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.

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Question reference: S5W-14242

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01687 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 January 2018, when applications for the £20,000 career changers bursary will go live.

Question reference: S5W-14243

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01687 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 January 2018, for what reason there are some current Post Graduate Diploma of Education courses relating to STEM subjects where reportedly only half the places available are being filled.

The Scottish Government recognises that there are challenges in relation to teacher recruitment, particularly in the STEM subjects, in which graduates have a wide range of well-paid employment opportunities. We are taking a range of actions to help increase the number of student teachers.

We have:

Announced STEM bursaries of £20,000 for career changers to train to become teachers of priority STEM subjects, starting in August 2018.
Launched the second phase of our “Teaching Makes People” recruitment campaign in August 2017.
Created a new route into teaching specifically designed to attract high quality graduates in priority areas and subjects.
Provided support to universities in developing new innovative routes into teaching.

The universities recruit into their PGDE courses until places are filled and in respect of the STEM subjects, they will accept applications until the start of the course in August.

Student teacher numbers have risen by 7.5 per cent overall from 3,591 in 2016 to 3,861 in 2017. With these measures now in place we expect to see the number of people training as teachers continuing to rise.

Question reference: S5W-14241

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01687 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 January 2018, what measures are being taken to raise awareness of the £20,000 career changers bursary within sectors where potential applicants are currently working, such as in engineering.

Question reference: S5W-14309

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the role that the Tailor Ed Foundation plays in aiming to empower autistic children and their families and, in light of reports that the foundation is facing a funding gap, what funding or assistance it can offer.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of autistic people, their families and carers through our ten-year Scottish Strategy for Autism. We want every child, young person and family to have access to the appropriate autism services and support.

We appreciate that Tailor Ed make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of autistic people and their families and carers and want them to continue to deliver services. That is why we commissioned Inspiring Scotland to work with Tailor Ed and other third sector organisations to help build organisational capacity and work towards financial sustainability. Inspiring Scotland continues to work closely with Tailor Ed to these ends and has met with Tailor Ed’s Chief Executive and board members to coach them on managing financial risk, fundraising and influencing stakeholders.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with Inspiring Scotland in supporting Tailor Ed to find a solution to their current situation.

However, Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) are responsible for the strategic planning and decision making for all functions delegated to them, including autism services, in line with their statutory responsibilities under the Public Bodies Act (2014).

Question reference: S5W-14154

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been made by each local authority for rent pressure zones since 1 December 2017.

Question reference: S5W-14153

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what legal certainty exists under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, where a landlord agrees a date on which the tenant wishes to leave in advance of formal statutory notice being given.

Notice to end a private residential tenancy (PRT) must be given in writing. A PRT cannot be brought to an end by the landlord, tenant, nor any agreement between them except in accordance with Part 5 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016. Therefore, any verbal agreement between the landlord and tenant requires to be followed up by the tenant giving notice under section 48 of the 2016 Act.

Question reference: S5O-01735

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group.

Question reference: S5O-01687

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported shortage of teachers in STEM subjects.

We have taken a series of actions to address STEM teacher recruitment.

Our 'Teaching Makes People' recruitment campaign targets STEM undergraduates and career changers to consider teaching as a career.

We have increased student intake targets for the STEM subjects and, from August this year, we are offering bursaries of £20,000 for up to 100 career changers to train to teach in certain STEM subjects.

We are also supporting innovative new routes into teaching which are focussed on the STEM subjects and we are creating a further new route into teaching, specifically designed to attract high quality graduates in priority areas and subjects.

Question reference: S5O-01643

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what effect the amalgamation of schools can have on communities that lose their local school as a result.

The Scottish Government recognises that a school closure is a significant and disruptive event for pupils, families, staff, and communities. That is why if a local authority proposes to close a school they must carry out a statutory consultation under the Schools (Consultation)(Scotland)Act 2010. This ensures a transparent and rigorous consultation process that involves the community and that no school can be closed unless a clear educational benefit in doing so has been established.

Question reference: S5W-13528

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 10 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to respond to reports that the black-legged kittiwake has joined the Atlantic puffin as a threatened species on the IUCN Red List.

The Scottish Government is presently considering the IUCN global report on the black-legged kittiwake. A national indicator of breeding success of black-legged kittiwake is presently being prepared for the assessment of Good Environmental Status under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which is due in 2018. Analysis of these reports will help determine whether additional action is required to halt the decline of black-legged kittiwake, over and above measures already being taken under the EU Wild Birds Directive and the OSPAR Convention.