Rhona Brankin

27 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities were given the option to target free school meals provision in primary 1 to primary 3 to children from underprivileged backgrounds.

Answer · Adam Ingram: No.</p>

27 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities were consulted on the design of the free school meals pilot.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Once the local authoritiesagreed to conduct the trial they each developed appropriate plans for implementingit, taking account of local circumstances.</p>

27 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation took place about the free school meals pilot with the five local authorities involved.

Answer · Adam Ingram: We wrote to the Directorsof Education in the five local authorities setting out the dates and the estimatedcosts for the trial and asked each if they wished to be involved. They all responded positively.</p>

27 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes in targeting free school meals provision for primary 1 to primary 3 to children from underprivileged backgrounds.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The evaluation of the trial of free school meals for primary 1 to primary 3 will investigate whetherthere are differences in the rate of uptake among those entitled to free schoolmeals and those who are not. This information will help inform whether the trial…

27 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is in favour of the universal provision of free school meals for children in primary 1 to primary 3.

Answer · Adam Ingram: We are conductingthe trial of free school meals for primary 1 to primary 3 pupils in 5 local authoritiesbecause we want to investigate whether the provision of free school lunches in thisage group can help bring about a shift towards healthy eating habits and…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the funding streams in the National Priorities Action Fund.

Answer · Maureen Watt: For 2007-08, the NationalPriorities Action Fund was allocated to local authorities across the following fundingstreams:</p><p>- Additional Supportfor Learning (ASL) Support</p><p>- Additional SupportNeeds (ASN) In-Service Training (INSET)</p><p>- Additional S…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students from areas of multiple deprivation have entered higher education in each year since 1999.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The table belowshows the number of Scottish domiciled entrants to higher education in the UK from the 20% most deprived areas: 2002-03 to2005-06: </p><p>All UK Institutions</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td nowrap valign=top>…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the initiatives under way to widen participation in higher education, also indicating the Executive funding available to each and the criteria used to evaluate their impact on access.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The ScottishFunding Council is responsible for allocation of Government funding forwidening participation initiatives. The council is also responsible forevaluating the impact of programmes it funds.</p><p>The funding councilfunds the four regional widening a…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it calculates the number of students entering higher education from areas of multiple deprivation.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Information onScottish domiciled higher education entrants is taken from the student recordscollected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency for higher education institutionsand by the Scottish Funding Council for higher education students in colleges.This…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence exists that universal free school meals produce better outcomes for all pupils.

Answer · Adam Ingram: There is already evidencethat a healthier diet leads to longer term health benefits. The evaluation of ourfree school meals trial for primary 1 to primary 3 pupils will investigate the impacton the uptake of school lunches by all pupils together with providin…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will evaluate the effectiveness of its free school meals pilot.

Answer · Adam Ingram: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4164 on 19 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the 50 highest attaining primary schools.

Answer · Maureen Watt: No. Thisinformation is not collected. Theprincipal central source of evidence about the quality of attainment inindividual Scottish primary schools is gathered through Her Majesty’sInspectorate of Education inspection reports. The proportion of schools inspec…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £40 million for new school buildings will be allocated to each local authority to reduce class sizes in areas of deprivation.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The allocation ofthis £40 million was explained in a letter to local authorities of 10 July2007. A copy is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 43795). The detail of local spending decisions within the amountsallocated are entir…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-1741 by Fiona Hyslop on 1 August 2007, what proportion of primary schools in the 75% to 90% occupancy category are in areas of deprivation.

Answer · Maureen Watt: 7.1% of primaryschools in the 75% to 90% occupancy category are located in the 15% mostdeprived data zones in Scotland, as reported in the 2006 Scottish Indexof Multiple Deprivation. Pupils attending these schools may of course come fromoutwith these areas.</…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is evidence that smaller class sizes in primary 1 to primary 3 raise attainment levels in P1 to P3 classes with existing high levels of attainment.

Answer · Maureen Watt: There is researchevidence to suggest class size reductions in early years benefit children ofall abilities, though the benefits are most marked in deprived communities andwhere class structure is not disrupted between years.</p>

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what factors impact on attainment in primary 1 to primary 3.

Answer · Maureen Watt: <i>ImprovingScottish Education</i>,published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in November 2006,identified the attainment of pupils from P1 to P4 as a key strength of theprimary sector. We also know from the Scottish Survey of Achievement thatattainm…

26 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures whether access to higher and further education is widening.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Higher Education Statistics Agency produces annual performance indicators showing proportion of students from low participation groups in each higher education institution. These are used to monitor performance over time. Additionally, for the first time …

14 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-3373 by Michael Russell on 10 September 2007, whether there was an active grouse moor or pheasant shoot within a five mile radius of each incident.

Answer · Michael Russell: The information soughtin this question is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionatecost.</p>

14 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the occupation of each person convicted of poisoning birds since May 1999.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on theoccupation of persons proceeded against in Scottish courts is not held centrally.</p>

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-3137 by Richard Lochhead on 3 September 2007, what percentage of the actual area of agricultural land was covered by agri-environmental measures in 2005.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: In 2005, 20% of agriculturalland was subject to agri-environment agreements.</p>

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether action to address the illegal killing of red kites is listed as a national priority for police wildlife enforcers and whether a national police operation exists to tackle this.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4197 on 21 September 2007. Allanswers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website,the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether operation Artemis’ strategy recognises that, in areas where illegal killing of birds of prey occurs, the nature of offences against hen harriers may make them difficult to detect and the detection and investigation of offences involving other species can act as an early warning sy…

Answer · Michael Russell: Operation Artemiscame to a close on the 30 September 2007. It was a part of the UKpolice service response to counter the criminal threat to hen harriers. The aimswere to work in partnership to secure better prevention, detection and investigationof offences a…

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of alleged killing, nest destruction and disturbance of hen harriers have been recorded and how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for such offences there have been in each of the last 10 years and whether the national police operation, Artemis, has achieved a reduct…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Prosecutions and convictionsfor offences against hen harriers cannot be identified separately from other wildbirds from the data held centrally.</p>

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether action to address the illegal killing of golden eagles is listed as a national priority for police wildlife enforcers and whether a national police operation exists to detect and investigate such offences.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4197 on 21 September 2007. Allanswers to wildlife are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search">http://www.sc…

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what scientific research has been carried out in the last 10 years to investigate the effect that illegal killing, including poisoning, may be having on the golden eagle population in Scotland and what the conclusions of such research were.

Answer · Michael Russell: SNH have beencarrying out research into the conservation status of golden eagles in Scotland. Their report, <i>A conservation framework for thegolden eagle: implications for conservation and management in </i><i>Scotland</i>, is due to be published shortly.</…

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether action to address the illegal and dangerous practice of wildlife poisoning is listed as a national police priority and whether a national police operation exists to detect and investigate all such offences.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Association ofChief Police Officers in Scotland’s (ACPOS) Scottish Strategic Assessment identifies wildlife crimeas a national policing priority. The importance of this has recently been reinforcedthrough the ACPOS approved National Harm Reduction Strategy fo…

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that those who benefit financially from the impacts of wildlife crime are (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted and, where the offence is carried out on their behalf by someone else, what steps it is taking to ensure that the beneficiary is held liable.

Answer · Frank Mulholland: Procuratorsfiscal work closely with investigating authorities to identify incriminating evidenceagainst anyone involved, either directly or indirectly, in the commission of wildlifecrime. However, the prosecutor must always be satisfied that there is sufficie…

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that its network of environmental specialists within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is well co-ordinated, well resourced, and well trained; what evidence it has obtained that these steps have resulted in more effective prosecution of wildl…

Answer · Frank Mulholland: The network of environmentaland wildlife prosecutors consists of at least one specialist in each of the localareas in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. They regularly attend targetedtraining events, which enhance expertise and provide the opport…

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals were convicted of offences of wildlife crime in each of the last 10 years and, of these, what proportion were employed in professions associated with the game shooting industry.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available figures are given in the following table. Details of the professions of persons proceeded against in courts are not held centrally.</p> <p >Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Wildlife Related Offences¹, 1996-97 to 20…

10 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reform the Game Acts or otherwise better regulate the game shooting industry.

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4151 on 20 September 2007. Allanswers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…