- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 12 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of primary schools currently meet its target of providing at least two hours of quality physical education per week.
Answer
Information on the schools which meet the PE target is available from the dataset.
The percentage of primary schools meeting the target of providing at least two hours of PE per week as of July 2024 is 99.6%
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the quality of primary school meals across local authorities, and how frequently these checks are carried out.
Answer
Local authorities have a statutory obligation to comply with the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 (Nutritional Regulations).
The nutritional quality of local authority school catering provision is evaluated as part of Education Scotland’s school inspection programme.
Specialist Health and Nutrition Inspectors (HNI) join some school inspection teams to evaluate compliance with the Nutritional Regulations, including the nutritional quality of school meals. This involves engaging with staff and reviewing documentation. In academic year 2023/24 HNI visited 100 schools.
If a school or local authority does not meet the expected standards, HNI provides clear advice on the improvements needed. Local authorities are required to provide evidence to HNI showing how they have addressed any areas of non-compliance
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the food used in primary school meals is sourced locally.
Answer
All local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure their menus comply with the standards set out in The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. What food and drink they choose to include on their menus, including locally sourced, is a matter for each local authority taking into account local needs and preferences.
We encourage local authorities to use local and sustainable produce in school catering, which is supported by the Scotland Excel procurement framework.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of primary school meals is prepared from fresh ingredients.
Answer
All local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure their menus comply with the standards set out in The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. What food and drink they choose to include on their menus, including fresh produce, is a matter for each local authority taking into account local needs and preferences.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that feedback from pupils and parents regarding the quality of primary school meals is taken into account when developing or improving meal provision.
Answer
Local authorities are under a statutory duty to comply with the standards set out in the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 when designing menus. How they do this is a matter for local decision making taking into account local needs and priorities. The Scottish Government provides advice via ‘Better Eating, Better Learning’ guidance and encourages local authorities to involve pupils, parents and carers in menu development in order to take account of local preferences and feedback as they design new menus and encourage uptake.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that all primary school meals meet the nutritional standards set out in the nutritional requirements for food and drink in schools regulations.
Answer
Compliance with the standards set out in the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 is monitored by Education Scotland Health and Nutrition Inspectors as part of their school inspection programme, helping to ensure that children and young people are provided with balanced and nutritious food, drink and meals to support their healthy growth and development.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to reduce the amount of saturated fat in primary school meals, and how compliance with these measures is assessed.
Answer
All local authority and grant aided schools in Scotland are under a statutory duty to comply with the standards set out in the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. The standards in the Regulations are based in scientific evidence and dietary advice designed to provide children and young people with an appropriate amount of energy and nutrients to support their healthy growth and development. The standards specify the maximum amount of saturated fat that can be contained in school meals and other food provided across the school day. Education Scotland Health and Nutrition Inspectors evaluate evidence of compliance by local authorities with the standards in the Regulations. This includes assessing saturated fat content of menus and other foods across the school day.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of primary school pupils have been classified as overweight in each year since 2012.
Answer
In 2023, almost seven in ten children were within a healthy weight range (69%) based on their BMI, this was within the range of 64% - 72% recorded since 1998.
The (SHeS) sets out data on children’s weight. The table of children aged 5-11 with valid interviewer administered height and weight measurements from that report is set out below by year::
BMI, Children aged 5-11, 2012 to 2023 |
Base: Children aged 5-11 with valid interviewer administered height and weight measurements | 2012 - 2023 |
BMI status (National BMI percentiles) | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
Not at risk of overweight or obesity | 73 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 72 | 76 | 73 | 75 | | 68 | 71 | 69 |
At risk of overweight (excluding obesity) | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | | 11 | 12 | 12 |
At risk of obesity | 14 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 13 | | 21 | 17 | 18 |
Base | 629 | 636 | 651 | 507 | 581 | 576 | 672 | 695 | | 386 | 386 | 677 |
Data for 2020 have not been included, as data collection was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic*.
For definitions of BMI status, please use the following .
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 26 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25762 by Natalie Don on 13 March 2024, whether it will provide an update on what the average length of time has been between a disclosure check application being received by Disclosure Scotland and the provision of disclosure information in each year since 2016.
Answer
I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:
Table: The average number of days to process disclosure applications, by application type, calendar year 2016 to October 2024
Application Type | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 YTD |
Basic disclosure | 4.0 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 6.0 | 3.4 | 5.9 | 4.0 |
Standard and Enhanced disclosure | 5.6 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 7.2 | 5.1 | 7.4 | 8.3 |
PVG scheme record | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 7.1 | 6.3 | 8.4 | 7.2 |
PVG Scheme Record Update | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 6.9 | 8.5 | 6.9 | 6.4 | 8.5 | 7.2 |
PVG Scheme Membership Statement | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 9.4 | 5.9 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
PVG Scheme Membership Statement (Countersigned) | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.3 |
All application types | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 6.5 | 4.9 | 7.3 | 5.9 |
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the percentage of food wasted from school meal services since 2012.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Reducing food waste in schools is important and we therefore continue to develop tools to prevent it. This includes the work undertaken by Zero Waste Scotland to provide a Food Waste Monitoring Tool Kit for schools () and the Education Scotland Food for Thought Programme () – which is a whole school teaching resource for primary and secondary schools.