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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: S6W-22747

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by what date work on introducing free school breakfasts for all primary school pupils must begin for the scheme to be introduced before the end of the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6W-22741

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many probationer teachers have not completed their probationary year in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S6W-22745

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the infrastructure cost will be for the implementation of free school breakfasts for all primary school pupils, and which body will be responsible for meeting any such cost.

Breakfasts are being provided across Scotland by a range of service providers including public, private and third sector. We are working with local authorities and key stakeholders to better understand and map existing provision. This will help us develop a plan for breakfast provision, designed around the needs of children and families, which will include estimated costs and appropriate delivery models.

Question reference: S6W-22744

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has committed for the introduction of free school breakfasts for all primary school pupils.

Question reference: S6W-22743

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will fully implement the provision of free school breakfasts for all primary school pupils.

The Scottish Government has committed to develop plans to deliver free breakfasts to all primary and special school children. Breakfasts are being provided across Scotland by a range of service providers including public, private and third sector. We are working with local authorities and key stakeholders to better understand and map existing provision. This will help us develop a plan for breakfast provision, designed around the needs of children and families, which will include delivery timescales.

Question reference: S6W-22742

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on introducing free school breakfasts for all primary school pupils.

There is a currently a mixed delivery of breakfast provision across Scotland with a range of service providers including public, private and third sector. We have conducted provisional modelling of breakfast provision and have begun work with local authorities and key stakeholders to better understand and map provision in order to identify gaps in provision. This will help us develop a plan for breakfast provision, designed around the needs of children and families.

Question reference: S6W-22746

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the ongoing annual cost of providing free school breakfasts for all primary school pupils will be.

Question reference: S6W-22740

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional pupils have accessed free school breakfasts since the beginning of the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6W-21986

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the conclusions of the Audit Scotland report, Investing in Scotland's infrastructure, and, in particular, the stated change in status of the Borders railway decarbonisation project to "Paused", alter the status of the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan's objective to electrify the Edinburgh to Dundee and Aberdeen mainline by 2035, and whether it can confirm that the Edinburgh to Dundee and Aberdeen mainline will be fully electrified by 2035, as committed to in the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-22550

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21959 by Jenny Gilruth on 27 October 2023, for what reason the answer did not address the explicit point in both the original question and the follow-up question regarding what consequences there are for local authorities that do not meet its commitment to provide every school pupil with their own laptop or other digital device; what its position is on whether not addressing this point in both the previous answers meets the commitment set out in paragraph 1.3 (d) of the Scottish Ministerial Code, which states that "Ministers should be as open as possible with the Parliament and the public, reflecting the aspirations set out in the Report of the Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament [...and] should refuse to provide information only in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and other relevant statutes"; whether it will confirm whether (a) there are, or will be, any consequences for local authorities that do not meet its commitment to provide every school pupil with their own laptop or other digital device and (b) any consequences will be retrospectively imposed; for what reason it is still in the process of developing delivery plans for this scheme, in light of it committing to it nearly three years ago, and by what date any such delivery plans will be finalised and published.

As stated in the original answer, we continue to work to develop plans on the provision of digital devices, which includes ensuring appropriate consideration of funding, monitoring and reporting. Given the extremely challenging financial climate, it is important that this is fully considered to ensure best value.

As set out in the Programme for Government, we will publish a digital strategy to support the broader aims of the education system and further details on this strategy will be provided in due course.