Hugh Henry

16 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers are currently being trained in Scottish universities.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The latest yearfor which full data are available is 2005-06 when there were 7,590 teachersbeing trained in Scottish universities. The figures are based on returnsreceived from the Higher Education Statistics Agency and have been rounded tothe nearest five.</p…

16 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers were told prior to the First Minister’s statement on 5 September 2007 that reduction in class sizes to 18 in primary 1 to primary 3 would be delivered in this parliamentary session (Official Report c. 1378) that this could not be achieved by 2011.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Advice passed fromofficials to ministers is considered to be confidential, to allow the full and frankexchange of views necessary to take forward government objectives.</p>

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in allowing flexibility in respect of primary 1 to primary 3 class sizes, it will provide resources to employ sufficient teachers by 2011 to allow for class sizes of 18 in every primary school, if this is the local priority.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Governmentwill be providing local government in Scotland with recordlevels of funding over the period covered by the spending review 2008-11. The vastmajority of the funding will be provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibilityof e…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in allowing flexibility in respect of primary 1 to primary 3 class sizes, the size average for primary 1 to primary 3 will be no more than 18 in each primary school.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The concordatagreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on 14 November 2007 setsout the current way forward on how we will work with councils to reduce classsizes as quickly as possible as part of our approach to early yearsintervention and the …

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in providing guidance to local authorities on class sizes in maths and English for S1 and S2, what advice is provided about (a) average class sizes and (b) flexibility.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Guidance on theimplementation of the previous administration’s class size commitments in S1and S2 maths and English classes was contained in Circular 1/2007 issued on 2 April 2007. This guidance is still extant. A copy was placed inthe Scottish Parliament Inf…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, if an S1 and S2 maths or English class contains more than 20 pupils, what the average class size should be for that subject in that school.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The average mathsand English class sizes in any particular school would depend upon the numberof pupils taking those subjects and the number of classes from S1 to S6.</p>

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether sufficient teachers are in post to allow class size reductions to 20 in maths and English for S1 and S2 across Scotland.

Answer · Maureen Watt: We confirmed the previousadministration’s commitment to provide £50.3 million in 2007-08 to increase teachernumbers and reduce S1/S2 maths and English classes to a maximum of 20 pupils. Thatlevel of funding was deemed sufficient by the previous administration…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be available under the Scottish futures trust for each of the next three financial years.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-5903 on 7 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, following the ministerial statement on the strategic spending review, when the Scottish futures trust will be established.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-5903 on 7 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has the legal capacity to assume financial responsibility for servicing student debt owned by third parties.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Questions of legalcapacity are for the courts and it would not be the intention of the governmentto assume such financial responsibility without first satisfying itself that ithas the necessary legal capacity.</p>

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost each year to service the current level of student debt.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: We will beexploring this as part of a consultation on student support and graduate debtproposals that will be undertaken in 2008. The actual annual cost of anyservicing agreement will depend on the outcome of this consultation.</p><p>To provide somecontext, i…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether student debt could be written off over a period longer than one year.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government’spolicy proposal was to meet student loan repayments and not write off in one amountthe accumulated student loan debt. Under current accounting conventions studentloan debt could not be written off over a period longer than one year.</…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether available financial resources would permit student debt to be written off in one year.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: If thesignificant financial resources required were available it would be possiblefor the student loan debt to be written-off in one year. An alternative tocomplete write-off is to service the debt and so remove the burden of graduatedebt.</p>

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to write off student debt in one year.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The ScottishGovernment's policy proposal was to meet student loan repayments and notwrite-off in one amount the accumulated student loan debt. We are continuing toexplore options for servicing the debt and we are planning to seek views ofstakeholders on measu…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that any discrimination within an NHS board area on the basis of postcode rather than medical need would be acceptable.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There arepolicies and processes in place to ensure equity of access to care andtreatment for all NHS patients. We expect NHS boards to adhere to thesepolicies. If the member is concerned about discrimination in relation to aspecific service or a particular pa…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to ensure that chief constables comply with its wishes to deploy police officers in the community, other than doing so through discussion and consultation.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-6337 on 22 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-5541 by Kenny MacAskill on 30 October 2007, what action it can take if a chief constable fails to deploy the number of police officers to frontline duties that the Executive wishes.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-6337 on 22 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

14 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-5541 by Kenny MacAskill on 30 October 2007, how it will ensure that its intention of deploying police officers in communities will be met under the tripartite arrangements.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Government plansto build police capacity will work within the tripartite relationship byworking in partnership with conveners and with ACPOS to set clear strategicpriorities for policing; by giving police boards the tools and incentives toeffectively hold chi…

12 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers were released from other tasks as a result of civilianisation initiatives between May 2003 and May 2007, excluding those released as a result of the Reliance contract, broken down by police board area, and what these initiatives were.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Civilianisation initiativesand the deployment of police officers are the responsibility of the relevant chiefconstable and the information requested is not held centrally. We are committedto working with key stakeholders to ensure that future savings from eff…

12 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have been released from prisoner escorting duties as a result of the contract with Reliance.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Associationof Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) havecalculated that 209 officers (full-time equivalent) were released from prisonerescorting and related court duties as a result of the contract with Reliance.</p>

12 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in allowing flexibility in respect of class sizes of 18 for primary 1 to primary 3, it will provide the capital required by 2011 by each local authority that decides to implement a class size of 18.

Answer · Maureen Watt: In terms of theconcordat between the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish local authoritiessigned on 14 November 2007 there is significant growth in thecapital budget being offered to local authorities. As part of that package,almost £3 billion,…

12 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the maximum permitted class size will be in primary 1 to primary 3 once flexibility is introduced in respect of class sizes of 18.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The concordatagreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on 14 November 2007 setsout the current way forward on how we will work with councils to reduce classsizes as quickly as possible as part of our approach to early yearsintervention. We will…

12 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take if a local authority fails to adhere to any guidance issued on class sizes in primary 1 to primary 3.

Answer · Adam Ingram: We expect to see yearon year progress towards our target of a maximum of 18 pupils in primary 1 to primary3 classes from local government in the light of the concordat signed with the Conventionof Scottish Local authorities on 14 November 2007.</p>

12 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when guidance will be issued to local authorities on class sizes in primary 1 to primary 3.

Answer · Adam Ingram: I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-6257 on 29 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

12 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance will be given to local authorities setting out aspirations for class sizes in primary 1 to primary 3.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The concordat agreedwith the Convention of Scottish Local authorities on 14 November 2007 sets out thecurrent way forward on how we will work with councils to reduce class sizes as quicklyas possible as part of our approach to early years intervention and the…

8 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive at what stage or stages in primary schools the problem of indiscipline is greatest.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The nationalsurvey of behaviour in Scottish schools <i>Behaviour in Scottish Schools (2006)</i>reported that staff perceived pupils in primary 6 and 7 to be the mostpoorly behaved. The rate of exclusion is highest in P6 and P7.</p>

8 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive at what stage or stages in secondary schools the problem of indiscipline is greatest.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The nationalsurvey of discipline in Scottish schools <i>Behaviour in Scottish schools(2006) </i>reported that staff perceived pupils in S2 to S4 as the most poorlybehaved. The rate of exclusion is highest at S2 to S4.</p>

8 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether problems of indiscipline are greater in secondary schools than in primary schools.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The NationalDiscipline Survey <i>Behaviour in Scottish Schools (2006)</i> found thatsecondary school staff were consistently more likely than their primarycounterparts to identify indiscipline as a serious problem. The rate of exclusion is also higher insecon…

1 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to fulfil the commitment made by the First Minister on 5 September 2007 that class size reductions to 18 in primary 1 to primary 3 will be achieved by May 2011 (Official Report c.1378).

Answer · Adam Ingram: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4094 on 20 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/…

23 Oct 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that classes of 36 staffed by two teachers would be an acceptable outcome in reducing class sizes to 18 in primary 1 to primary 3.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Class formation isa matter for local authorities. Class size maxima of 30 were introduced inprimary 1 to primary 3 by The Education (Lower Primary Class Sizes) (Scotland) Regulations 1999. Regulation 3 of these regulationsallows a class of over 30 pupils prov…