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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-20226

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals attained newly qualified teacher (NQT) status in summer 2023.

Teachers attain Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) status on completion of their teaching qualification.

Information on the number of UK domiciled students qualifying from Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes at Scottish Higher Education Institutions is published in the “Diversity Teaching Profession Annual Data Report”. The latest information, covering 2021-22 academic year, can be found here:

Diversity in the teaching profession: annual data report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-20225

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what role it and/or its agencies should play in matching newly qualified teachers (NQTs), who have not been offered a teaching post in their "home" local authority, with local authorities that have a shortage of teachers, such as those in the north east.

The allocation of places on the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) is based on students selecting a preference of five local authorities in which they wish to undertake their probationary year. The system is set to ensure that all newly qualified teachers are, in the first instance, offered a place in one of their preferred choices.

As an alternative to selecting a preference of five local authorities, a student can opt for the Preference Waiver Payment whereby they waive their right to express a preferred local authority and will be prioritised to remote and rural local authorities in return for an additional payment.

TIS does not provide a guarantee of future employment within that council. The future employment of teachers is solely a matter for local authorities. While it is for councils to recruit and employ sufficient teaching staff to meet the needs and interests of children and young people living in their areas, we would expect them to fill posts in an open and fair manner.

Question reference: S6W-20044

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it (a) has provided and (b) will provide for any remedial action in relation to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in school buildings

Building safety is a matter for the owner - who in this case would be individual local authorities - acting in accordance with the relevant health and safety legislation. Before any decisions can be taken on funding, it is important to understand the scope and nature of the issue.

Health and Safety legislation is not devolved to the Scottish Government. The Health & Safety Executive is the UK-wide regulator for health and safety and they intend to carry out research into buildings which contain RAAC. The research methodology is in the final stages of development which includes assessment tools to help measure the risks associated with RAAC planks. We will monitor the research when it is commissioned and apply the findings and recommendations appropriately.

Question reference: S6W-20068

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils were recorded as (a) persistently and (b) severely absent in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the last five years, broken down by year and local authority area.

The Scottish Government does not produce any statistics on persistently or severely absent pupils. This is because it is the responsibility of local authorities, not Scottish Government, to monitor attendance locally within their own school estate. The Scottish Government routinely gathers data on attendance - National Statistics on attendance and absence rates are collected and published every two years with attendance and absence snapshots to be published approximately once a month throughout the 2023-24 school year.

Question reference: S6W-20046

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last carried out risk assessments on each school building for which it is responsible and that contains reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete; whether it has published the outcomes of any such assessments, and if this is not the case, whether it plans to do so, and how regularly any such assessments will take place in the future.

Question reference: S6W-20048

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has published all minutes of any discussions that relevant ministers have had with (a) officials and (b) local authorities regarding the issue of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in school buildings.

Question reference: S6W-20066

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many out-of-catchment applications have been submitted for pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the last five years, and what proportion of these applications were successful, broken down by year and local authority area.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collect data on out-of-catchment applications and does not hold information about the number of applications that have been submitted for pupils in primary and secondary schools or what proportion of those were successful.

Local authorities are responsible for procedures for dealing with out-of-catchment applications for school places and will hold such data locally.

Question reference: S6W-20047

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in each case where a risk assessment has been carried out of school buildings that contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, whether any recommendations made as part of the assessment have been undertaken and completed, and if this is not the case, what the reasons are for this not having been done.

Question reference: S6W-20065

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms teachers can utilise to officially raise concerns about pupils who are persistently absent from school without explanation; whether a system for raising such concerns exists in Scotland that is similar to the Early Help Scheme in England; how many cases of persistent absence of pupils from school have been reported by teachers in the last five years, and in what proportion of any such cases was action taken, broken down by year and local authority area.

The Scottish Government’s guidance ‘Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1: a positive approach to the promotion and management of attendance in Scottish schools’ makes clear the need for schools to follow up absence immediately, and to continue to follow up absence for those for whom there are welfare concerns.

Local authorities are expected to have robust processes and guidance for children who do not attend school from the first day they are absent until they are re-engaged with education. Where children are missing for extended periods of time, or are not on a school roll or being educated otherwise, the Children Missing from Education Guidance and Service can support local authorities in this.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on children persistently absent from school centrally. Information on rates of children persistently absent from school would be for local authorities to collect.

Question reference: S6W-20067

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many children were home-schooled in each year since 2016-17, broken down by local authority area.