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-18942

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it seeks to encourage the uptake of Scottish Qualification Authority awards in cooperative studies.

Question reference: S4W-18940

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that young people should be able to access sexual health services in a non-clinical environment and, if so, how it is making such services available.

Scottish Government policy states that it is essential that young people have access to sexual health services, advice and information when they require it. It does not prescribe the format that these services should take or whether these services should be provided in a clinical or non-clinical setting.

The decision on how sexual health services are provided and the most appropriate setting for young people to access these services is a decision for NHS boards and local authorities based on local requirements and following scoping of local needs.

Question reference: S4W-18936

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether Education Scotland's remit includes adult learning and, if so, what work is underway to enhance learning opportunities for adult learners across the country.

Education Scotland has policy responsibility for adult learning. This includes the Adult Literacies in Scotland 2020 Strategic Guidance and the strategy for English for Speakers of Other Languages. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has recently established and chairs a national strategic forum for adult learning. The forum is currently working with partners to develop a statement of ambition for adult learning in Scotland. Education Scotland’s Community Learning and Development team supports the forum and leads a range of initiatives to help improve life chances for people of all ages, through learning, personal development and active citizenship. The team links with national partners through nine strategic funding partnerships and administers small grants to a range of adult learning providers to directly enhance learning opportunities across the country.

Question reference: S4W-18941

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are studying for Scottish Qualification Authority awards in cooperative studies, broken down by local authority.

The certificate in co-operative studies is a customised award that SQA certificates and quality assures, but that is privately owned and developed.

The award is available at SCQF Levels 4, 5 and 6 although only levels 4 and 5 are currently being delivered. There are 18 candidates currently entered for the award across these levels. The candidates are all in a single centre in Dundee City.

As these awards are privately owned and developed, SQA does not actively promote them. It is up to the owner of the qualification to promote them if they wish to do so.

Question reference: S4W-18939

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to encourage the uptake of massive open online courses in schools.

Education Scotland, through the Senior Education Officer (SEO) team, has opened up a dialogue with the Open University (OU) in relation to massive open online courses (MOOCS).

They are exploring how we can promote the Young Applicants in Schools scheme, which involves young people in schools following OU courses which are largely online.

SEOs are meeting with Open University representatives in January 2014 to further explore the development and use of MOOCs in Science.

Discussions are also taking place with the OU around how best to ensure uptake of future learn courses by practitioners and pupils and how to make use of OpenLearn materials.

Question reference: S4W-18841

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when it will establish a public inquiry into the Edinburgh Trams project; who will chair it, and what its (a) remit and (b) budget will be.

Question reference: S4W-18935

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct a review of e-book provision and lending across the country.

Public libraries and the lending of books and e-books are the responsibility of local authorities in Scotland. The Scottish Government supports the work of public libraries through the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) which, working with local authorities, can advise on the need for any review of e-books and lending in Scotland. SLIC has advised that 28 local authorities in Scotland provide some e-book lending at present. SLIC, in partnership with local authorities, intends to set up an E-book Consortium, similar to that set up in Wales, which will allow local authorities in Scotland to develop best practice in e-lending in Scotland.

The Public Library Improvement Fund, provided by the Scottish Government, has been used to support e-book projects and could be used to support e-book activity in the future. Findings from a recent Independent Review of E-Lending in Public Lending in Public Libraries in England, are also relevant to e-lending in libraries in Scotland; some, such as the extension of the Public Lending Right, are reserved matters to the UK Government.

Question reference: S4F-01801

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2014

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government considers that schools, pupils and teachers are adequately prepared for the new National 4 and 5 qualifications.

Question reference: S4O-02767

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it will allocate the Barnett consequentials arising from the Autumn Statement.

Question reference: S4W-18575

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the dates of all communications between the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth and the University of Edinburgh regarding the use of so-called zero-hours contracts since 2011, broken down by (a) telephone calls, (b) letters, (c) emails and (d) face-to-face meetings.

This issue was raised by the University and Colleges Union (UCU) during the STUC bi-annual meeting with the First Minister in June 2013, which the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth attended. Under direction from the Cabinet Secretary, Scottish Government officials raised the matter with the University of Edinburgh on 4 July 2013. As a result, the Principal of the University of Edinburgh, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, wrote to the Cabinet Secretary on 5 July 2013 advising that the University was committed to working in partnership with UCU. A response was also received from the University’s Director of Human Resources on 5 July 2013 which confirmed that the University would work with UCU on a comprehensive review of the use of zero-hours contracts.