Ross Greer

11 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-34665 by John Swinney on 26 January 2021, whether the COSLA leaders agreed their position on 29 January and, if so, whether it will now confirm how much each local authority will be allocated from the £45 million package to deploy more support for s…

Answer · John Swinney: COSLA Leaders agreed the funding distribution on 29 January 2021 and the following table confirms how much each local authority has been allocated. This additional funding may be used flexibly by councils in supporting the delivery of remote learning to recru…

10 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next update the guidance on care home visiting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35500 on 24 February 2021. 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/parliamentarybusine…

10 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further information on the mitigation and safety measures that it is putting in place for the reopening of schools for P1 to P3 pupils.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government published supplementary guidance on 16 February regarding the first phase of children and young people returning to schools. This is in addition to the existing guidance on reducing risks in schools, which remains in place. https://ww…

4 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many members of the SQA board of management are (a) GTCS-registered teachers or lecturers and (b) have frontline teaching or lecturing experience.

Answer · John Swinney: I have asked SQA to respond: SQA’s Board of Management has a wide range of skills and experiences that allow it to function effectively with the CEO and the Executive Management Team. a) Of our 9 Board of Management members, 2 are GTCS registered teacher/le…

1 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 11 December 2020, Extra funding for student associations, whether it will provide an update on the distribution of the money.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: On 27 January 2021, the Scottish Funding Council published guidance in relation to additional funding of £730,250 in Financial Year (FY) 2020-21 for college and university students’ associations and unions. This confirmed institutional and College Region allo…

28 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether foster carers should be prioritised to receive the COVID-19 vaccine during the second phase of the vaccination programme.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The evidence based JCVI guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age. Additionally the committee considers frontline health and social care workers who provide …

19 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 13 January 2021 (Official Report, c.17), how much each local authority will be allocated from the £45 million package to deploy more support for schools and families.

Answer · John Swinney: We are currently working with COSLA to agree the distribution of this additional funding. It is being considered by COSLA Leaders on 29 January and we will publish details on the Scottish Government website when they are finalised.

15 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines for people (a) in sheltered accommodation and (b) who receive personal and nursing care at home.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Those living in sheltered homes may fall in JCVI priority group 2, if over 80 years.For all other over 80s living in their own homes, GP surgeries will be contacting their patients by letter or by phone offering them the vaccine (i.e. not via the national sch…

7 Jan 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the current regulations to protect tenants from eviction.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We are doing all we can to support tenants to remain in their homes whilst the pandemic continues to be a risk to public health. An important part of this was introducing a temporary ban on the enforcement of eviction orders across both the private and social…

21 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the statistics published by Public Health Scotland on 16 December 2020, which suggests that teachers are more likely to contract COVID-19 than the general working-age population, what consideration has been given to the prioritisation of school staff in the vaccine roll-out.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Public Health Scotland Report of record linkage study of COVID-19 among Teachers, Healthcare workers and other working-age adults (publichealthscotland.scot) does record the increased risk of teaching staff for catching COVID-19, but also confirms that,…

21 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of early years centres in each local authority area provide free meals, also broken down by (i) how many and (ii) what percentage of eligible children take up the offer.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of children eligible for free school meals in early learning and childcare (ELC) settings, or on the uptake of the offer of free school meals for those children. This information would be held at local …

25 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, what steps it is taking to implement the terms of motion S5M-23385, which was agreed by the Parliament on 18 November 2020, including recruiting an additional 2,000 full-time teachers and making regular COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic staff and senior pupils widely available.

Answer · John Swinney: Work is progressing across all terms of the agreed motion. In considering any requirements for additional school staff we must take into account what local authorities are telling us about what would best meet the needs of children and young people in their a…

24 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32993 by John Swinney on 3 November 2020, which local authorities have not yet responded to its request for information on the number of counsellors currently allocated to schools, and whether it will publish the information that has already been pr…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government received the final return from local authorities on 3 December and are now analysing the responses received. The analysis may lead to a requirement to engage further with local authorities to clarify some of the information provided. T…

3 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31767 by John Swinney on 25 September 2020, whether there is an operational counselling service in place for every secondary school in Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32993 on 19 November 2020. 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/parliamentarybusine…

3 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31767 by John Swinney on 25 September 2020, how many of the school counsellors it committed to are in place; which local authorities have not yet provided access to school-based counselling across all schools, and how many counsellors there are over…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is prioritising the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in schools. We have continued to fund local authorities with £16 million in this financial year to ensure access to a counsellor is available in every seconda…

30 Oct 2020 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the latest guidance on face coverings in school will be implemented.

30 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce arrangements for students moving between halls of accommodation and family or other residences over the Christmas period.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is working closely and urgently with the sector and student bodies to put in place guidance so the students are able to return to their families at Christmas. We will publish this in the very near future.

30 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with universities regarding the integration of any independent testing programmes that they might operate for staff and students with the NHS test and protect system.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Whilst universities have not previously raised this particular topic with Scottish Government on 11 November I announced the voluntary testing of asymptomatic university students before they return home for the festive period. This, along with walkthrough tes…

30 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when each of the provisions introduced by the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 will come into force.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill passed its final Stage in the Scottish Parliament on 23 June 2020. It received Royal Assent on 28 July 2020 and became an Act on that date. Since the Bill passed its final Stage in Parliament, the Scottish Government has…

26 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of suspected COVID-19 transmission have been linked to (a) (i) primary, (ii) secondary and (iii) all schools and (b) colleges, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · John Swinney: These data are not currently available from Public Health Scotland (PHS). A more detailed report of testing data from Term 1 of the 2020-21 academic year, including the distribution of cases by school type and area, will be published by PHS in late-November …

21 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to support rail manufacture at the Hunterston PARC site in North Ayrshire.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Enterprise is working closely with Peel Ports to promote Hunterston PARC to companies looking to base or expand rail manufacturing related activity in Scotland. This promotion, in partnership with North Ayrshire Council and Peel Ports is part of a w…

10 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the teacher census supplementary data and support staff data for 2019 will be published.

Answer · John Swinney: The teacher census supplementary data and support staff data for 2019 were published on 31 March 2020. Teachers census supplementary data: https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/ Support staff supplementary data: https:…

10 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31513 by John Swinney on 10 September 2020, how many of the school counsellors it committed to are in place; what local authorities have not yet provided access to school-based counselling across all schools, and how many counsellors there are overa…

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not available at this time. Our priority is to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and the availability of counselling is one of the measures we and our local authority partners are putting in place. Providing …

9 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much student hardship funding has been (a) allocated and (b) distributed to each institution, also broken down by how many students at each institution have (i) applied for and (ii) received support from this.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: As part of the Student Support Action Plan, announced in April 2020 and in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, an additional £2.2m of HE Discretionary Funds were distributed to colleges and universities that month for immediate use. In June 2020, the first ins…

8 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03736 by Keith Brown on 31 October 2016, whether it will provide the information for 2019-20, also broken down by what information it has regarding which companies received funding; how much they received, and the purpose of their award.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: As this is an operational matter relating to grant information, I have asked the Chief Executives of Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise to respond to you directly.  

1 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it achieved its commitment in the 2019-20 Programme for Government to have 350 school counsellors in post by September 2020 and, if not, how many are currently in post.

Answer · John Swinney: We have engaged with education authorities throughout the COVID-19 period and there has been significant progress in the delivery of the counselling through schools commitment. It is expected that all schools will have access to counselling services by the en…

24 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason interest continues to accrue on student loans when an individual is on maternity leave.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The accrual of interest on student loans is provided for in The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009, a UK Statutory Instrument that impacts on all UK borrowers. There are currently no circumstances whereby interest would stop accruing (unl…

24 Aug 2020 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest WHO guidance that young people over the age of 12 should wear a mask to help prevent transmission of COVID-19.

19 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28481 by John Swinney on 17 April 2020, whether it will provide an update on when the review into coordinated support plans for children with additional needs will begin.

Answer · John Swinney: We remain fully committed to working with partners to undertake a review of the use of co-ordinated support plans to ensure that children and young people with the most significant additional support needs are receiving the support that they need to reach the…

13 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the National Records of Scotland that the Irish community has the highest COVID-19 fatality rate of any minority group in Scotland, and whether it plans further analysis to ascertain for what reasons this is the case.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are deeply concerned by reports showing that people from some minority ethnic backgrounds have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. In order to improve our understanding of and respond to the risks and impacts, we have established an Expert Group…