Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2258 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-00089

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have not presented for their scheduled (a) first and (b) second scheduled COVID-19 vaccination.

Question reference: S6W-00277

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on potentially losing NHS dentists to the private sector.

Question reference: S6W-00155

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the SQA regarding the current assessment procedure.

The former Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills met with SQA on a number of occasions and I have had an early discussion with the SQA Chief Executive on matters relating to the delivery of SQA’s functions.

The Scottish Government is a member of the National Qualifications 2021 Group which was established to co-produce the Alternative Certification Model and oversee implementation. This, together with an associated working group, has met weekly since it was established in October 2020.

Question reference: S6W-00158

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the approach by the SQA for pupil assessment gives teachers the appropriate freedom required to mark pupils fairly, in light of the situation and difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The professional judgement of teachers is the key feature of this year’s National Qualifications assessment process. SQA has provided the key evidence requirements and associated national assessment standards that are critical to ensuring the fair and consistent application of standards across the country.

This guidance includes reduced evidence requirements in recognition of the disruption to learning this year, and schools have been given flexibility around the timing and nature of which assessment tools to use to inform teacher judgement of individual learners’ results.

The National Qualifications 2021 Group has agreed a later certification contingency for those who have experienced severe disruption to learning and teaching and have been unable to complete their assessment evidence within the flexibilities already provided. This is for learners who have completed the learning for their course but have not been able to complete their assessment as they have experienced extreme disruption during the centre’s evidence-gathering process.

Under these arrangements, there will be a limited opportunity for those learners to undertake assessments later and submit provisional results by 3 September 2021. These arrangements are separate and distinct from the appeals process, which learners undertaking the later certification will still be able to access.

Question reference: S6W-00157

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the SQA alternative assessment model programme is an exam diet.

There is no externally assessed and marked examination diet this year. However, it is necessary for learners to be assessed to provide evidence to demonstrate their level of attainment and to allow teachers and lecturers to use their professional judgement to determine each learner’s provisional results.

The timing and nature of the assessments has been decided by local authorities, individual schools and colleges, providing flexibility to assess individual learners at different times and in different ways. This allows teachers and lecturers to take account of the variable disruption to learning that their pupils have experienced as a result of the pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-00156

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on (a) the frequency of testing taking place in schools and (b) whether the volume of assessments set out by the SQA in a short period is a fair approach to assessing pupils grades, in light of the missed class time in the last year.

The National Qualifications 2021 Group was established in October 2020 with members from across the education system. The group is comprised of representatives of teachers, lecturers, learners and parents, working alongside Local Authorities, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Scottish Government. The organisations on the National Qualifications Group agreed the model for this year, which has been co-produced by them, and is the fairest possible approach for our young people in the challenging circumstances resulting from the pandemic.

SQA carried out a public consultation on proposed modification to the assessment of National Courses. They received over 20,000 responses and as a result introduced reductions to the assessment of all National Courses to take account of learning disruption, whilst still maintaining the credibility of the qualifications for learners and end users. Within that context, SQA has provided subject-specific guidance documents for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses. These documents support teachers and lecturers in gathering key assessment evidence as the basis for provisional results. The documents also give guidance on the modifications that were made to courses, after public consultation, to streamline requirements to support teachers and learners and mitigate the impact of disruption.

The unavoidable second period of remote learning due to the pandemic has unfortunately meant that assessments are taking place over a shorter period than was first anticipated.

To help address this, the framework allows for a significant degree of local flexibility in which assessment tools are used in ways and at times which suit local circumstances and the specific needs of learners.

The deadline for submission of provisional grades has been extended to 25 June 2021 to allow for teaching and learning to be completed and to provide a longer opportunity for the gathering of assessment evidence.

The National Qualifications 2021 Group has been very clear that certification must be based on demonstrated attainment.

Question reference: S6W-00225

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact that (a) social-distancing and (b) COVID-19 lockdowns have had on jobs in the (i) night-time economy and (ii) (A) pub and (B) restaurant sectors.

Question reference: S6W-00224

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with business leaders operating in the (a) night-time economy and (b) (i) pub and (ii) restaurant sectors regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past year the Scottish Government has worked closely with businesses and sectoral organisations such as the Scottish Tourism Alliance, UK Hospitality, Scottish Licensed Trade Association, Scottish Beer & Pub Association, Night Time Industries Association and Scottish Hospitality Group on the impact of restrictions and support for the tourism and hospitality sectors. Most recently, the First Minister has met with Scottish Tourism Alliance and UKHospitality on 21 May.

I most recently met with UKHospitality and Scottish Licensed Trade Association on 25 May and Scottish Tourism Alliance on 26 May.

Question reference: S6W-00227

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the ventilation in night-clubs in response to the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and to what extent the findings of this assessment supports the reported comment by the National Clinical Director that these venues are "dingy, poorly-ventilated spaces".

We have considered the transmission risk associated with close contact and the mixing of individuals in such environments, including engagement between clinicians and nightclub owners and a visit to see the sector in operation.

We do not underestimate the severe impact this pandemic has had on nightclubs across Scotland, but we must move very carefully to ensure continued suppression of Covid-19. Ventilation is just one of the factors that needs to be considered in relation to nightclubs alongside dancing, loud music and alcohol which each add a compound factor to the risk involved. We will keep plans under review and accelerate the lifting of restrictions if possible, and we will continue engaging with the sector on this.

Question reference: S6O-00008

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve Glasgow’s public transport connectivity.