Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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: S6W-24456

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that an updated additional support for learning code of practice will be published.

The Scottish Government is working with local government partners through the Additional Support for Learning Project Board to deliver the recommendations of the 2020 additional support for learning review by March 2026.

As outlined in our , published in November 2022, we have committed to a refresh the Supporting Children’s Learning Code of Practice. This will ensure that it fully supports schools and local authorities to fulfil their duties under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. Initial progress on this work was set out in our , published in November 2022. Further progress has been made during 2023 and will continue this year.

A further progress update on the delivery of the action plan, including developments on the code of practice, is due to be published in May 2024.

Question reference: S6W-24249

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will update local authorities on its expectations regarding the use of the £900,000 allocated for training for staff to tackle post-COVID-19 pandemic challenges in schools.

Question reference: S6O-03000

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support people with diabetes.

Question reference: S6W-23877

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 17 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the legislative framework is for providing young disabled people with a plan for their transitions from school to adulthood, and what its position is on whether it should include a guarantee that it is started from no later than their 14th birthday.

The Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 sets out clear timescales for post school transition planning. In the accompanying statutory , schools are encouraged to plan for transitions well ahead of the statutory timescales, which apply from the date a young person is expected to leave school.

We recognise that not all young people are currently getting the transitions support they need. We are working closely with local government partners to improve the experience of children and young people with additional support needs at school, through the implementation of the recommendations set out in the 2020 review of additional support for learning. This includes work to encourage best practice in this area and improve the implementation of existing transition duties. A further update on this work is due to be published in May 2024.

Through the development of the National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy, we are also considering what additional support disabled young people may need. As set out in the published Statement of Intent for the strategy, one of the proposed overarching ambitions is to further embed the Association for Real Change Scotland’s widely-endorsed seven , and the similar characteristics of good transitions outlined in our , in the policy, planning and practice of organisations that provide support for disabled young people.

Question reference: S6W-23879

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has approached any universities to lead the Centre of Teaching Excellence.

Question reference: S6W-24246

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it expects to publish the minutes of the meeting of the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools that took place on 12 December 2023.

Question reference: S6W-23756

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made regarding any potential impact of a reduction in university applications from international students on the long-term sustainability of higher education institutions in Scotland.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council continue to support universities in developing their own mitigating strategies to minimise any negative impacts on long-term financial sustainability. This includes any reduction in international student fee income.

Within the context of a challenging international environment and stricter UK Government immigration rules, the Scottish Government remains committed to working with the university sector to ensure that Scotland remains the destination of choice for international students, demonstrated by our commitment to launching Scotland’s International Education Strategy early in 2024. We have engaged closely with key stakeholders, including universities, to develop the strategy, which will focus on three key themes: attracting and diversifying the international student population; maximising the economic benefits of international higher education; and promoting Scotland as a world leader in research and knowledge exchange.

Question reference: S6W-23989

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 9 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the potential impact of reallocating funding from the regional improvement collaboratives on the newly-appointed speech and language leads in carrying out their objectives.

Over the next two years, the Scottish Government is investing in a programme of early intervention in speech and language for children and their families through the appointment of six full-time equivalent Regional Early Speech and Language Leads based within Education Scotland.

The funding is separate from the support that the Scottish Government has provided for the Regional Improvement Collaboratives.

Question reference: S6W-23872

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is providing local authorities with the necessary resources to support the presumption of mainstreaming in schools.

Children and young people should learn in the environment which best suits their needs. Most children and young people’s need are met through a universal level of support in mainstream provision, however, there are clear exceptions to enable children and young people to learn in a special school or in a specialist unit. It is for local authorities to determine the most appropriate educational provision, taking account of their legal responsibilities and the individual circumstances and wishes of children, young people and their families. We are working with our stakeholders to refine the guidance available to local authorities on taking these decisions, including updating the additional support for learning code of practice.

Our support to local authorities for additional support for learning reached a record high of £830m in the year 2021-22. We have invested an additional £15m per year since 2019-20 and provide over £11m of funding to directly support pupils with complex additional support needs and services to children and families.

We currently have the highest recorded level of pupil support assistants. In 2022, 307 additional pupil support assistants were recruited, in addition to 1,036 recruited in the previous year, bringing the total number of pupil support assistants in Scotland to 16,606. This level of recruitment is a direct result of our continued investment of £15m each year to help schools and local authorities respond to the individual needs of children and young people and maintains our record levels of investment in these staff.

We have also recently outlined in our Programme for Government 2023-24 our commitment to work with teachers to provide additional professional learning opportunities while seeking to build on the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-23878

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which university it plans to lead the Centre of Teaching Excellence.

On 6 November 2023 I updated Parliament that it is anticipated the Centre for Teaching Excellence will be hosted by a university, learning from the successful model of the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection better known as CELCIS.

The Scottish Government is committed to co-designing the Centre with teachers and practitioners, professional associations, local government, universities and Scotland’s national education bodies, to ensure it meets the needs of its users and stakeholders. The role and remit of the Centre, how it operates, its interaction with teachers, practitioners and stakeholders, performance measures, and associated costs and timescales will be considered as part of that design process.

The Scottish Government has had useful engagement with the Scottish Council of Deans of Education to discuss the overall approach to co-producing the Centre and, in due course, an appropriate process will be taken forward to establish it.