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: S3W-13622

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce children's rights services nationally, independent of local authorities.

Question reference: S3W-13623

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to use the Children's Rights impact assessment tool, developed by the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland, for proofing future government policy.

Question reference: S3W-13454

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 4 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place since May 2007 with higher and further education institutions regarding changes to the school curriculum.

Representatives from Universities Scotland, the Association of Scottish Colleges and Scottish Further Education Unit (SFEU) are members of the Scottish Government’s National Qualifications Steering Group which has considered a range of issues relating to the Curriculum for Excellence programme since May 2007.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to the SFEU to hold a series of events and workshops on the implications of Curriculum for Excellence for the college sector. Since May 2007 they have held two senior management events and four events for practitioners.

Members of the Scottish Government have also held discussions with UCAS’s Scottish Reference Group for the higher education sector.

SFEU are working with Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) to involve nine colleges in the trialling of the Curriculum for Excellence draft learning experiences and outcomes. College staff are being invited to an induction session on Curriculum for Excellence and the trialling process.

Scottish Government and LTS officials have also had frequent meetings with representatives from higher and further education institutions regarding changes to the school curriculum since May 2007.

Question reference: S3W-13510

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-12348 by John Swinney on 22 May 2008, how many of the 388,560 students potentially liable to pay council tax would qualify to receive a (a) 100% discount or (b) lesser discount on their council tax.

It is by virtue of being full-time and not part-time that a student is disregarded for the purposes of council tax. Where a part-time student is disregarded or eligible for some form of exemption from council tax, this is unrelated to their part-time student status and no accurate breakdown of the figures regarding part-time students and council tax payment (provided in answer to question S3W-12348) is therefore available.

Similarly, while a part-time student may be eligible for a 25% single person’s discount that is due to their single as opposed to their student status. And, while other exemptions, discounts or disregards may apply, more important is the likelihood of potential liability for council tax.

Question reference: S3W-12343

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many further education students in (a) full-time and (b) part-time education are paying council tax.

Question reference: S3W-12346

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Open University students are paying council tax.

Question reference: S3W-12345

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many distance learning students are paying council tax.

Question reference: S3W-12344

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many night class students are paying council tax.

Question reference: S3W-12342

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many higher education students in (a) full-time and (b) part-time education are paying council tax.

Question reference: S3W-12690

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has provided to institutions to alleviate student hardship in each of the last three years and how much it will provide in each of the next three years.

The total amounts allocated to institutions to alleviate hardship over the past three years is as follows:

2007-08: £14.7 million

2006-07: £14.4 million

2005-06: £13.7 million.

The total allocation for 2008-09 has not yet been finalised but will increase in line with inflation. It will also include an additional £1 million that has been provided to support the new package of support for part-time students. The figure for subsequent years cannot be provided at this stage but it would be expected to rise in line with inflation.