Parliamentary questions
Alex Rowley
554 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
18 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which suppliers of bicycles will be used to fulfil its policy of providing every child who cannot afford one with a bicycle.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We are currently considering options to deliver this policy. No decision has been made on suppliers of bikes.
18 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what age groups of children will be covered by its policy to provide a bicycle to children who cannot afford one.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We are currently considering options to deliver this policy which will be informed by pilot projects. Further information on the age groups to be covered will be confirmed once the details have been agreed.
18 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many bicycles it has estimated will be needed each year in order to fulfil its policy to provide a bicycle for children who cannot afford one.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We are currently considering options to deliver this scheme which will be informed by pilot projects. Final decisions on how the policy will be implemented will determine the number of bikes required.
18 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much money it has allocated to fulfil its policy to provide a bicycle for children who cannot afford one.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We are currently considering options to deliver this scheme. Final decisions on implementation of the policy will determine funding allocations.
18 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of its planned spending on walking, cycling and wheeling over the next parliamentary year, until May 2022.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Spend on walking, wheeling and cycling increased to £115.5 million in 2021-22 and is budgeted over the financial year, rather than the parliamentary year. The budget for active travel is presented in the following table on the basis of the published Level 4 b…
18 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out the eligibility criteria for its policy to provide a bicycle for children who cannot afford one.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We are currently considering options to deliver this scheme which will be informed by pilot projects. The eligibility criteria will be confirmed once the details have been agreed.
16 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported increased demand for mental health services.
11 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people it estimates will be in youth employment programmes by (a) April, (b) summer and (c) the end of 2021.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Through our additional investment of £60 million in 2020-21 we have provided funding for new opportunities, and have also enhanced existing opportunities, to support young people in Scotland as part of the Young Person’s Guarantee. These opportunities will in…
11 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many long-term unemployed young people have accessed the Fair Start Scotland service.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Information on access to Fair Start Scotland (FSS) service by age is published quarterly in Scotland’s Devolved Employment Services: A Statistical Summary . Between April 2018 (when FSS was launched) and September 2020 (the latest period for which data is …
11 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have participated in the Kickstart Scheme in Scotland.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Kickstart Scheme is a programme of work reserved to the UK Government and it is for the Department for Work and Pensions to report on participation numbers. We are continuing to work with the UK Government to better understand how the Scheme is operating…
3 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns that guidance it has issued to local authorities regarding theatres’ eligibility for the grant support for businesses that are in receipt of the Strategic Business Framework Fund support under the Level 4 restrictions is not consistent with the informatio…
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Strategic Framework Business Fund offers grants of up to £3,000 for businesses required to close, including theatres. Theatres meeting the criteria for these grants were also eligible for an additional one-off grant of up to £9,000 for? non-essential reta…
2 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase employment opportunities within the rural economy.
15 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government in what sectors the jobs created by the Young Person's Guarantee have been located, broken down by the average rate of pay.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Further information regarding opportunities created by the Young Person's Guarantee and our approach to measurement and evaluation can be found in response to Parliamentary Question S5W-34614 on 1 February 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questio…
15 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs have been created by the Young Person's Guarantee.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As detailed in the Scottish Government’s response to question? S5W-34612 on 1 February 2021 we have provided funding to create around 18,000 opportunities for young people in 2020-21. S5W-34612 also provides details of additional funding for the Guarantee…
15 Jan 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have signed onto the Young Person's Guarantee.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Guarantee was launched in November 2020. We have worked closely with partners to build on our existing strong education, skills and employability infrastructure to deliver the recommendations from Sandy Begbie’s report. We are working closely with partne…
18 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the principle of compulsory professional registration for all college staff teaching in FE colleges.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: It is our ambition to ensure Scotland’s colleges have an adaptive, engaged and professionalised workforce, with a focus on developing good practice, co-ordination and partnership. We continue to support the professional registration of lecturing staff to rai…
15 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine across the country.
9 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to address any staff shortages in prisons.
2 Dec 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of NHS staff have received the flu vaccination, and how this compares with the same period in 2019, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scottish Government officials are working closely with Health Boards to monitor vaccine uptake amongst eligible cohorts. A weekly report on seasonal influenza activity in Scotland is published on the Public Health Scotland website: https://publichealthscotla…
30 Nov 2020 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to IPPR Scotland research suggesting that youth unemployment could reach over 100,000 in the coming months, the highest level since records began.
23 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many housing developments have been delayed because of the absence of frontloading capital for schools infrastructure.
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the catering equipment hire sector is not eligible for COVID-19 business (a) support grants and (b) rates relief.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government recognises that this is an extremely difficult time for businesses across Scotland. From the outset we have been explicit that we are utilising every penny of the UK Government’s business support consequential funding to support busine…
26 Oct 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what barriers are preventing it from introducing the new Scottish Child Payment for all 16-year-olds and under in 2021.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We are introducing the Scottish Child Payment early for under 6s in recognition of the fact that almost 60% of children in poverty are in households where the youngest child is under 6. We were able to introduce this payment earlier because it builds on the …
26 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to strengthen support for developing skills and training for people who lose their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government recognises that Covid 19 has had a fundamental impact on the Scottish economy and labour market, and that steps are required to mitigate against its worst effects. We are working closely with Skills Development Scotland and other agen…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which species of wild birds are covered under the provisions of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020 regulating wildlife offences that involve the killing and injuring of wild birds.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: All wild birds are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Subject to certain specified exceptions, it is an offence under that Act to kill, injure or take any wild bird. The Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many schools have experienced a COVID-19 outbreak, also broken down by how many (a) have had to temporarily close and (b) school weeks have been lost.
Answer · John Swinney: Public Heath Scotland has been engaging in a preliminary review of a sample of COVID-19 incidents in schools. The work is in its early stages and much more work needs to be done to build on the preliminary analysis and confirm the findings. However, the Scott…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what review it has carried out of the blended learning that took place in spring 2020, and whether this included an analysis of any discrepancies between schools in the provision of study materials and the extent of teachers’ marking of pupils’ work.
Answer · John Swinney: During the course of Term 4 2019-20, Education Scotland gathered a range of evidence on the approach to remote learning being taken across local authority areas. This work looked at the use of the Glow platform, use of live/synchronised learning by teachers a…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what planning is in place for a potential return to blended learning in schools, and what barriers it has identified that might have to be dealt with to ensure that this is successful.
Answer · John Swinney: Responsibility for making the appropriate arrangements for remote learning rests with individual schools and local authorities. This is set out in the Scottish Government's Coronavirus recovery guidance for schools. To improve the availability of e-learning …
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place for extra support for pupils to respond to any new school closures because of COVID-19 and catch up on lost class time.
Answer · John Swinney: Responsibility for arranging remote learning in the event of school closures, instances where pupils need to self-isolate or where pupils need further support to catch up on learning, rests with individual schools and local authorities. This is set out in the…
15 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what planning is in place to respond to any national or localised school closures as a result of COVID-19.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to working with partners to keep schools safe, open and welcoming. However, in the event of any localised closures due to COVID-19, school reopening guidance makes clear that local authorities and schools should have robus…