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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-04388

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Glasgow Regional Colleges Board has not yet assumed responsibility for the distribution of funds for the college sector in Glasgow, and when it expects it to do so.

The Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board (GCRB) has not yet assumed responsibility for funding Glasgow’s three colleges as the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is not yet fully satisfied that all suitable arrangements are in place. The SFC confirmed to GCRB in September 2016 that the Board has made significant and effective progress in operating effectively as a regional strategic body, and is fulfilling its statutory role to secure coherent provision of high quality further and higher education in Glasgow. GCRB, with help from SFC, is now developing a detailed transition plan, covering matters such as funding, monitoring, and financial arrangements, which SFC and GCRB expect will be implemented in the current financial year.

Question reference: S5W-04392

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much in (a) total and (b) the current financial year, college (i) chairs and (ii) board members of individual (A) colleges and (B) regional boards are paid, and how this compares with the last financial year prior to regionalisation and merger reforms in the college sector.

The Scottish Ministers have set the daily rate of remuneration for the chairs of regional colleges and of the Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board as follows:

Regional College/Board	Daily rate (7.5 hours)	Maximum Days (in any given financial year)	Maximum total fee
Borders Dumfries and Galloway Forth Valley West Lothian	£200	104	£20,800
Ayrshire Dundee and Angus Fife New College Lanarkshire North East Scotland West College Scotland	265	104	£27,560
Edinburgh Glasgow	330	104	£34,320

The Scottish Ministers may, exceptionally, approve additional remuneration; no such request or approval has been received or given.

Remuneration is paid by the regional college or the Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the total or individual amounts paid.

The non-executive board members of incorporated colleges, whether regional or not, are not remunerated. The non-executive board members of the Glasgow Colleges' Regional Board are not remunerated.

Chairs and non-executive board members of incorporated colleges and of the Glasgow Colleges' Regional Board may receive expenses and allowances. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the total or individual amounts paid.

Before the colleges were designated regional colleges, the chairs of the colleges were not remunerated. The chairs of other incorporated colleges are not remunerated. All regional colleges, except New College Lanarkshire, were designated as such on 3 March 2014. New College Lanarkshire was designated a regional college on 1 October 2014. The Glasgow Colleges' Regional Board was established on 1 May 2014.

Question reference: S5W-04390

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much the Glasgow Regional Colleges Board has cost to run and operate in each financial year since it was established, and whether these costs are top-sliced from the funding allocation to the three Glasgow colleges.

From information we have received from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), I can advise that:

in 2014-15, the total operating costs for the Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board (GCRB) were £287,617 of which £125,415 was deducted from the SFC funding allocation of £103,240,231 made to the Glasgow college region.
in 2015-16, the total operating costs for GCRB were £270,020 which was deducted from the SFC funding allocation of £101,766,237 made to the Glasgow college region.

Question reference: S5W-04542

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many school janitor posts in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have been lost in the last five academic years.

Question reference: S5W-03283

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not responded in full to the findings in the paper, Taught Postgraduate Review: Working Group Final Report, which was published on 21 December 2015, and by what date it will issue its response.

Question reference: S5W-03284

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to widen access to postgraduate study for people from deprived backgrounds.

Under current postgraduate support arrangements, all eligible postgraduate students are able to access a total student loan support package of £7900, comprising a tuition fee loan of £3400 and a living cost loan of £4500 if studying from a wide ranging course list. In the current academic year all universities were invited to add a further ten taught postgraduate diploma courses to the list currently eligible for support.

And, as the Programme for Government made clear, the Scottish Government will be announcing further changes to the support package available to all eligible students in academic year 2017-18.

Although the Commission on Widening Access’s primary focus was undergraduate level study, it recommended that the Commissioner for Fair Access consider what further work is required to support equal outcomes after (undergraduate) study for those from disadvantaged backgrounds or with a care experience. This is a matter that the Commissioner can examine with regard to postgraduate study.

Question reference: S5O-00241

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with local authorities regarding equalities in their employment practices.

Question reference: S5W-03231

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS dental surgeries in each local authority area have full patient lists.

The information requested is not collected or held by the Scottish Government.

NHS dental patient registrations are at a record high level of 90.7%. Patients looking for a dentist can contact local dental practices to enquire if they are registering NHS dental patients. Addresses of dental practices in an area can be found at: http://www.nhs24.com/findlocal/?postcode=G44+1AB&service=Dentists&page=s11&imageField.x=41&imageField.y=10

Question reference: S5F-00321

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2016

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government is having with the governing bodies of contact sports regarding head injuries.

Question reference: S5W-02871

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many referrals to the children’s reporter were made in each year between 2000-01 and 2015-16, broken down by local authority.