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-07220

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 24 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when the final contract for the roll-out of its baby box scheme will be awarded.

Question reference: S5W-07218

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 24 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether its current contract with the APS (Scotland) Group for the pilot of its baby box scheme includes the delivery of the baby box to new parents.

Question reference: S5W-07325

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many students withdrew from their further education course in the (a) first six months, (b) first year and (c) final year of study in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-07323

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils from an SIMD 20 background enrolled on a further education course in each year since 2007.

Data on students from SIMD 20 areas on Further Education courses at colleges is available in the Scottish Funding Council publication ‘Learning for All’. The most recent publication contains data covering 2009-10 to 2014-15.

In 2014-15, 32.7% of full-time equivalents (FTEs) on Further Education courses in colleges were from SIMD 20 areas (Table 10).

The full publication is available on the Scottish Funding Council website: http://www.sfc.ac.uk/communications/Statisticalpublications/2016/SFCST062016.aspx

Question reference: S5W-07324

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 8 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many SQA marker vacancies there were on 31 March in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S5O-00749

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 8 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the provision of accurate lists of available supply teachers.

We are currently working with local authority representatives, as partners on the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, to develop a national supply booking system where teachers seeking supply opportunities will be able to register their availability, making it easier for local authorities to identify and access available supply teachers.

However, this is only part of the solution. I am firmly of the view that increasing the availability of teachers for schools in Scotland is vital. To support this the Scottish Government has significantly increased student teacher intake targets for the sixth year in a row, which has included making adjustments to the workforce planning model to factor in a greater need for supply cover.

Question reference: S5W-07327

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it accurately assesses teaching staff shortages in schools.

The Scottish Government conducts an annual teacher workforce planning exercise, in partnership with local authorities other educational stakeholders, which projects the requirements for newly qualified teachers at a national level. The exercise takes account of factors such as pupil projections, leavers and returners to the profession and other local intelligence relating to the supply and demand for teachers.

Following the 2017-18 exercise we are recommending that the Scottish Funding Council increases student teacher intakes by 371. This is the sixth year in a row that we have recommended increases in student teacher intakes.

Question reference: S5W-07326

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to monitor teacher vacancies following the discontinuance of previous data sets in 2010.

The Scottish Government does not collect formal statistics on teacher vacancies.

However, to strengthen the annual teacher workforce planning exercise with local information, the Scottish Government and COSLA worked together to survey local authorities on teacher vacancy numbers. The information was collected solely for the purpose of informing the annual teacher workforce planning exercise. It is a snapshot of the teacher vacancy situation as at 21 September 2016.

Current teacher vacancy information is available from individual local authorities or at www.myjobscotland.gov.uk.

Question reference: S5W-07328

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider establishing a national database of available supply teachers.

To support the availability of supply teachers for schools in Scotland the Scottish Government recently increased the Primary supply assumption in the teacher workforce planning model from 8% to 12%, while increasing overall teacher student intake targets for the sixth year in a row.

We are currently working with local authority and teacher organisation partners on the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) to develop a national supply booking system where those teachers seeking supply opportunities will be able to register their availability, making it easier for local authorities to identify and access available supply teachers. This system is currently being piloted.

Question reference: S5W-07329

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what data will be published from its standardised assessments plan.

The Scottish Government will publish teacher professional judgment data on the percentage of children who have achieved the Curriculum for Excellence levels in literacy and numeracy relevant to their stage. From 2018, teachers’ professional judgements will be informed by the Scottish National Standardised Assessments, in addition to the wide range of assessment information teachers currently consider from across the school year.