable arrangements are in place. The SFC confirmed to GCRB in Sept…

17 Oct 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with local authorities regarding equalities in their employment practices.

3 Oct 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government is having with the governing bodies of contact sports regarding head injuries.

28 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to widen access to postgraduate study for people from deprived backgrounds.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Under current postgraduate support arrangements, all eligible postgraduate students are able to access a total student loan support package of £7900, comprising a tuition fee loan of £3400 and a living cost loan of £4500 if studying from a wide ranging course…

28 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not responded in full to the findings in the paper, Taught Postgraduate Review: Working Group Final Report, which was published on 21 December 2015, and by what date it will issue its response.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government wants to increase participation in postgraduate study and has considered the recommendations made in Professor MacGregor's final report. The Programme for Government made clear an updated package of support will be available to eligib…

27 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS dental surgeries in each local authority area have full patient lists.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not collected or held by the Scottish Government. NHS dental patient registrations are at a record high level of 90.7%. Patients looking for a dentist can contact local dental practices to enquire if they are registering NHS den…

15 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many referrals to the children’s reporter were made in each year between 2000-01 and 2015-16, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The information is not held centrally. This is a matter for the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA). Scottish Children's Reporter Administration Ochil House Springkerse Business Park Stirling FK7 7XE http://www.scra.gov.uk/

14 Sep 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on CAP subsidy payments to farmers in Perthshire.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: For the purposes of administering the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Scotland is divided into areas covered by Scottish Government's Area Offices. The current position for 2015 Basic and Greening Payments for the area covered by the Perth office, which in…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many free school meals were distributed in each local authority area in the last year.

Answer · John Swinney: The Local Finance Returns outline the amount of free school meals served in pre-primary, primary, secondary and special education; and are published on a financial year, rather than a calendar year basis. The following table outlines the amount of free school…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many primary school children are registered for free school meals in each local authority, also broken down by month over the last year.

Answer · John Swinney: The latest statistics on free school meals were published on 22 June 2016 in the Scottish Government Statistics Publication - Summary statistics for attainment, leaver destinations and healthy living, No. 6: 2016 Edition. Table 7 in the accompanying supplemen…

7 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that its land reform legislation does not have a negative impact on young people.

2 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what fee payment rate has been paid to Scottish Qualifications Authority invigilators for a standard four-hour session in each year since 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). I have asked the Chief Executive of SQA to write to you.

1 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Basic Payment Scheme payments are outstanding, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not categorised by local authority and I am therefore supplying the best alternatives available at present which is the information relating to each Rural Payments and Inspections Division local area office as at 14 September 2016…

22 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported 25% decline in the number of computing teachers in schools between 2005 and 2015.

Answer · John Swinney: While it is ultimately the responsibility of individual local authorities, the Scottish Government is taking a number of actions to help recruit and retain computing teachers. We have increased student teacher intake targets for the fifth year in a row and ar…

22 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) Higher and (b) Advanced Higher examination markers the SQA employed in each year between 2010 and 2016, broken down by subject.

Answer · John Swinney: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). I have asked the Chief Executive of SQA to write to you.

4 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what feedback from the Information Commissioner’s Office in relation to sections 26 and 27 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill the Minister for Children and Young People was referring to in evidence to the Education and Culture Committee on 7 January 2014 (Official Report, c…

Answer · Mark McDonald: On 16 December 2013, Ken Macdonald, Assistant Commissioner (Scotland & Northern Ireland) at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), wrote to the Education and Culture Committee, setting out the ICOs feedback on the proposed Scottish Government amendments…

29 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers took advice on the potential for their plans to break data protection laws and, if so, whether it will be made public.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The information sharing provisions in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 do not break the Data Protection Act 1998. The Supreme Court judgment released on the 28 July 2016, ruled that the information-sharing provisions of the 2014 Act are incom…

29 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it took legal advice regarding the information sharing proposals in the named person legislation and, if so, who gave the advice and when it was received.

Answer · Mark McDonald: It is standard practice for the Scottish Government not to state whether legal advice has been sought or received or to reveal the content of that advice. On introduction, the Presiding Officer stated that the Children and Young People Bill would, in her opin…

26 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it uses to determine the eligibility of pupils in P1 to P3 for a free school meal.

21 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many sniffer dogs have been in active service for police services across Scotland since 2007.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. The deployment of police dogs is an operational matter for Police Scotland.

21 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers have been fully trained in the handling of sniffer dogs since 2007.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. The training of police dog handlers is an operational matter for Police Scotland.

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities to ensure that required school building inspection standards are met.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Government has regular discussions with local authorities on a range of matters relating to their school estate. However, the responsibility for issues relating to health and safety and the structural condition of schools, along with all their other build…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the remit of Education Scotland to include, in school inspections, the quality condition of school buildings.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The responsibility for assessing the state of school buildings lies with local authorities. Any robust quality assurance and scrutiny needs to come from examination by technical specialists in building standards and health and safety. Education Scotland is no…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the self-certification system used to approve school building works and ensure that all school buildings are compliant with the relevant building standards.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Building (Self-Certification of Structural Design) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 which permitted the self-certification of the structural design of buildings under building regulations were revoked with the introduction of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. …

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Education Scotland regarding the frequency of inspections in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The frequency of both primary and secondary school inspection will form part of the Government publication Standards and Evaluation Framework in June 2017 as signalled within Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education: A Delivery Plan for Scotland…

8 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which legal responsibilities that lie only with local authorities it is proposing to offer schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Driving up attainment levels is this government's priority and we will seek out and listen to all new ideas and innovative approaches to deliver results in education for all young people. I launched Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education - A D…

7 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria are used to determine the eligibility of pupils for a free school meal in Primaries 1 to 3.

Answer · John Swinney: On 5 January 2015, free school meals were extended to all Primary 1 to 3 children in Scotland to help ensure that every child has the best possible start in life and gets every chance to succeed at school. The policy has had a huge take up with latest figures…

29 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a review of higher education funding in light of the EU referendum result.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has no plans to carry out a specific review of higher education funding in light of the EU referendum result. However, the Scottish Government is engaging with the higher education sector as part of work to inform the planned spending…

22 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected spend is for children taken into care in its next budget.

Answer · Mark McDonald: Spending on children taken into care is the responsibility of a number of corporate parents set out in schedule 4 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. The level of spending on looked after children is set by each body, including local authori…