- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2023
To ask the First Minister what recent action the Scottish Government has been taking to keep The Promise to young people in care.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2023
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it collects on whether new schools in Scotland meet the standards set out in the (a) UK Government document, Building Bulletin 93: Acoustic design of schools: performance standards, and (b) Scottish Government guidance, School design: optimising the internal environment: building our future: Scotland's school estate.
Answer
It is the statutory responsibility of all local authorities to manage and maintain their school estate, therefore, we do not routinely collect this information.
Information is however gathered via a Post-Occupancy Evaluation of each school constructed or refurbished through the £1.8bn Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme, and this is a requirement of funding to ensure that lessons learned help inform future investment. A review of this feedback is currently being undertaken and will distil findings by summer 2023 to help identify any actions needed to review guidance or develop new methods for sharing best practice.
In addition, an ongoing series of shared learning events which will are open to all local authorities has also been established as a forum to work collaboratively. These will occur quarterly and include the annual Learning Places Scotland Conference in November.
We understand that BB93 is in the process of being updated and will review the new version when available. Implications arising from this will be assessed and considered for adoption within projects supported through the Learning Estate Investment Programme.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to update its guidance, School design: optimising the internal environment: building our future: Scotland's school estate, which was published in 2007.
Answer
As part of a continual cycle of feedback and sharing lessons learned, Scottish Government and COSLA jointly published ‘Scotland’s Learning Estate Strategy - Connecting People, Places and Learning’ in 2019. This includes information from a findings report which draws out experiences from projects in the £1.8bn Scotland’s Schools for the Future (SSF) Programme.
Information is gathered via a Post-Occupancy Evaluation of each school constructed or refurbished through the SSF Programme, and this is a requirement of funding to ensure that lessons learned help inform future investment. A review of this feedback is currently being undertaken and will distil findings by summer 2023 to help identify any actions needed to review guidance or develop new methods for sharing best practice.
In addition, an ongoing series of shared learning events which will are open to all local authorities has also been established as a forum to work collaboratively. These will occur quarterly and include the annual Learning Places Scotland Conference.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what requirements there are to undertake a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) as part of designing and planning new schools.
Answer
Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) is a process through which authorities can identify, research, analyse and record the anticipated impact of any proposed measure – including new schools - on children’s human rights and wellbeing.
The CRWIA provides a template to help assess the impact of the measure on the Articles of the UNCRC, and consider how implementation of it can help progress the realisation of children’s rights, and support and promote the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland.
The Learning Estate Strategy 2019 which underpins the Learning Estate Investment Programme incorporates a requirement to consult in its guiding principles. The subsequent CRWIA guidance Nov 2021 states that the CRWIA template “is a tool that can help inform and meet these duties”. The Learning Estate Investment Programme will signpost the CRWIA guidance and templates as part of the shared learning event programme.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill, including the latest discussions it has had with the UK Government.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2023
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in delivering equity of access to mental health support services for college and university students.
Answer
We have met the manifesto commitment to provide more than 80 additional counsellors in Further and Higher Education over four years as set out in our 2018-19 Programme for Government and reiterated in our 2021-22 Programme for Government. The commitment was achieved ahead of time, with an investment of £11.5 million to date and a further £2 million committed in this Academic Year to March 2023. We are also committed to provide further funding for the remainder of the Academic Year (April to July 2023), which falls into the Government’s next financial year.
We have also invested in the NUS Think Positive Initiative which has led to the creation of institution led Student Mental Health Agreements to improve student mental health support in colleges and universities. In addition, the launch of the Think Positive hub, in spring 2022, provides students with extra clarity on how to access student mental health services in colleges and universities.
At the same time we have invested in a comprehensive package of support for mental wellbeing through NHS Scotland and in communities, including an investment of £21 million for adult community based initiatives.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether the full £20 million of funding to support the roll-out of counselling provision, as committed to in the 2018-19 Programme for Government, has been delivered, and, if this is not the case, for what reason.
Answer
This is the final year of our four year commitment to support over 80 additional counsellors in Further and Higher Education which we set out in our Programme for Government in 2018 and reiterated in 2021. We have exceeded that target, with 89 additional counsellors now working to support students across our institutions.
This has been delivered with investment of £11.5 million to date, with a further £2 million provided to March 2023. We have also confirmed that we remain committed to provide further funding in the remainder of Academic Year 22-23 (April – July 2023), which falls into the first four months of our FY 23-24. Funds have been earmarked within the final 2023-24 Scottish Budget process and final allocations will be confirmed as soon as possible as part of the Scottish Government budget setting exercise.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on BMA Scotland’s reported estimate that Scotland is approximately 1,000 short of the required number of whole time equivalent GPs.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many assaults against high school teachers on school property have been recorded in each year since 2017.
Answer
Information on assaults against high school teachers on school property is not held centrally.
The biennial Attendance, Absence and Exclusions data collection gathers data on the number and reasons recorded for temporary or permanent exclusions from school. These data show that there were 779 cases of exclusion (temporary or permanent) from publicly funded schools in Scotland during 2020-21 where the reason recorded was either ‘physical assault using improvised weapon against staff’, ‘physical assault using weapon against staff’ or ‘physical assault with no weapon against staff’. This compares to 1,737 in 2018-19 and 1,960 in 2016-17.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many high school pupils have been suspended from school following a violent attack on a teacher or pupil in each year since 2017.
Answer
There were 2,467 cases of exclusion (temporary or permanent) from publicly funded schools in Scotland during 2020-21 where the reason recorded was either physical assault using improvised weapon, physical assault using weapon or physical assault with no weapon (against either a pupil or staff member). This is down from 4,458 in 2018-19 and 5,374 in 2016-17.
