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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: S4W-15830

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 18 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it asked the Scottish Funding Council to consider the implications of the reclassification of colleges by the Office for National Statistics.

Question reference: S4W-16228

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 18 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government which sections of the rail network continue to use Victorian-style signalling.

Question reference: S4W-15806

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 9 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement by the Minister for Learning, Sciences and Scotland's Languages on 18 June 2013, which schools have received musical instruments following the £1 million investment programme, broken down by local authority.

The information requested is not available at a school level.

The £1 million musical instrument fund is being distributed in two phases. 50% (£500,000) has already been distributed to local authorities on the basis of the formula used for the Government’s Youth Music Initiative. The remaining 50% is being distributed based on bids submitted by local authorities with criteria designed to ensure disadvantaged young people have increased opportunities to access a musical instrument. This funding is still in the process of allocation.

Question reference: S4W-14848

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) college and (b) university students it has paid the tuition fees for in each year since 2005-06.

The following table shows the number of students whose tuition fees were paid in full by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. Students who received part payment of fees (such as the fee differential for students with previous study prior to the fees increase in 2006-07) are not included:

Academic session	College	University
2005-06	22,170	86,330
2006-07	22,420	87,135
2007-08	22,305	87,585
2008-09	22,920	88,970
2009-10	24,690	92,565
2010-11	26,190	93,045
2011-12	27,110	93,495

Note: Student numbers in this table have been rounded up or down to the nearest 5 (e.g. 1, 2 round to 0; 3, 4 round to 5).

Information on number of students awarded tuition fees for 2012-13 will be published in October in the National Statistics publication Higher Education Student Support in Scotland 2012-13.

Question reference: S4O-02262

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what rail infrastructure investments it plans for the Perth to Edinburgh route.

Question reference: S4W-15106

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 30 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Office for National Statistics since October 2010 regarding the decision to reclassify colleges as part of central government in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-15107

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 30 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) UK Government, (b) Welsh Assembly Government and (c) Northern Ireland Executive since October 2010 regarding the decision of the Office for National Statistics to reclassify colleges as part of central government in Scotland.

There has been a series of written communications, discussions and meetings with HM Treasury, both formal and informal, to discuss the basis of the decision, the implications of implementing this change in Scotland and the timing of that implementation. There has also been informal communication with BIS, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive, which covered respective positions, and associated activity, in relation to ONS classification.

Question reference: S4W-15108

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 30 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has carried out with the college sector and other stakeholders since October 2010 regarding the decision of the Office for National Statistics to reclassify colleges as part of central government in Scotland.

Colleges were notified of the change in 2010. Since then Scottish Ministers have been negotiating with HM Treasury on the basis for the decision, the timing of implementation and the scope for mitigating the implications. Full engagement with the sector could be undertaken only once these issues had been resolved.

The Cabinet Secretaries for Education and Lifelong Learning and Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth held a positive and constructive meeting with college Chairs and Principals on 13 May to discuss the impact of reclassification.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning met with the Regional Leads on 14 May. A Project Team has also been established and met with the college Finance Directors on 23 May.

Question reference: S4W-14847

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 28 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the level three funding streams for each Scottish Funding Council (a) further and (b) higher education programme (i) have been in each year since 2006, and (ii) will be in each of the next two years.

The level three funding streams for the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) further and higher education programmes are publicly available through the Scottish Budget documents from 2006 onwards:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18127/Documents

Information is also provided on adjustments to the SFC’s further education programme by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning’s letter to the Education and Culture Committee on 23 October 2012.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_LocalGovernmentandRegenerationCommittee/Meeting%20Papers/EC_Meeting_papers_20121023.pdf

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth also gave a commitment to provide additional funding for the SFC FE programme during his 2013-14 budget announcement, on 6 February 2013.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=7732

The answer to question S4W-14615 on 2 May 2013 makes clear that the £10 million of additional college funding for 2013-14, announced on 6 February 2013, has now been found from 2012-13 Scottish Government underspend, full details of which will be published within the Scottish Government accounts in due course.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4F-01414

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 May 2013

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the opinions expressed in the briefing paper, The Funding of Higher Education in Scotland, the UK and Internationally.