Michelle Ballantyne

26 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Growing Up in Scotland report, which reportedly found that the quality of childcare in private nurseries to be lower than in local authority settings, how it plans to overcome any inequalities in the childcare workforce.

Answer · Maree Todd: Our new Funding Follows the Child approach, due for introduction in August 2020, will further prioritise and safeguard high quality provision across all sectors. This model will be underpinned by a national standard that all early learning and childcare provi…

26 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authority nurseries have a qualified teacher on their staff.

Answer · Maree Todd: At the time of the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) census week in September 2017, 1069 local authority ELC centres had one or more General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) registered teachers on their staff. A further 450 centres, that did not have a G…

26 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is assessing the impact of extending nursery provision.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has drawn upon independent advice (published here: http://www.healthscotland.scot/publications/evaluability-assessment-of-the-expansion-of-early-learning-and-childcare ) to develop our long term monitoring and evaluation strategy in …

21 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives it has planned to promote tourism in the South Scotland region.

20 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures from NSPCC Scotland, which suggest that there has been a 9% increase in the number of child sex offences recorded by Police Scotland between 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Answer · Maree Todd: Figures from the NSPCC suggest a 15% increase in child sex offences across the whole of the UK, and that 1 in 10 offences had an online element. NSPCC themselves acknowledge that reasons for this increase may include a rise in reporting of historic cases, im…

19 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the uptake of funded childcare, in light of the recent report by Fair Funding for our Kids, which suggests that 10% of parents do not know about their funded childcare entitlement.

Answer · Maree Todd: Our published data and research indicates that take up of the entitlement to funded early learning and childcare for 3 and 4 year olds is almost universal. Although uptake figures for 2 year olds have risen slightly over the last 2 years, it is still lower th…

19 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to recent research by Fair Funding for our Kids, which suggests that half of all nursery places are for half days only, which means that parents have less flexibility when it comes to choosing their working or training hours.

Answer · Maree Todd: As part of the expansion to 600 hours from 2014 we provided local authorities with additional funding to support an increase in flexibility. As a result we have seen flexibility increase with more providers offering choice of provision, increased opening hour…

19 Feb 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the recent Audit Scotland report, which states that its childcare plans face "significant challenges".

15 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported figures from Ash Scotland, which suggest that 36 children in Scotland are becoming smokers every day, what action it is taking to tackle the number of children and young people smoking.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Our efforts on smoking rates have been bold, and remarkable progress has been made to date. Following a number of successful actions, including banning tobacco advertising, price increases and raising the age of purchasing cigarettes to 18, the proportion of …

15 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it (a) has given and (b) will give to introducing compulsory first aid training for pupils in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools.

Answer · John Swinney: We recognise how important it is that children and young people are given the opportunity to positively engage with health and wellbeing issues at school. Being trained in first aid can help young people develop the skills they may need in an emergency situat…

14 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports environmental protection in the Scottish Borders.

7 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of specialist teachers for partially-sighted children.

Answer · John Swinney: Under the terms of the Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005, local authorities are required to only employ teachers who are registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland and who have the appropriate professional skills and knowled…

5 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the (a) Attainment Scotland Fund and (b) Pupil Equity Fund is specifically being used to support transitions from early learning and childcare to primary school.

Answer · John Swinney: A key priority for this government is to substantially close the gap between the attainment of children from the most and least disadvantaged areas. Addressing the attainment gap in the early years of a child’s life is fundamental to achieving this ambition. …

31 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by the EIS that the proposed Head Teachers’ Charter could create "additional bureaucratic and managerial tasks on top of an already severe workload burden".

Answer · John Swinney: We are reforming the education system to empower schools and headteachers to make decisions that most affect learning and teaching. The reforms will empower headteachers to become leaders of learning and not chief administrators of their schools. We want to g…

31 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the reported rising number of assaults on NHS staff in the Borders, in light of figures that show almost three assaults were recorded every day between 1 August 2016 and 31 July 2017.

Answer · Shona Robison: Any violence or aggression against NHSScotland staff is unacceptable and we have policies in place to provide a continuously improving and safe working environment. We encourage NHSScotland Boards to commit to supporting appropriate action, including pursuing…

30 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools have reduced their teaching of arts subjects in terms of (a) lesson time, (b) staff, (c) resources and (d) facilities.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold information on lesson times, resources or facilities. Between 2015 and 2016 there were 118 secondary schools where the number of arts teachers (those whose main subject is Art, Drama, Media Studies, Music or Speech and D…

30 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of figures from the Scottish Borders Council, which reportedly show a 27% increase in the last three years in the number of teachers off sick due to mental ill health, what measures are in place for teaching staff who experience mental health issues such as stress, and how it w…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government recognises that teachers are doing an excellent job in classrooms across Scotland. We are committed to tackling bureaucracy and addressing excessive teacher workload. Teacher absences and the causes of these absences are matters for …

30 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by the general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association that the Pupil Equity Fund is not sufficient to tackle the attainment gap.

Answer · John Swinney: Local Authorities have a statutory duty to improve educational outcomes for all and to reduce inequalities in educational outcomes. The Scottish Attainment Challenge, backed by the £750m Attainment Scotland Fund, provides additional resources, over and above …

30 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what empirical evidence there is that the Pupil Equity Fund will improve achievement and attainment in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Schools have been allocated Pupil Equity Funding, according to pupil need, in order to help close the poverty related attainment gap. The funding allows schools to invest in evidenced based activities and interventions that will lead to improvements in litera…

29 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding by the Making Maths Count review, which suggested that there were gaps in the provision of the teaching of the subject nationally, whether it will facilitate the upskilling of teachers, as recommended by the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to progressing all of the ten recommendations in the Making Maths Count report. I have asked Education Scotland to develop a new self-evaluation framework to support the universities that provide initial teacher education…

29 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendation by the Making Maths Count review, whether it will conduct a comprehensive assessment for Education Scotland to share examples of what works well in terms of teaching practice in the subject.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to progressing all of the ten recommendations contained in the Making Maths Count report. Education Scotland's National Numeracy and Mathematics Hub provides a platform to share effective practice of learning and teaching…

29 Jan 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce violence in schools.

25 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing mandatory child health training for GPs.

Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government has no plans to introduce mandatory child health training for GPs, but is working with key stakeholders on areas of practice to enhance the training of GPs to better meet patient needs, as outlined within the report of the UK Shape of Trai…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the reported increase in prescription drug addiction.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Prescribing of medicines is managed by clinicians in discussion with patients within the context of their long-term recovery. It should be in line with good practice, reviewed regularly to achieve the best possible health outcomes and on-going support sho…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many people are being prescribed medication that could be addictive or difficult to come off.

Answer · Shona Robison: The number of patients prescribed medication that could lead to dependence in the 3 month period between September and November in 2017 and 2016 is 512,153. Examples of medicines which fall into this category include:- antihistamines, hyposensitisation, an…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report by Commissioner for Fair Access, Retention, Outcomes and Destinations, how it will improve the (a) outcomes and (b) retention rates for students at university from the poorest backgrounds.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government welcomes the Commissioner’s discussion paper on Retention, Outcomes and Destinations, which sets a timely challenge to the sector to do more to tackle the barriers faced by students from Scotland’s most deprived communities. We have …

23 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to implement each of the recommendations in the paper by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, State of Child Health Report 2017.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government welcomed the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's (RCPCH) State of Child Health Report in 2017. At the time of publication, many of the policies highlighted in the report were already being taken forward in Scotland. On 23 …

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve care for patients with primary lymphoedema.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Our Health and Social Care Delivery Plan, published in December 2016, sets out our aim for Scotland to provide high quality services with a focus on prevention, early intervention and supported self-management. The plan sits alongside our National Clinical St…

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards have access to specialist nurses for patients who have primary lymphoedema.

Answer · Shona Robison: Clinical nurse specialists make a valued contribution to delivering services and supporting patients and families who require specialist care. The Scottish Government has invested £2.5 million annually in the Specialist Nursing and Care Fund since 2015. The …

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will encourage more young women to get a cervical smear test, in light of figures from Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust that suggests that one-in-four women aged 25 to 64 do not take up the offer for a test, rising to one-in-three for those aged 25 to 29.