Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 2:00 pm on 6 June 2024.
Roz McCall
Conservative
2:00,
6 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the national plan for action announced in November 2023 to tackle violence in schools. (S6O-03537)
Jenny Gilruth
Scottish National Party
As Ms McCall will be aware, since I made the announcement in November, I have been working with members of the Scottish advisory group on relationships and behaviour in schools to develop the national action plan. The plan has been informed by representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Association of Directors of Education in Schools, Education Scotland, the main teaching unions, educational psychologists, and parents and carers organisations. As I confirmed when I met Opposition spokespeople in April, my intention was that the plan be published in late May or early June. However, as the member will be aware, we are currently in a pre-election period, as a result of which I am currently considering officials’ advice on publication timescales.
Roz McCall
Conservative
As the Cabinet secretary alluded to, we are now six months on from the announcement of the plan. However, we are no further forward. I accept that there is a General Election going on, but I am still receiving emails that highlight rising instances of violence in classrooms across Fife. A constituent who is also a secondary school teacher got in touch with me recently to say:
“Two of my colleagues have been verbally and physically assaulted in the last couple of days. It is clear that there is a significant problem within all Fife schools at the moment ... pupil indiscipline and the abuse faced by staff is the worst I have ever experienced.”
Given the First Minister’s statement earlier this year that we need to focus on
“what can we do, rather than what can we write down”,
what action will the Scottish Government take to address the issue now? Will the cabinet secretary agree to look at this particular case with me?
Jenny Gilruth
Scottish National Party
Roz McCall has taken a keen interest in those issues over a number of months, and I commend her for that. On the specific challenge in Fife, a new director of education has recently been appointed there—I know that as a Constituency member for part of Fife. I am more than happy to work with Ms McCall on that issue.
The behaviour action plan is part of the solution, but we are talking about achieving fundamental cultural change in our schools. Action plans in themselves do not drive the change that we need. Although they will help to give impetus at national level, we need to see cultural change in our schools in the form of changed behaviour and relationships following the pandemic. I commit to working with the member and meeting her on that.
Ruth Maguire
Scottish National Party
Prevention of violence is always preferable to mopping up its consequences. What work is the Scottish Government funding to support schools in the prevention agenda?
Jenny Gilruth
Scottish National Party
The member is right to highlight the role of prevention. That is why, this year alone, we are investing more than £2 million to implement the violence prevention framework to help to divert people from violence. That framework is supporting the Medics Against Violence school education programme to deliver strong anti-violence messages to pupils. It is also supporting mentors in the violence prevention programme to train 1,000 young mentors to provide gender-based violence prevention sessions in schools across Scotland. We will report on the implementation of the framework later this year.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
In a general election, each constituency chooses an MP to represent it by process of election. The party who wins the most seats in parliament is in power, with its leader becoming Prime Minister and its Ministers/Shadow Ministers making up the new Cabinet. If no party has a majority, this is known as a hung Parliament. The next general election will take place on or before 3rd June 2010.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
