Meeting of the Parliament (Accessible)

Portfolio Questions Social Justice and Housing 1. Jamie Langan S7O-00471 To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government’s recently proposed changes to the rules governing indefinite leave to remain, what assessment it has made of the potential impact of these changes on Scotland's communities. 2. Alan Brown S7O-00472 To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its Stage 2 consultation on proposed changes to energy and environmental building standards, what consideration it will give to supply chain capacity alongside the consultation responses when developing the final standards. 3. Mark Griffin S7O-00473 To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Shelter Scotland's recommendations in its Building Hope route map and the calls from Crisis for investment in measures to reduce the number of children living in temporary accommodation, how much funding it has allocated to homelessness prevention pilots and other homelessness prevention activity. 4. Julie MacDougall S7O-00474 [Withdrawn] 5. Holly Bruce S7O-00475 To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to introduce misogyny education programmes in all schools as part of its strategy to address violence against women and girls, what substantive update it can provide on the delivery of these programmes, including an expected timeline. 6. Monica Lennon S7O-00476 To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Centre for Civic Innovation’s seventh Annual Family Poverty in Glasgow report, which was published last month. 7. David Smith S7O-00477 To ask the Scottish Government how many private landlords have exited the private rented sector since 2021 and what assessment it has made of the impact of this on the availability and affordability of housing for tenant families. 8. Stuart McMillan S7O-00478 To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with registered social landlords operating in Inverclyde, and what was discussed. 9. David Linden S7O-00479 To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding VAT on home safety equipment, including the impact of VAT costs on housing associations fitting this equipment. 10. Gary Bouse S7O-00480 To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the provision of housing for care-experienced young people. Submitting member has a registered interest. Economy, Tourism and Transport 1. Laura Mitchell S7O-00483 To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the growth of whisky tourism in rural communities, including in Speyside. 2. Marie McNair S7O-00484 To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the current closure of the Renfrew Bridge. 3. Carol Mochan S7O-00485 To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the delivery of the MV Glen Rosa has been further delayed, having initially been scheduled for completion in 2018. 4. David Kirkwood S7O-00486 To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic benefits of innovative manufacturing businesses that increase production and supply chain activity in Scotland. 5. Amanda Lindsay S7O-00487 To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish an update on progress towards the construction of Winchburgh train station. 6. Claire Baker S7O-00488 To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of progress made in addressing barriers to women's participation in entrepreneurship, as identified in the report, Pathways: A new approach for women in entrepreneurship. 7. Liam Kerr S7O-00489 To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the performance of rail services that have been nationalised since 2022. 8. Clare Haughey S7O-00490 To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the promotion of tourism in the Rutherglen and Cambuslang constituency. 9. Jackie Baillie S7O-00491 To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the changes to business rates thresholds and Small Business Rate Relief announced in the UK budget, whether it will introduce equivalent changes for businesses in Scotland. 10. Helen McDade S7O-00492 To ask the Scottish Government, given that temporary footbridges over the A9 are often erected at Gleneagles for golf spectators, what consideration it has given to building a permanent footbridge to improve pedestrian access to the railway station for local residents. followed by Scottish Labour Party Debate: Improving Attainment, Tackling Inequality and Strengthening National Standards Katherine Sangster S7M-01963 That the Parliament recognises that the international performance of Scottish education has declined; further recognises the need to improve the experience and attainment for all young people in Scotland; believes that achievement in education is a key factor in breaking the cycle of poverty; agrees that Parliament must do more to break the link between family income and educational achievement; believes that, in order to address issues within the education system, they must be better understood, and calls for the reintroduction of the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) and standardised reporting across all local authorities to ensure consistent reporting on absences, behaviour and additional support needs and enable the education system to get it right for every child. Further details available for S7M-01963 Màiri McAllan S7M-01963.3 As an amendment to motion S7M-01963 in the name of Katherine Sangster (Improving Attainment, Tackling Inequality and Strengthening National Standards), leave out from first “recognises” to end and insert: “celebrates the achievements of Scotland's young people, as reflected in the 2026 National Qualifications results with academic passes up at every level and a 121% increase in vocational awards since 2019; notes that there is a joint record number of young people in positive follow-up destinations such as college, work and apprenticeships, and more young Scots gaining a place at university,- including a record number from deprived backgrounds; recognises the contribution of Scotland's dedicated and hardworking teaching and school staff; notes the need to improve the experience and attainment for all young people in Scotland and believes that achievement in education is a key factor in breaking the cycle of poverty, and affirms that, in the pursuit of excellence and equity, the Scottish Government should drive meaningful reform across the education system, including by working with parties across the Chamber to identify priorities for school assessments such as the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy and Scottish National Standardised Assessments, and embrace the opportunity of public sector reform to enhance performance, reduce unwarranted variation and empower school leaders across Scotland.” Further details available for S7M-01963.3 Laura Moodie S7M-01963.1 As an amendment to motion S7M-01963 in the name of Katherine Sangster (Improving Attainment, Tackling Inequality and Strengthening National Standards), insert at end "; recognises that, where data collection on pupil performance across local authorities is standardised, it should be done in a way that supports both the progress and attainment of pupils and tackles the bureaucracy placed on teachers; welcomes guidance on school uniforms that includes key recommendations to limit costs, and calls for this guidance to be placed on a statutory footing as soon as possible." Further details available for S7M-01963.1 Meghan Gallacher S7M-01963.2 As an amendment to motion S7M-01963 in the name of Katherine Sangster (Improving Attainment, Tackling Inequality and Strengthening National Standards), insert at end “; expresses serious concern that the Scottish Government has failed to reverse declining school standards, close the attainment gap or adequately support the rising number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN); notes that around one in four primary pupils is not achieving expected literacy levels and one in five is not achieving expected numeracy levels, and that Scotland recorded its poorest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results to date with pupils falling behind their counterparts in England in reading, mathematics and science; condemns the Scottish Government’s focus on headline-grabbing policies, including the proposed £2.7 million Welcome to School Bag, and its failure to deliver promised funded bikes and laptops; believes that the Scottish Government has failed to collect and publish reliable, comparable information on school performance and that positive destination statistics are wholly inadequate as a measure of educational success; calls for consistent annual reporting, publicly available and comparable over time and across all local authorities, on attainment, the attainment gap, attendance, persistent absence, exclusions, classroom violence, disruptive behaviour and ASN; questions the effectiveness of Education Scotland in driving improvement, and calls on the Scottish Government to deliver a credible and comprehensive plan to raise attainment and restore confidence in Scotland’s schools, to prioritise a knowledge-based, evidence-led curriculum with literacy, numeracy and subject knowledge at its core, and to establish clear national standards, measurable targets and robust accountability for educational outcomes.” Further details available for S7M-01963.2 Duncan Dunlop S7M-01963.4 As an amendment to motion S7M-01963 in the name of Katherine Sangster (Improving Attainment, Tackling Inequality and Strengthening National Standards), remove from "and enable" to end and insert "; believes that pupil support assistants provide essential support to children with additional support needs and teachers; calls for education funding currently directed towards initiatives such as the Welcome to School Bag and digital screens in primary school classrooms to instead be invested in the recruitment of, and better pay for, pupil support assistants; agrees that continuity in relationships specifically between pupil support assistants and pupils must be prioritised, and calls for headteachers and the community to have more devolved powers to choose the interventions that best meet their school’s needs and enable the education system to get it right for every child.” Further details available for S7M-01963.4 followed by Decision Time followed by Members’ Business: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Lothian Buses, Formerly Lothian Region Transport Daniel Johnson S7M-01325 That the Parliament celebrates the 40th anniversary of Lothian Buses, which was formerly Lothian Region Transport and is the UK’s largest municipal bus company; commends the foresight of then Lothian Region, which established Lothian Regional Transport plc following the Transport Act 1985, which mandated that bus operators be run as commercial entities; notes the efforts of the Lothian Region administration and trades unions for resisting a management buyout in 1992, ensuring that Lothian Buses was the only major publicly owned bus company in Scotland; believes that the deregulation and privatisation of bus services has failed on its own terms; notes the continued municipal ownership model in the Lothians; believes that this ensures profits are reinvested into new routes, low ticket prices and fleet improvements; notes the crucial role that it believes public transport has in addressing carbon emissions and growing local economies, and further notes calls on the Scottish Government to urgently simplify bus franchising legislation as a stepping-stone to municipal ownership, to ensure that other regions can build better bus services. Further details available for S7M-01325