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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 MSPs 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: S5W-19121

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 25 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on “essay mills”, in light of Universities UK's comment that they should be banned in the UK in order to protect the integrity of university education.

While all universities have disciplinary procedures to tackle cheating students, any potential legislation to ban essay writing companies is a reserved matter for the UK Government.

Protecting the integrity of our higher education sector is vital and we will be working with the expert group created by the UK-wide Quality Assurance Agency to consider whether further action is needed to crack down on these so-called essay mills.

Question reference: S5O-02368

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of traffic flows on the Queensferry Crossing since it opened.

Transport Scotland will be undertaking an evaluation of the Forth Replacement Crossing Project, one, three and five years after opening in line with Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation, against both the transport planning objectives and wider evaluation criteria. In addition, Transport Scotland is undertaking an evaluation of performance one month after motorway regulations came into effect and will undertake additional evaluation once the Intelligent Transport Systems measures are in operation. These evaluations will consider pre-opening and post-opening traffic data.

Question reference: S5F-02581

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 September 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 September 2018

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take to improve the implementation of the 1+2 modern languages policy in broad general education.

Question reference: S5W-18382

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether parents of P1 pupils are entitled, in law, to withdraw their children from standardised national tests.

As set out in the joint statement with the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, the SNSAs, in common with virtually all aspects of the Scottish curriculum and its delivery, are not provided for in legislation. This means that they cannot be seen as compulsory, but also that there cannot be a legal right for parents to withdraw their children from the assessments, or indeed any other part of the school curriculum (with the exception of some parts of religious observance and instruction). In practice however, if parents or carers have any particular concerns about their child’s participation in the SNSAs, they should discuss this with their school with a view to reaching agreement on whether the child will undertake the assessments, as they would for any other aspect of learning, teaching or assessment.

Question reference: S5W-18162

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to address the decline in total SQA entries for Modern Languages.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the 1+2 language learning policy. We have invested an additional £27.2 million since 2013 to assist local authorities with the implementation of this policy.

There are more young people than ever before learning languages in Scottish schools as a result of this. Whilst we have seen significant improvements in language learning in primary schools, it is also encouraging to see in this year’s SQA results that this is the fourth year that language Higher entries have exceeded 7,500 overall.

Schools are providing language learning opportunities to pupils in many flexible and innovative ways, including non-certificated courses, clubs and master classes and we welcome the broad diversity of offer that this creates for pupils. The 1+2 language policy supports this in both primary and secondary contexts; however, decisions on which languages to offer in which schools remains with each individual school and local authority, allowing local circumstances to be taken into account.

Additionally, there is a healthy interest in the skills-based Modern Languages for Life and Work Award. These complement the available Modern Language National Qualifications and provide additional ways for young people’s language learning at school to be recognised.

Question reference: S5W-18163

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reform the structure of National 4 and National 5 qualifications.

National 4 and National 5 are robust qualifications that accurately reflect the achievement of learners at the appropriate SCQF level. No changes to the structure of National 4 or National 5 are being considered at this time.

This is the first year in which young people have not undertaken mandatory unit assessments at National 5. The decision to remove unit assessments followed representations from the education system to reduce workload for teachers and young people alike, freeing teachers to teach. These changes were discussed and agreed by the Assessment and National Qualifications Group and Curriculum for Excellence Management Board.

The Curriculum and Assessment Board has been taking forward the review of National 4. It has concluded that rather than change the qualification itself, the collective efforts of all involved in the education system should focus on enhancing National 4’s status as a credible pathway through the Senior Phase.

Question reference: S5W-18164

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the analysis by Professor Jim Scott, which states that the narrowing of subject choice options in the senior phase of many schools is partly responsible for the weaker trends in attainment in National 4 and National 5 qualifications.

During the Senior Phase (from S4 to S6), young people will look to acquire a range of qualifications and awards over that 3 year period. The freedom and flexibility that schools have in the design of their senior phase is entirely in keeping with the Scottish Government’s empowering schools agenda. The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. The guiding principle is that qualifications are taken at the appropriate stage for the individual young person over the three years of the senior phase, with the aim of allowing learners to achieve the highest possible level of attainment.

In analysing attainment in national qualifications, the focus should, therefore, be on the range of qualifications and awards that young people leave school with. So, whilst we may see fewer entries for qualifications at lower levels, the proportion of young people leaving school with qualifications at these levels has increased in recent years. For example, the proportion of leavers with at least one pass at SCQF level 5 or better has increased from 77.1% in 2009-10 to 86.1% in 2016-17.

In keeping with the focus on supporting young people to achieve the highest possible level of qualification, there are more Highers entries and passes under the current Senior Phase model than under the pre-Curriculum for Excellence arrangements. For example, the proportion of leavers with at least one pass at SCQF level 6 or better has increased from 50.4% in 2009-10 to 61.2% in 2016-17.

At the same time, we are also seeing young people attaining a broader range of qualifications and awards. Over 50,000 skills-based qualifications, awards and certificates have been achieved this year, more than double the figure attained in 2012.

Question reference: S5W-18161

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue the Scottish Baccalaureate qualification in 2019.

Question reference: S5W-17599

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have there been for the new STEM teaching bursary.

Question reference: S5W-16182

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many colleges and universities offer (a) courses and (b) qualifications in e-commerce.

The Scottish Government and its agencies and partners are fully committed to ensuring that e-commerce is incorporated into their wider digital support across all sectors.

Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of e-commerce, many courses at colleges and universities will contribute to the skills pool supporting e-commerce. However, the Scottish Government does not hold information on each individual course which has e-commerce embedded within it.