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: S4O-00457

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Housing and Transport last met with senior officials from ScotRail.

Question reference: S4O-00301

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy will next meet NHS Fife.

Question reference: S4O-00168

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the University of St Andrews and Fife Council about plans to replace Madras College with a single-site secondary school.

Question reference: S4O-00119

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the Fire Brigades Union in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-00711

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scotland-domiciled entrants there have been to combined honours courses in modern languages and education in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) institution and (b) course.

The information requested is contained in the following table.

Scottish-Domiciled Entrants Studying for a Combined Degree in Education and a Modern Language at the Scottish Higher Education Institutions, 2007-08 to 2009-10^1,2

Institution/Modern Language Subject	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
Aberdeen, University of
Spanish studies	-	-	-
Stirling, University of
French studies	5	15	20
German studies	-	-	-
Spanish studies	5	15	20
Total	10	30	40

Total

French studies	5	15	20
German studies	-	-	-
Spanish studies	5	15	20
Total	10	30	40

Source: Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

Notes:

1. For this table, modern languages excludes the following subject areas: English studies, ancient language studies, Celtic studies, Latin studies, Classical Greek studies, classical studies and others subject areas covered by linguistics, classics and related subjects.

2. Students might be studying for a combined degree in education and a modern language and another subject. Each student is counted against the modern language(s) that he or she is studying for the combined degree in. If a student is studying for a combined degree in education and two modern languages then he or she is counted as 0.5 against both modern languages.

Figures are derived from individual student returns collected by the Higher Education Statistics agency (HESA).

The Scottish Funding Council uses a different standard population to that used by HESA and these figures might differ from any published by HESA.

Figures in this table have been rounded to the nearest five. Values of 0, 1, 2 have been suppressed “-”.

Question reference: S4W-00704

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish legal advice that it has received on the possibility of implementing a service charge for EU students studying at Scottish institutions.

Question reference: S4W-00689

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 24 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it remains its position that the net funding gap between English and Scottish universities is £93 million.

Question reference: S4W-00700

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 23 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its discussion paper for reforms to the college sector and what issues will be included.

As outlined in the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning’s statement to the Parliament on 16 June 2011 and in my own speech to the colleges at their annual conference on the same date, a wider package of reforms on post-16 education will be set out later this year.

The issues for inclusion are currently being developed, but will be framed around the key criterion of improving outcomes for learning, and will take into account commitments and the resources available in the context of cabinet decisions about the Spending Review.

Question reference: S4W-00705

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 23 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what modern languages will be offered in schools under its proposals to introduce a scheme for modern language learning based on the EU 2+1 model.

We will work with local authorities, schools, parents and learners, to develop a new languages model that will increase the opportunities for young people to benefit from learning two additional languages and to develop the confidence and skills that they need to be successful in an increasingly globalised world. This model will have flexibility to enable local authorities and schools to agree the nature and content of language provision for the children and young people in their area, but it is envisaged that languages available would include both European and Asian languages.

Question reference: S4W-00693

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 23 June 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the number of fees only places in Scottish universities provided in 2011-12 to be replicated every year until the end of the current parliamentary session.