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: S5O-00127

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that its land reform legislation does not have a negative impact on young people.

Question reference: S5W-02086

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 September 2016

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To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported 25% decline in the number of computing teachers in schools between 2005 and 2015.

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While it is ultimately the responsibility of individual local authorities, the Scottish Government is taking a number of actions to help recruit and retain computing teachers. We have increased student teacher intake targets for the fifth year in a row and are setting targets to train teachers in the subjects where they are needed most. Over £2 million funding is being made available to train an extra 260 teachers in 2016-17. The 2016-17 target is 66% above 2011-12 target.

We have delivered our #inspiringteachers campaign to encourage more people into the profession, We also support innovative ways to encourage more graduates into teaching in areas with particular challenges.

Question reference: S5W-02084

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 September 2016

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To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) Higher and (b) Advanced Higher examination markers the SQA employed in each year between 2010 and 2016, broken down by subject.

Question reference: S5W-01736

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 22 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers took advice on the potential for their plans to break data protection laws and, if so, whether it will be made public.

The information sharing provisions in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 do not break the Data Protection Act 1998. The Supreme Court judgment released on the 28 July 2016, ruled that the information-sharing provisions of the 2014 Act are incompatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and that changes are needed to make those provisions compatible with Article 8. It is standard practice for the Scottish Government not to state whether legal advice has been sought or received or to reveal the content of that advice.

Question reference: S5W-01735

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 22 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it took legal advice regarding the information sharing proposals in the named person legislation and, if so, who gave the advice and when it was received.

Question reference: S5W-01810

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 August 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 22 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what feedback from the Information Commissioner’s Office in relation to sections 26 and 27 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill the Minister for Children and Young People was referring to in evidence to the Education and Culture Committee on 7 January 2014 (Official Report, c. 3247).

On 16 December 2013, Ken Macdonald, Assistant Commissioner (Scotland & Northern Ireland) at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), wrote to the Education and Culture Committee, setting out the ICOs feedback on the proposed Scottish Government amendments to the information sharing sections of the Children and Young People Bill. The Scottish Government’s amendments on information sharing were discussed at the Education and Culture Committee on the 7 January 2014, where the Minister referred to the ICO feedback of 16 December 2013.

Question reference: S5W-01480

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 18 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the self-certification system used to approve school building works and ensure that all school buildings are compliant with the relevant building standards.

The Building (Self-Certification of Structural Design) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 which permitted the self-certification of the structural design of buildings under building regulations were revoked with the introduction of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.

There are no current plans to change the system of building standards certification under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, which includes certification of the design of building structures.

Question reference: S5W-01590

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many sniffer dogs have been in active service for police services across Scotland since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-01589

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers have been fully trained in the handling of sniffer dogs since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-01481

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities to ensure that required school building inspection standards are met.

The Government has regular discussions with local authorities on a range of matters relating to their school estate. However, the responsibility for issues relating to health and safety and the structural condition of schools, along with all their other buildings, rests with local authorities. National Guidance is provided to assist local authorities in assessing the condition of their school buildings.