Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many bursaries have been provided to students attending independent schools in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Bursaries for independent schools are a matter for the proprietors of each institution. Scottish Government does not collect this information.
26 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many additional (a) local authority- and (b) privately-run nursery places have been created in each year since 1999.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The number of nursery service cancellations and registrations is a matter for the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate publish data on service cancellations and registrations (available here: https:/…
26 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints regarding quadbikes and off-road vehicles have the police received in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
26 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much each local authority has spent on transport for (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special school pupils in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Tables responding to this request have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre under the bib number 65672.
26 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many attacks on a fellow pupil by (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special school pupils have been recorded in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: In Scotland that statutory responsibility for the delivery of Education rests with our local authorities. Accordingly, the Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities may hold this information.
26 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) local authority- and (b) privately-run nurseries have closed in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The number of nursery service cancellations and registrations is a matter for the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate publish data on service cancellations and registrations (available here: Statist…
26 Feb 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on state schools of the UK Government's decision to make independent schools liable for VAT, how it plans to use any Barnett consequential funding resulting from this decision to support state schools.
17 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the most recent data it has regarding the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils leaving the independent sector and enrolling in state schools, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Scottish Government continues to engage with local authorities to understand the impact on the Scottish state sector to date.Scottish Government does not routinely collect this information.As part of ongoing work to receive assurance from local authorities th…
17 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the implementation of the pavement parking prohibitions introduced by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, and how it ensures that local authorities enforce these effectively.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 places a duty upon all local authorities to enforce the new parking prohibitions. It is for each local authority to determine how best to enforce these prohibitions in their area. Transport Scotland annually collates figures …
17 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce an updated version of the campaign, No Knives, Better Lives.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: We review YouthLink Scotland’s No Knives, Better Lives programme regularly to consider how it can continue to help prevent violence and reduce its harm. Part of this work has included the creation of the Quit Fighting for Likes Campaign, developed by th…
17 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the Year of Young People 2018, what plans it has to hold a new version of the initiative.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Scotland was the first country in the world to run a dedicated Year of Young People in 2018. It aimed to inspire Scotland through our young people by celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for…
17 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received from localauthorities regarding any barriers that they have identified in enforcing the pavementparking prohibitions introduced by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, and whatsupport it has provided to them to assist with dealing with these.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland facilitated a Parking Standards Group with representatives from all 32 local authorities, in advance of the 2019 Act becoming law. During these meetings, in depth discussions were held around the enforcement of the new parking prohibitions.…
17 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average primary (a) 1, (b) 2 and (c) 3 class size has been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The average class size of primary pupils by local authority and stage is published in Table 6.6a of the pupil census supplementary statistics.Pupil census supplementary statistics - gov.scotThese statistics are available from 2007-2023, data prior to 2007 is …
17 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment is has made of local authorities’use of the £2.4 million funding that it allocated in 2022 to prepare forimplementing the pavement parking prohibitions introduced by the Transport(Scotland) Act 2019.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland provided £2.4 million to local authorities for the completion of their road assessments to identify if there are areas of footway they may wish to exempt from the national pavement parking ban. It is not for Transport Scotland to asse…
10 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on the upskilling fund when it was operational.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Funding Council’s University Upskilling Fund was introduced in 2019. The total spend across the Fund’s operational period from 2019-2024 was £33,672,015.
10 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of incidents in schools that Police Scotland have attended in each year since 1999.
Answer · Angela Constance: Information on the total number of incidents in schools attended by Police Scotland is not held centrally.Information is available from the Accredited Official Statistics on the number of police recorded crimes of weapon possession in a school. This is availa…
10 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many student applications to college have been rejected due to limited places in each year since 1999, broken down by college.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
10 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many individual STEM subject teachers have been employed in each year in each local authority area since 1999.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Data on full-time equivalent (FTE) secondary teachers by main subject taught and Local Authority is available in Table 8.9 of the Teacher Census Supplementary Statistics for each year from 2010 to 2023, here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-s…
10 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it is making in taking forward its work to update the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations Act 1967 to improve standards for toilets in schools so that children with chronic conditions such as infla…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government intends to refresh and modernise the School Premises Regulations (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) to ensure that they meet the needs of pupils and schools in Scotland. The Scottish Government still intends to re-consult …
10 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many afterschool clubs have been funded in each local authority area since 1999.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities make their own decisions about how to prioritise the provision of after school clubs based on local need.Through our School Age Childcare (SACC) Programme, the Scottish Government is cu…
10 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on education; what targeted measures are in place to provide flexibility to children with Crohn's disease and colitis who may need extended time off, and how such students are supported to complete their educat…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children and young people of school age have the right to an education that helps them develop their abilities to their fullest potential. Local Authorities, who deliver education, also have …
10 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many college course places have been funded in each year since 1999.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The information requested is not held centrally.Funded places at colleges is based on the number of credits allocated to each college, with a credit equating to 40 hours of learning. SFC publish funding allocations annually in the College Final Funding Alloca…
4 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26184 by Jenny Gilruth on 26 March 2024, whether it will provide the same information for 2023-24.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Spending data on Additional Support for Learning (ASL) is collected from local authorities via the 2023-24 Local Financial Returns (LFR). These figures show that spending on ASL by local authorities reached its highest level on record, over £1 billion i…
4 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to carry out a new consultationregarding long-term chronic pain conditions; how this will be conducted, andtake account of the differences between conditions; who will (a) organise and(b) carry out this consultation, and what the outcome was of its previous such consult…
Answer · Jenni Minto: We are exploring a new long term conditions strategy to better recognise the fact that many people living with long term conditions need the same types of support and care, regardless of their condition.A long term conditions strategy will focus on ensuring e…
3 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents involving illegal drugs have been reported in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each of the last five years, also broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Angela Constance: Information on the number of incidents involving illegal drugs in schools is not held centrally. The recorded crime official statistics include data on crimes of drug supply and drug possession, however this does not specify the type of location where the cri…
29 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30844 by Jenni Minto on 14 November 2024, when it will provide an update to Parliament on progress towards its goal of eliminating the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Answer · Jenni Minto: Progress towards eliminating hepatitis C (HCV) in Scotland is monitored by Public Health Scotland (PHS). PHS’s latest HCV surveillance report, published in January 2025, described progress as “hugely encouraging”. The number of deaths and ca…
29 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on supply teachers in primary schools in each local authority area in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Data on how much each local authority spends on supply teachers is not held or collected by central government.Data on local authority expenditure on teachers is available from the Local Government Financial statistics data collection. The latest figures are …
29 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many speech and language therapists have been employed in schools in each local authority area in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: This information is not held centrally.
29 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding arrangement with local authorities has been developed to support learning for pupils whilst they are receiving treatment in children’s hospitals.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Local authorities have the statutory responsibility for delivering education and the statutory duty to make special arrangements for any affected pupils to receive education elsewhere than at a school or other educational establishment as a result of prolonge…
29 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have been signed off work as a result of having been attacked in school in each local authority area in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: This information is not held centrally.