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: S6O-00504

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-03984

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will respond to the Scottish Funding Council’s Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability.

Our colleges and universities have been vital in our efforts to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The decades to come will bring further significant change at pace – shifts in automation, digital developments and artificial intelligence, the move to net-zero, changes in the world of work and study, global competition for talent and resources and our future demographic, health and social care needs.

That is why we asked the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to review how it could best fulfil its mission of achieving coherence, quality and sustainability in tertiary education and research. SFC’s report - Coherence and Sustainability: A Review of Tertiary Education and Research - was published at the end of June 2021.

Our full response was published today and is available at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802015041 . The Scottish Government broadly accept the Review’s recommendations. We recognise that, given the breadth of recommendations, some require a Scottish Government lead, others are for SFC and its Board to consider further, while we expect the sector itself to respond across a number of key areas. In addition, some recommendations will require further development for consultation.

As a government, our ambition is to create the best possible environment for colleges and universities, students and employers to thrive, now and into the future. I look forward to working with them to achieve our ambitions for Scotland’s tertiary education and research system.

Question reference: S6O-00154

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will take forward the recommendations in Professor Gordon Stobart’s review of upper-secondary education student assessment in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-02687

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Clare Haughey on 1 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the expanded hours of funded early learning and childcare.

All councils are now offering 1140 hours of funded ELC to all eligible children, making high quality early learning and childcare available to families in line with the increased statutory entitlement which came into force on 1 August. This will save parents up to £4,900 per year for each eligible child. Up to 130,000 children are expected to benefit this year.

Scotland is the only part of the UK to offer the equivalent of 1140 hours to all 3 and 4 year olds regardless of their parents’ working status, putting children first. This is a fantastic achievement that has been delivered in the face of the pandemic by Scottish Government, Local Government and our local delivery partners.

Question reference: S6T-00106

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 August 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the preparation and planning being undertaken to support people fleeing Afghanistan who may be resettled in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-02369

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 August 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to support teacher recruitment throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

To support education recovery during the pandemic, the Scottish Government has committed funding that has enabled local authorities to recruit an additional 1,400 teachers and 250 support staff. From April 2022, funding equating to £80m per annum will be baselined in to the local government settlement. This will ensure local authorities are able to offer sustained employment of additional teachers and support staff, while meeting local needs and benefitting Scotland’s children and young people.

This is in addition to the £65.5m permanent additional funding announced on
‎ 9 August for local authorities to recruit a further additional 1,000 teachers and 500 support staff.

Question reference: S5O-05124

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU on the opportunities for young people from Scotland to live, work or study in the EU.

Question reference: S5O-05042

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on delivering the Young Person's Guarantee for 16- to 24-year-olds in the Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn constituency.

Question reference: S5O-05016

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it is planning to support the tourism sector in Glasgow in 2021.

Question reference: S5W-34899

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting people to self-isolate.

We currently provide a range of support to people through our self-isolation support grant and through the National Assistance Helpline, and the Local Self-Isolation Assistance Service which are delivered through our partners in local government.

We are extending the eligibility criteria of the self-isolation support grant to anyone who needs to self-isolate, if they earn the Real Living Wage or lower. This will significantly increase the number of people eligible for the grant and help remove any financial barriers to isolating.

Eligibility will also be extended to any other applicant who is entitled to a council tax reduction because they are on a low income. The Grant will also be available to people with caring responsibilities for someone over 16 who is asked to self-isolate, where the carer themselves meet the other eligibility criteria.

We will also lengthen the period during which people can apply for the grant. They will now be able to apply within 28 days of being told to self-isolate.

These changes will take effect from Tuesday the 16th of February to allow local authorities time to change their systems and application forms but eligibility will be backdated to today. They will therefore benefit people who are self-isolating from now. This means an additional 200,000 people will be eligible for the grant if they are asked to self-isolate.

In addition, I intend to increase awareness of the support available to those self-isolating through a national and local publicity campaign so we reach people and make them aware of the help that is available if they need to isolate.