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: S4W-01278

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 11 July 2011

Question reference: S4W-01282

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 11 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) financial and (b) other support it has offered to (i) schools and (ii) local authorities to deliver sufficient teaching posts for all probationers who complete their probation in summer 2011.

The funding which the Scottish Government will provide to local government in 2011-12 is £11.553 billion. Included in this total is an additional £15m to cover the education costs associated with protecting, as far as possible, the number of teacher posts. The SR2010 budget agreement reached with COSLA means that Councils will maintain teacher numbers at a level that enables three objectives to be achieved:

a post for every probationer starting in 2011;

enough posts for all probationers in 2010-11 to apply for; and

further posts to enable a reduction in teacher unemployment.

In addition to the funding contained in the local government settlement, the Scottish Government has also committed a further £15.31 million to help to secure the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) Agreement on pay and conditions and to lessen the impact on teachers of some of the changes.

Question reference: S4W-01281

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 11 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of Teaching Scotland's Future.

As announced in the Scottish Government’s response to Teaching Scotland’s Future, published on 9 March 2011, a National Partnership Group has been established to take forward the ambitious agenda set out by Graham Donaldson in the report.

The group, which is jointly chaired by the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland and the Scottish Teacher Education Committee (representing the university teacher education providers), alongside the Scottish Government, has now met twice. It is on track to meet its first important milestone, which is to report back to Ministers after the summer with a clear plan for how it intends to take forward its work (including associated timescales).

This will maintain the momentum provided by Teaching Scotland’s Future, while building the collective approach that will deliver long-term and sustainable change.

Question reference: S4W-01279

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 11 July 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what it expects the pupil-teacher ratio to be in 2012.

Question reference: S4O-00042

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of additional costs to local authorities in moving from capital grant to revenue funding for the school building programme.

Question reference: S4W-00097

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to decide on access to treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.

Question reference: S4W-00096

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason not all patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria have access to treatment.

Question reference: S4W-00198

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 6 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of proposals to close schools since 2007 where there is a higher proportion of pupils walking to school than at Robslee Primary in East Renfrewshire.

Question reference: S4W-00196

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 6 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of proposed school closures since 2007 where the pupil roll indicated a 74% take up or more and, if so, which schools.

From 2007 to April 2010, the relevant legislation on school closures, the Education (Scotland) Regulations 1981, prescribed circumstances in which a local authority must refer a school closure decision to Scottish ministers for consent. These circumstances were (a) where the school proposed for closure exceeded 80% pupil capacity and (b) where the proposed receiving primary school was more than five miles away from the school proposed for closure. During this period no school closure with less than 80% capacity was referred to Scottish ministers under the capacity criteria. However, it is possible that such schools may have been referred under the distance limit, but information about the capacity of these schools is not held.

Since commencement of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 in April 2010, the Scottish Government sees every school closure decision made by local authorities. From April 2010 to date, no school with a pupil roll of over 59% of its capacity has been closed by a local authority.

Question reference: S4W-00197

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 6 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of proposals to close schools since 2007 where there have been more placing requests than for Robslee Primary in East Renfrewshire.