Parliamentary questions
Daniel Johnson
1,103 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who it consulted prior to its announcement on 21 September 2016 regarding reform of the assessment of National 5 and Higher qualifications.
Answer · John Swinney: The proposal to remove the current mandatory requirement for unit assessment at National 5 and Higher was discussed with the Assessment and National Qualifications Group prior to the announcement on 21 September 2016. The group includes a range of education s…
26 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement on 21 September 2016, which subjects at National 5 and Higher level will have externally assessed coursework; how will this be administered, and what impact it will have on teacher workload.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) will take forward the new approach and will publish more detail for teachers in due course. As this is an operational matter for SQA, I have asked the Chief Executive of SQA to write to you.
26 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement on 21 September 2016, how it will strengthen final exams for qualifications at National 5 and Higher level.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) will take forward the new approach and will publish more detail for teachers in due course. As this is an operational matter for SQA, I have asked the Chief Executive to write to you.
26 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when ministers have met parliamentary liaison officers, and what was discussed.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Ministers met with parliamentary liaison officers on the dates noted below and discussed a range of issues relevant to their portfolios. Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform met with Gillian Martin, MSP o…
26 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in its document, Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education; A Delivery Plan for Scotland, whether it has created a "national forum for academics and practitioners to come together to ensure that cutting-edge evidence is being implemented in practic…
Answer · John Swinney: The national forum forms part of the activity associated with our proposed Research Strategy for school education. The Strategy is being drawn up following engagement with the academic community and stakeholders within the education system, and in light of th…
26 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when ministers have met parliamentary conveners, and what was discussed.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs met with Joan McAlpine MSP, Convener European and External Relations Committee on Tuesday 16 August to discuss European, Tourism and Cultural Matters. Jamie Hepburn MSP, Minister f…
21 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the average age of Scotland's (a) roads, (b) pavements, (c) hospitals, (d) schools and (e) colleges was in each year since 2007.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Responsibility for the management of these assets is for a number of delivery partners, including Transport Scotland, local authorities and NHS boards. This information is not held centrally.
21 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it (a) takes and (b) has taken to support the retail sector.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government recognises the value of a successful and vibrant retail sector and regularly engages with the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and its members across a wide range of policy priorities. We provide various mechanisms of support to the s…
21 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in infrastructure in each year since 2007, also given as a percentage of GDP.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Information on investment since 2007 in infrastructure is included within the annually published draft budget.
21 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who it has met from the European Commission since the decision by the UK to leave the EU; when the meetings were held, and what was discussed.
Answer · Michael Russell: The First Minister met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on 29 June 2016 to raise awareness of the result of the EU Referendum vote in Scotland and to highlight Scotland’s desire to protect its relationship with the European Union. In add…
21 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of jobs in Scotland’s retail sector.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The following table shows the number of jobs in the Scottish retail sector from 2009 - 2015. The figures are the latest retail jobs figures as published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday 28 September. Table 1: Retail Jobs, Scotland, 20…
21 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it makes of the age of publicly owned infrastructure.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government works with a number of delivery partners including Transport Scotland, local authorities, NHS boards, Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Water who are responsible for managing publicly owned infrastructure and ensuring that their re…
21 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which European governments it has met since the decision by the UK to leave the EU; when the meetings were held, and what was discussed.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: On 28 June 2016 the Scottish Government received a clear mandate from Parliament to pursue all options to protect Scotland’s relationship with the EU and to engage with EU Member States to explain Scotland’s position, the work it is taking forward to protect …
21 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will implement the recommendations arising from its consultation on the Apprenticeship Levy.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Apprenticeship Levy was announced by the UK Government without any prior consultation with the Scottish Government, or indeed others who will be liable for paying the levy. The consultation undertaken by the Scottish Government closed on 26 August 2016 a…
14 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will provide for the targeted marketing campaign to recruit additional Early Learning and Childcare workers referred to in the 2016-17 Programme for Government, when it will begin and what form it will take.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Ahead of any recruitment campaign, the Scottish Government is currently working with delivery partners to explore all existing routes to recruit a high quality and diverse early learning and childcare workforce. A Skills Investment Plan is being developed and…
14 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many additional qualified teachers or childcare graduates it expects to be in place in nurseries in the most deprived areas by 2018.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government is currently working with partners to identify target nurseries for the rollout of the additional graduate or teacher commitment from 2018. This is drawing on new SIMD data published on 31 August 2016 and locally held information, to e…
14 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it will provide in (a) real and (b) cash terms each year toward the pledge in the Programme for Government that "by 2018, nurseries in our most deprived areas will benefit from an additional qualified teacher or childcare graduate".
Answer · Mark McDonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02767 on 26 September 2016. 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/parliamentarybusin…
14 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the pilot deposit guarantee scheme for childcare costs referred to in the Programme for Government will operate; how much it will cost to introduce; what the budget will be; on what date it will be introduced, and how many people will be able to access it.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The pilots will allow us to explore approaches to reducing the burden of upfront childcare costs for parents in low income households. There is a concern that these costs may present a real barrier to some parents starting or returning to work, or increasing …
14 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) three- and (b) four-year-olds are on waiting lists for access to early learning and childcare, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Information on waiting lists to early learning and childcare is not held centrally. Local Authorities are under a duty to provide early learning and childcare places to all three and four year olds from set times following their 3rd birthday under the Provisi…
14 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is over the next five years for the delivery of the 1,140 hours of free early learning and childcare for three- and four-year-olds referred to in the Programme for Government.
Answer · Mark McDonald: We are committed to ensuring that the necessary infrastructure, workforce and delivery models are in place to meet our commitment to expand early learning and childcare entitlement to 1140 hours per year by 2020. As I announced to Parliamentary on 29 Septembe…
14 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it will provide in (a) real and (b) cash terms each year toward the provision of the additional 20,000 qualified early learning and childcare workers by 2020 referred to in the Programme for Government.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Ahead of any recruitment campaign, the Scottish Government is currently working with delivery partners to explore all existing routes to recruit a high quality and diverse early learning and childcare workforce. A Skills Investment Plan is being developed and…
13 Sep 2016 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all of its and its agencies’ employees receive at least the Scottish living wage.
Answer · Keith Brown: All public bodies covered by the Scottish Government’s public sector pay policy are required to pay their employees the Scottish Living Wage as part of their annual pay settlements. This requirement has been an integral part of our public sector pay policy si…
8 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Brexit, what steps it is taking to assess and protect the body of Scots law that is underpinned or connected to EU law, and what (a) timescale and (b) resources it proposes for this work to be carried out.
Answer · Michael Russell: The result of the EU referendum clearly has considerable potential consequences for Scots law. For example, the Faculty of Advocate’s recent evidence to the European and External Relations Committee of the Parliament identified a number of legal issues that w…
7 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with the UK Government regarding development of its 2012 report, BIS Retail Strategy, and its 2013 report, A Strategy for Future Retail, Industry and Government delivering in partnership, in Scotland.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills published both the 2012, BIS Retail Strategy and 2013, A Strategy for Future Retail, in response to the Mary Portas independent review into the future of UK high streets and in support of work they were undert…
7 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01899 by Humza Youssaf on 2 September 2016, what percentage of its transport budget has been allocated to cycling policy in each year since 2010.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The percentage of Transport Scotland's budget allocated to active travel is as follows: Financial Year Percentage of Transport Scotland Budget Allocated to Active Travel 2010-11 1.2 2011-12 1.0 2012-13 1.1 2013-14 1.1 2014-15 2.1 2015-16 1.9
7 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many secondary school careers advisers there have been in each year since 2006, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Skills Development Scotland (SDS) currently employ 293 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance Advisers and 52.7 FTE work coaches who provide services to schools across Scotland. SDS manage and deliver their services using 5 geogr…
7 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) its and (b) the overall costs were for each new or reinstated train station since 2007, broken down by the number of platforms.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Since 2007, a total of 13 new stations have been added to the rail network. Some stations were constructed on the operational railway whilst others were built as part of larger rail projects re-establishing former railway lines and, accordingly, with differin…
7 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many schools (a) have and (b) do not have onsite outdoor sports facilities, also broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Information is not held centrally. I have asked the Chief Executive of sportscotland to write to you regarding the range of outdoor sporting facilities available to schools across Scotland.
7 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many STEM subject (a) pupils aged 14 to 18 and (b) teachers there have been in each year since 2011, broken down by (i) gender and (ii) subject.
Answer · John Swinney: The number of entries into SQA qualifications in STEM subjects, broken down by gender since academic year 2010-11 are shown in table one. The number of teachers whose main subject is STEM, broken down by gender, over the same time period, is shown in table tw…
11 Aug 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of its civil servants deal with cycling policy.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: There are 49 staff members of the Transport Policy Directorate in Transport Scotland working on various policy areas including cycling policy. In addition, a number of staff within other Transport Scotland Directorates deal with cycling issues in relation to …