The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 1551 contributions
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 28 June 2023
Bob Doris
That is really helpful, but I want to drill down on pupil support assistants. All those jobs are really important, but pupil support assistants are at the coalface every day. They are directly involved in pupil interaction, and they work directly with other education professionals, mostly teachers, to support pupils who have additional support needs. Do we track how many of the 16,606 are given professional development opportunities each year and how many of them avail themselves of that opportunity?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 28 June 2023
Bob Doris
I will bring in Scott Mulholland, but I am a wee bit frustrated—although it is no one’s fault—because I thought that the board would have a view on that, as it is the meat and potatoes of what it is doing. However, I will leave that hanging.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 28 June 2023
Bob Doris
Did you say 16 per cent?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 28 June 2023
Bob Doris
I note what you said about pupil support staff, but I am interested in those who are not teachers but are still professionals in the classroom and the wider school environment. We heard from Laura Meikle that there are 2,803 more of those in recent years. How many of them do we have in total, and how many have taken the opportunity of continuous professional development in the past two years?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 28 June 2023
Bob Doris
Okay. Laura Meikle, do you want to come in?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 27 June 2023
Bob Doris
I am just passing through the committee, cabinet secretary, but I am curious to know to what extent the new agency will be consumer facing. I was looking at some of the various strands that it is trying to pull together, such as area-based schemes for warmer homes Scotland, the whole-house approach, the heat network fund, the social housing zero heat fund and the green public sector heat fund. Those are just some of the strands that I looked at ahead of this morning’s committee. At what point will the energy agency be sector-facing? Will it join the dots of government? How will it be consumer or public facing?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 27 June 2023
Bob Doris
My question is on EV charging, convener. It is not about Achnasheen, I have to say. It is not about charging points but about the charging regimes and length-of-stay requirements at bays in different local authority areas.
My experience in Glasgow—particularly as regards the taxi trade, which has invested in EVs—is that EV tourism is taking place whereby vehicles go long distances to get cheaper tariffs. Another issue is that drivers cannot charge their cars fully because of restrictions such as 3-hour limits, which cause a lot of issues. It is counterintuitive that EVs are travelling longer distances to get better tariffs. Is that issue on the Government’s radar? Will it consider alignment and the implementation of a reasonable charging regime across urban and rural Scotland?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 27 June 2023
Bob Doris
I will restrict myself to those on which you hoped to get comments on the record, convener.
As the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights is one of your supporting ministers, could you update the committee on when the Scottish Government plans to consult on the proposals for the heat in buildings bill?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 27 June 2023
Bob Doris
Cabinet secretary, you said that only that particular substance, PFOA, can be used, and that there is no substitute or alternative, so what happens on 3 December 2025? Does the need for it just disappear, or does the UK Government move away from its Stockholm obligations? Has that conversation been had with the UK Government?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 27 June 2023
Bob Doris
Scrutinising in the dark is a bit odd, cabinet secretary, but I appreciate what you say. In our committee papers, the Government says that
“Continued use is required for a defence-critical capability; the use is small, critical and the chemical is used and disposed of by professionals.”
Have you had reassurances from the UK Government on the monitoring and reporting of that to make sure that there are robust protocols in place, rather than an assertion that there are robust protocols in place?