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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-15850

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement of 9 April 2018 regarding childcare expansion plans, how many of the (a) 650 additional practitioner level HNC courses and (b) 350 managerial level courses in early learning and childcare were not filled in 2017-18 and what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the 2017-18 expansion.

a) The available data indicates that 44 HNC places were not filled for 2017-18. Following consultation with the sector we have taken the opportunity to ensure there is an appropriate pipeline for the higher level qualifications in the coming years, by reallocating some of the HNC credits to NCs. As noted in my answers to S5W-15849 on 8 May 2018, final audited data for 2017-18 will be available after the end of the academic year.

b) All of the additional managerial places were filled for this period.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Question reference: S5W-15852

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its letter to the Scottish Funding Council of 4 April 2018, whether it will set out the adjustments that it has made to its expectations for the provision of early learning and childcare courses to account for withdrawal rates.

The additional course numbers for early learning and childcare courses in 2018-19 are based on an estimated 20% withdrawal rate. This rate was set in collaboration with the Scottish Funding Council and is based on analysis of data on course enrolment and partial and full completion rates. This allowance has been factored into Scottish Funding Council guidance issued to local institutions for 2018-19.

Question reference: S5W-15856

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15083 by Maree Todd on 20 March 2018, how many of the (a) 126 additional teacher training places and (b) 270 additional BA Childhood Practice places to expand the early learning and childcare workforce were filled in August 2017.

a) HESA data relating to additional teacher training for 2017-18 is not held centrally, and will not be available until after the end of the academic year.

b) All of the additional 270 BA places were filled in August 2017. As noted in my answers to S5W-15849, S5W-15850 and S5W-15851 on 8 May 2018, 2017-18 data is in-year data and full and complete data will not be available until after the end of the academic year.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Question reference: S5W-15848

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement on 25 February 2016 that at least 46 nurseries have been built or expanded by local authorities to help accommodate additional early learning and additional childcare hours, flexibility and children, how many nurseries in each local authority area have been (a) built, (b) expanded and (c) closed in each year since 2014-15.

Question reference: S5F-02313

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 04 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2018

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-15870

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14582 by Derek Mackay on 27 February 2018, on how many occasions the general anti-tax avoidance rule has been deployed as a specific compliance tool, and what the outcome was of each use.

Question reference: S5F-02259

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2018

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-02218

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2018

Question to be taken in the Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-15458

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it conducted an evaluation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Time for Compliance) Regulations 2016 (a) after one year or (b) at any other time since its introduction; whether it will publish this; which stakeholders it invited to be part of this process and how this was decided, and whether feedback was sought from anyone who had submitted a freedom of information request to the bodies impacted by the regulations.

Evaluation of The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Designation of Persons as Scottish Public Authorities) Order 2016 was undertaken around a year after the Order came into effect with all newly designated public authorities. It also invited the schools designated to comment on the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Time for Compliance) Regulations 2016.

The biennial report on the exercise of the Section 5 power under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (as amended) summarises comments received and is publicly available at: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/foi-use-of-section-5-2017-report/ .

Question reference: S5W-15459

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Time for Compliance) Regulations 2016 set a precedent for varying timescales for Freedom of Information requests, and whether it has any plans to pass similar legislation in future.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Time for Compliance) Regulations 2016 apply exclusively to grant-aided and independent special schools. They were made, following the designation of these schools as public authorities for the purposes of Freedom of Information, specifically to take into account holiday periods when the school may be closed and/or staff are not available. There are no plans to bring forward similar legislation.