Tavish Scott

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment at E.14 of the executive summary of the report, Education Governance: Next Steps - Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to Deliver Excellence and Equity for our Children, that "respondents would welcome greater clarity around the rationale for creatin…

Answer · John Swinney: As we have set out in section 4 of Education Governance: Next Steps - Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to Deliver Excellence and Equity for our Children, new Regional Improvement Collaboratives will deliver a range of benefits for Scotland's s…

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 15 June 2017 (Official Report, c. 46), how it will ensure that the recommendations will not (a) increase teachers' workload, (b) increase bureaucracy and (c) lead to loss of local accountability.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has made clear its commitment to tackle teacher workload and bureaucracy in education. We will work with local authorities, national bodies and other partners including the professional associations to ensure that the impact of changes…

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers to be the "strengthened middle" that is referred to in the reports, Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective and Education Governance: Next Steps - Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to Deliver Excellence and Equity for our Children.

Answer · John Swinney: In their report Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective, the OECD called for a strengthened middle operating through networks and collaboratives amongst schools, including school clusters, and in and across local authorities. The reforms set out in…

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 15 June 2017 (Official Report, c. 46), whether it considers that it will achieve the necessary change in educational performance by May 2021, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · John Swinney: I am confident that the programme of reform we have put in place, combined with the excellence of Scotland’s hard-working teachers, will enable our education system to realise our ambition of excellence and equity for all.

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 15 June 2017 (Official Report, c. 46), when it will publish the consultation for the proposed education governance bill.

Answer · John Swinney: We will consult on proposed legislative changes to take forward our education governance reforms in autumn 2017.

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 15 June 2017 (Official Report, c. 46), what its response is to the comment by COSLA that the announcement "erodes local democratic accountability and most certainly will not close the attainment gap".

Answer · John Swinney: As we have set out in the June 2015 Scottish Government publication Education Governance: Next Steps, councils will remain democratically accountable for schools in their area and will continue to have a crucial role in providing a wide range of education ser…

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it collects data on the eligibility of P1-S3 pupils for free school meals.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not collect data on the eligibility of pupils for free school meals. It does collect data on the number of pupils registered for free school meals through the Attainment, Leaver Destinations and Healthy Living survey. The survey …

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 15 June 2017 (Official Report, c. 46), what its position is on whether the ministerial appointment of regional directors to manage the regional improvement collaboratives, which will then report directly to Ed…

Answer · John Swinney: The establishment of Regional Improvement Collaboratives and the appointment of Regional Directors are key elements in the devolution of decision making to our schools, headteachers and teachers. Regional Directors will work with partners in ensuring that the…

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in light of the comment in its report, Education Governance: Next Steps - Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to Deliver Excellence and Equity for our Children, that "our relative performance compared to other countries has deteriorated across all three areas", for what reas…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government acknowledges that there are challenges which must be overcome in order to improve Scotland’s education system. These include a lack of consistency in the degree of autonomy afforded to schools, unacceptable variation in the level and q…

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will publish the document, Report of the Initial Findings of the International Council of Education Advisers – June 2017, which is referred to in its report, Education Governance: Next Steps - Empowering Our Teachers, Parents and Communities to Deliver Excellence and Equi…

Answer · John Swinney: The Report of the Initial Findings of the International Council of Education Advisers will be published shortly. I shall write to the member as soon as the report is published.

16 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 15 June 2017 (Official Report, c. 46), how many regional improvement collaboratives will be established; who will oversee their establishment; what the timescale for this will be, and what input it will have i…

Answer · John Swinney: As set out in the June 2017 Scottish Government publication Education Governance: Next Steps, we anticipate that Scotland will initially establish up to seven Regional Improvement Collaboratives. To ensure that the regional support arrangements are appropriat…

12 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to energy suppliers to ensure that they are able to install smart meters across Scotland.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Smart Meters rollout is a UK Government policy, led by BEIS and implemented by suppliers. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the roll-out of smart meters as an important national modernisation programme that will bring benefits to Scotti…

12 Jun 2017 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to EIS members considering supporting industrial action.

6 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many school-based counsellors there have been in each local authority area in each year since 2010; how many were new appointments, and what percentage of schools this represents.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.

5 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which definition it uses for (a) additional support needs and (b) complex additional support needs, and in which situations it uses each.

Answer · John Swinney: The term additional support needs is defined by section 1(3) of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 as below: "In this Act, “additional support” means— (a)in relation to an eligible] pre-school child, a child of school age or…

5 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the non-completion rate has been for the Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) (a) Primary and (b) Secondary in each year since 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: Non-continuation rates by subject are available at UK level on the HESA website (https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/performance-indicators/non-continuation, table SN3). Comparable data for Scotland is not currently available.

5 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special school pupils have been assessed as having complex additional support needs in each year since 2010.

Answer · John Swinney: Education authorities are responsible for the identification, provision of support and review of the additional support needs of their pupils under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. Paragraphs 12-15 of Chapter 5 of the statu…

5 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people under 18 have been assessed as having complex additional support needs in each year since 2010.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-09614 on 14 June 2017. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28…

5 Jun 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when its rural payments division will issue advice to the Crofting Commission to determine the sub-let crofting application at Vigga, West Yell, Shetland, which was submitted to the commission on 24 June 2016.

1 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will begin the review of the arrangements for the certificate of eligibility for concessionary travel for people with a mental health condition.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are already reviewing the certificate of eligibility arrangements for people with mental health conditions. A simplified form has been introduced for people with learning difficulties meeting the criteria for concessionary travel. We are now reviewing the …

1 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on national bargaining arrangements being implemented prior to a group of employees being a formal part of the national bargaining framework.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: This is a matter for Colleges Scotland. You may wish to contact them directly for this information.

25 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what means the attainment gap is measured.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government will use the data that will be published each year through the National Improvement Framework Evidence Report to measure the attainment gap at different stages of school, and across literacy and numeracy. The Evidence Report brings tog…

25 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is given during teacher training to address racism and racial harassment in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) accredits all Initial Teacher Education courses. These courses, developed by universities in conjunction with the GTCS, must prepare teachers to meet the Standard for Provisional Registration which is underpinn…

25 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it provides for teachers and support staff on how best to address racist bullying and incidents in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and must be addressed whenever and wherever it arises. We want all children and young people to learn tolerance, respect, equality and good citizenship to address and prevent prejudice. That is why the Scottish Government …

24 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase permanent teacher numbers in rural communities.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is taking a number of actions to help recruit teachers. We are spending £88 million this year to make sure every school has access to the right number of teachers, we have increased student intake targets for the sixth year in a row, w…

24 May 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the terrorism threat level.

11 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, when it will provide a substantive answer to question S5W-08896, which received a holding response on 5 May 2017.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The substantive answer to question S5W-08896 'To ask the Scottish Government by what date the £180 million farm payment system will be operational and fully functioning' is as follows: The Rural Payments and Services IT system has now been operational for ov…

11 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, when it will provide a substantive answer to question S5W-08897, which received a holding response on 5 May 2017.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The substantive answer to S5W-08897 was provided on 11 May 2017

26 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reported comments by the NASUWT teaching union that budget reductions in local authorities and schools are leading to a reduction in support staff roles.

Answer · John Swinney: Local Government Financial Statistics for 2015-16 showed that local authorities spent just over £4.9bn on education in Scotland. This is 2.7 per cent higher than 2014-15 in cash terms and a 1.9 per cent increase in real terms. Of that, £584 million (12% of to…

26 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent teaching support staff there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The ratio of pupils to support staff in local authorities since 2007 is shown in the following table. Table: Pupil1/support staff2,3 ratio by local authority, 2007-2016 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Aberdeen City 20.5 18.9…