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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: S4O-04566

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what financial impact the delayed timetable for the announcement of its draft budget will have on local authorities.

The current devolution settlement sees around 80% of the Scottish budget being directly determined by decisions taken in Westminster meaning that we have no alternative but to await the outcome of the UK spending review before publishing the draft budget. While this will be inconvenient for Scotland’s local authorities and other public sector partners in trying to set their 2016 to 2017 budgets, the delay is unavoidable. The Government will work with Parliament to consider the most effective timetable for considering the Local Government Finance Order.

Question reference: S4W-25909

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 18 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what services the SQA has provided to overseas (a) companies and (b) governments in each year since 2007; how much it charged for each service; when payments were requested; what payments have been received, and how much remains outstanding.

Question reference: S4O-04490

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how the college student headcount in 2014-15 compares with 2008-09.

Question reference: S4W-25907

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it began to develop its plans to establish numeracy hubs and what discussions it had with (a) Education Scotland, (b) COSLA and (c) teachers' unions prior to these being introduced.

<>The Scottish Government supported the development of six inter-authority numeracy hubs as a direct outcome from the 'Enhancing Local Numeracy Strategies' national conference held in Stirling in June 2013. The conference was planned and hosted jointly by the Scottish Government, Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, Education Scotland and the Scottish Qualifications Authority, who were all involved from the outset in the hubs' development. Discussions on potential and actual development of the hubs were held with COSLA prior to and post conference respectively. Although the teaching unions were not involved at a strategic level in development of the numeracy hubs, they were kept informed of progress through mechanism such as the Curriculum for Excellence Management board and ministerial addresses at union conferences.

Question reference: S4O-04398

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to report on the outcome of its consultation on the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board.

Question reference: S4O-04392

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many Deaf people have undertaken a modern apprenticeship in the last five years.

Question reference: S4O-04318

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning last met Education Scotland and what was discussed.

Question reference: S4O-04212

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport last met NHS Lanarkshire and what was discussed.

Question reference: S4W-24864

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, other than exam results and qualification attainment, what national indicators or measures it will use to monitor progress on closing the attainment and achievement gap for pupils.

As clearly set out in our Programme for Government, we are committed to ensuring that educational outcomes for all learners are improving and that inequity is eradicated. A range of educational performance data, including school-leaver destinations, exam results, literacy and numeracy survey reports and international Program for International Student Assessment figures currently provide information about attainment in Scotland.

I have announced in recent weeks extensive measures we are putting in place including the Attainment Scotland Fund, Read, Write, Count and local support. Working with key partners, we are developing a national improvement framework which will build on the existing data to help us make further progress on narrowing the attainment gap for pupils.

Question reference: S4W-24863

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2015
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 25 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how the Scottish Attainment Fund will improve the attainment of pupils with additional support needs irrespective of whether they live in the most deprived local authority areas.

The Attainment Scotland Fund is targeted at local authorities with the biggest concentration of primary school pupils living in households in our most deprived areas. It will focus on literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing in the primary sector to support children and young people in these communities to achieve their potential.

Our approach to raising attainment is for all children and young people including those with additional support needs, and has a firm foundation in all our key policies and programmes, the pillars of which are Curriculum for Excellence, Teaching Scotland’s Future, Getting it right for every child, the Early Years Framework and Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce. There are a range of activities already underway and planned, which are supporting authorities and schools across Scotland to raise attainment and reduce the attainment gap.

In addition, education authorities and other agencies have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 (as amended) to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. An additional support need can arise for any reason and be of short or long term duration.

Scottish Ministers are required to report to Parliament annually on the implementation of the Act. The February 2014 report indicated that there has been increase of 2% in attendance for pupils with additional support needs, a pattern of better qualifications and higher grades for pupils with additional support needs since 2009-10, and that 82.3% of school leavers with additional support needs were in a positive destination, a rise of almost 8% on 2009-10.