Siobhan McMahon

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many school pupils have been (a) suspended and (b) excluded in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) local authority area and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: The requested information is given in the following four tables. Number of pupils temporarily excluded by local authority, 2005-06 to 2009-10. 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Aberdeen City 895 934 818 710 745 Aberdeenshire 665 751 66…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average absence rate of school pupils has been in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: Information on the absence rate of school pupils by local authority in each of the last three years is published in table 2.4 of a supplementary dataset to the national statistics publication Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland, No 1: 2010 Edition on t…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average tariff score of S4 pupils has been in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: Information on the average tariff score of S4 pupils by local authority in each of the last five years is given in the following table:  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Aberdeen City 169 162 167 169 177 Aberdeenshire 191 188 189 190 …

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average tariff score of school leavers has been in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: Information on the average tariff score of school leavers by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) in each of the last three years is published in table eight of the national statistics publication Summary statistics for attainment, leaver destination…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question to S4W-02296 by Michael Russell on 14 September 2011, what percentage of school leavers is in positive follow-up destinations, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Michael Russell: As stated on 14 September 2011, information on the percentage of school leavers in positive follow-up destinations in each of the last three years is published in a supplementary data set on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topi…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) P3, (b) P5, (c) P7 and (d) S2 pupils has met expected attainment levels in mathematics in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: Results from the 2008 Scottish Survey of Achievement, which covered mathematics, are available on the government website using the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/02133043/0. The publication includes analysis using the Scottis…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) P3, (b) P5, (c) P7 and (d) S2 pupils has met expected attainment levels of writing in each of the last five years broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: Results from the 2009 Scottish Survey of Achievement, which covered writing, are available on the government website using the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/02/22135127/0. The publication includes analysis using the Scottish In…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) P3, (b) P5, (c) P7 and (d) S2 pupils has met expected attainment levels in numeracy in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: Results from the 2008 Scottish Survey of Achievement, which covered mathematics, including numeracy, are available on the government website using the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/02133043/0. The publication includes analys…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) P3, (b) P5, (c) P7 and (d) S2 pupils has met expected attainment levels in reading in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: Results from the 2009 Scottish Survey of Achievement, which covered reading, are available on the government website using the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/02/22135127/0. The publication includes analysis using the Scottish In…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) three and (b) five year-olds has met expected levels of problem solving ability in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: This data is not collected centrally. However, information on children’s scores on vocabulary and problem solving ability at age three and five were collected as part of the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study in 2007-08 and 2009-10. This information is set ou…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) three and (b) five year-olds has met expected levels of vocabulary ability in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03330 on 7 November 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason youth unemployment in the Falkirk Council area increased from 1,175 in November 2010 to 1,395 in April 2011.

Answer · John Swinney: The figures quoted compare the 18-24 Claimant Count, not official ILO unemployment figures, for November 2010 and April 2011. Valid comparisons can only be made on changes over a whole year, or multiples thereof, but not intermediate months, as seasonal effe…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to replace or reform the Community Care Grant when it is devolved.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We are currently consulting on the successor arrangements for community care grants and crisis loans for living expenses. We will make decisions on future arrangements in the light of the responses.

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) mid-market rent, (b) market rent and (c) shared-equity properties were or have been made available in the (i) Falkirk East, (ii) Airdrie and Shotts and (iii) Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse parliamentary constituencies in (A) 2007, (B) 2008, (C) 2009, (D) 2010 and (E) 2011.…

Answer · Keith Brown: The information requested is not held by Parliamentary Constituency but is provided at local authority level. There were no mid-market rent properties made available in Falkirk, North or South Lanarkshire within these years, and we do not hold information cen…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are on housing waiting lists, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Keith Brown: The total number of applicants on local authority housing lists and common housing registers - including a split between waiting and transfer lists - is published annually at local authority level on the Housing Statistics for Scotland web pages of the Scotti…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition is of (a) an affordable and (b) a socially rented home.

Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish Planning Policy defines affordable housing broadly as housing of a reasonable quality that is affordable to people on modest incomes. This includes social rented accommodation, mid-market rented accommodation, shared ownership, shared equity, discoun…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the number of unemployed people in the Falkirk Council area increased from 4,072 in August 2010 to 4,667 in August 2011.

Answer · John Swinney: We cannot state definitively the reasons for this rise. What we do know is that during the six month period from 1 April to 30 September 2011 a total of 219 individuals and four companies were supported in the Falkirk area through PACE (Partnership Action for…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to reform the Community Care Grant application process when it is devolved.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We are currently consulting on the successor arrangements for community care grants and crisis loans. We will make decisions on future arrangements, including the allocation of funding, in the light of the responses.

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is assisting those aged between 18 and 24 who are assessed as priority homeless.

Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish local authorities have the statutory duty to assess all those who present as homeless. People aged 18 to 24 who are assessed as priority homeless applicants will be entitled to settled accommodation, if also found to be unintentionally homeless. Tho…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason female unemployment levels in the Falkirk Council area increased from 1,178 in August 2010 to 1,485 in August 2011.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-03327 on 3 November 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamenta…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are in place to reduce (a) female, (b) male and (c) youth unemployment in the Falkirk Council area.

Answer · John Swinney: Falkirk's local employability partnership brings to together a range of agencies with a view to helping residents of the area to overcome their barriers to work. Contacts and details of the partnership's work can be obtained through Falkirk's page on the empl…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what schemes are in place to assist young people onto the property ladder.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is continuing to help first time buyers of all ages through its Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) schemes. We recently announced a further allocation of £4.65 million for 2011-12 to help first time buyers’ access home ow…

25 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average duration is of an apprenticeship in each scheme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The modern apprenticeship programme is set up to ensure that training is undertaken at the pace of the learner.

25 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many annual places are available in each apprenticeship scheme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has committed to offer 25,000 publicly supported modern apprenticeship (MA) places in 2011-12, and each year of this parliament. Apprentice numbers following each framework vary year - year, depending on employer demand. Skills Develop…

25 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which apprenticeship schemes classify participants as being employed by the organisation delivering the scheme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to respond to you with this information.

25 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been awarded to each apprenticeship scheme in 2011-12 and how much was awarded in each of the last three years.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: In 2010-11 modern apprenticeship funding was £69 million, in 2009-10 the cost was £60 million, and in 2008-09 the cost was £54 million. The level of funding for each apprenticeship varies depending on the framework followed and the age of the apprentice. You…

25 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what qualifications are awarded on completion of each apprenticeship scheme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Certification is the responsibility of the relevant Sector Skills Council. However, as a minimum apprentices will achieve an SVQ at the appropriate level for their role, between SVQ levels 2-5. They will also achieve core skills, again at varying levels appro…

25 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which apprenticeship schemes are delivered by (a) charitable and (b) commercial organisations.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to respond to you with this information.

25 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the drop-out rate is for each apprenticeship scheme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: In 2010-11 the overall completion rate for the Modern Apprenticeship programme was 71% and the drop out rate was 29%. Skills Development Scotland publish statistics on apprenticeships, including early leavers from the programme. You can find MA statistics on …

25 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what apprenticeship schemes there are in place.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Skills Development Scotland (SDS) operate the modern apprenticeship programme on behalf of The Scottish Government. There are more than 80 Modern Apprenticeship frameworks available, between SVQ levels 2-5 across a broad range of occupational sectors. A list…