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: S6T-00044

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase Police Scotland's capacity to tackle online crime, in light of reports of a 6% year-on-year increase in online child sex abuse crimes.

Question reference: S6W-00089

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have not presented for their scheduled (a) first and (b) second scheduled COVID-19 vaccination.

Question reference: S6W-00276

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what impact repeating a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had on dentistry students.

The need for enhanced infection prevention and control measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in a dental setting has had a serious impact on the level of clinical training that students have been able to undertake during the 2020-21 academic year. Due to this, schools have had to make the difficult decision to require dental students to repeat a year in order to prioritise student learning and patient safety.

We recognise that this is disappointing and that it is a significant ask of students, which is why we are providing an enhanced bursary, of up to £6,750, during the 2021-22 academic year. Students will have the opportunity to apply for a bursary to the value of their normal student loan award which they will not have to repay. Students with particular circumstances will continue to be eligible for other sources of bursary support such as the Dental Student Support Grant (DSSG) and SAAS bursaries.

Question reference: S6W-00275

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it costs to train a student in dentistry.

The cost for training a student in dentistry is comprised of a number of components, including costs for university training, clinical outreach, and vocational training. The university costs for Scottish-domiciled undergraduates are approximately £32,641 for Year 1 (pre-clinical) students and £42,989 for students in Years 2-5 (clinical). For students in Year 5 there are also additional clinical outreach costs of approximately £31,467. The costs for the one-year vocational training that dentists must undertake after graduation is approximately £61,201 per dentist.

Question reference: S6W-00277

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on potentially losing NHS dentists to the private sector.

Question reference: S6W-00224

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with business leaders operating in the (a) night-time economy and (b) (i) pub and (ii) restaurant sectors regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past year the Scottish Government has worked closely with businesses and sectoral organisations such as the Scottish Tourism Alliance, UK Hospitality, Scottish Licensed Trade Association, Scottish Beer & Pub Association, Night Time Industries Association and Scottish Hospitality Group on the impact of restrictions and support for the tourism and hospitality sectors. Most recently, the First Minister has met with Scottish Tourism Alliance and UKHospitality on 21 May.

I most recently met with UKHospitality and Scottish Licensed Trade Association on 25 May and Scottish Tourism Alliance on 26 May.

Question reference: S6W-00158

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the approach by the SQA for pupil assessment gives teachers the appropriate freedom required to mark pupils fairly, in light of the situation and difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The professional judgement of teachers is the key feature of this year’s National Qualifications assessment process. SQA has provided the key evidence requirements and associated national assessment standards that are critical to ensuring the fair and consistent application of standards across the country.

This guidance includes reduced evidence requirements in recognition of the disruption to learning this year, and schools have been given flexibility around the timing and nature of which assessment tools to use to inform teacher judgement of individual learners’ results.

The National Qualifications 2021 Group has agreed a later certification contingency for those who have experienced severe disruption to learning and teaching and have been unable to complete their assessment evidence within the flexibilities already provided. This is for learners who have completed the learning for their course but have not been able to complete their assessment as they have experienced extreme disruption during the centre’s evidence-gathering process.

Under these arrangements, there will be a limited opportunity for those learners to undertake assessments later and submit provisional results by 3 September 2021. These arrangements are separate and distinct from the appeals process, which learners undertaking the later certification will still be able to access.

Question reference: S6W-00157

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the SQA alternative assessment model programme is an exam diet.

There is no externally assessed and marked examination diet this year. However, it is necessary for learners to be assessed to provide evidence to demonstrate their level of attainment and to allow teachers and lecturers to use their professional judgement to determine each learner’s provisional results.

The timing and nature of the assessments has been decided by local authorities, individual schools and colleges, providing flexibility to assess individual learners at different times and in different ways. This allows teachers and lecturers to take account of the variable disruption to learning that their pupils have experienced as a result of the pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-00155

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the SQA regarding the current assessment procedure.

The former Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills met with SQA on a number of occasions and I have had an early discussion with the SQA Chief Executive on matters relating to the delivery of SQA’s functions.

The Scottish Government is a member of the National Qualifications 2021 Group which was established to co-produce the Alternative Certification Model and oversee implementation. This, together with an associated working group, has met weekly since it was established in October 2020.

Question reference: S6W-00225

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact that (a) social-distancing and (b) COVID-19 lockdowns have had on jobs in the (i) night-time economy and (ii) (A) pub and (B) restaurant sectors.