- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in taking forward its Indian Subcontinent Development Programme.
Answer
The consultation phase of the South Asia Development Programme (the name of which has been confirmed following feedback from stakeholders) has been completed. Advice on the scope and funding approach for the programme will be announced in due course.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 27 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the successful bids for the first tranche of town centre regeneration funding.
Answer
We anticipate being in a position to announce successful bids around the end of July 2009.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered extending its international development work to include South America.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to extend the geographical focus of its international development policy to include South America and we have already committed the majority of the available international development fund resources for the period to the end of this Parliament''s lifetime.
As I intimated to the European and External Relations Committee on 31 March, the Scottish Government does intend to consider its engagement with South American countries over the coming months, in order to identify the right priorities in line with our purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances it would reject an application for the exceptional closure of a school.
Answer
In each case, the individual circumstances are carefully considered. Concerns which may lead to an application being rejected would usually focus around the potential loss of education to the pupils affected and the extent to which parents or parent organisations have been consulted about the proposed closure.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a minimum notice period required prior to the granting of an exceptional closure request for a school.
Answer
Although Section 133(4) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 does not specify a minimum period of notice, ministers require adequate time to give any such application appropriate consideration.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it gives to education authorities wishing to avail themselves of the exceptional closures provision in respect of schools.
Answer
No formal guidance has been issued. Under the Schools General (Scotland) Regulations 1975, schools are required to be open for a minimum of 190 days per year. If there are exceptional circumstances which, in authorities'' consideration, make it unreasonable that the regulations should apply, they may seek ministers'' agreement, under the terms of Section 133(4) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to a disapplication.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for exceptional closures of schools have been submitted to the Scottish Government by education authorities in the last 12 months.
Answer
There have been around 70 applications for exceptional closures of schools submitted in the last 12 months, applications which in some cases covered more than one school.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it expects education authorities to undertake prior to applying for the exceptional closure of a school.
Answer
The expectation is that authorities will have consulted parents or parent representatives at the school.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for exceptional closures of schools by education authorities have been rejected in the last 12 months.
Answer
None of the 70 applications was rejected outright, although in a number of cases individual school approval was refused or granted for a reduced number of days'' closure.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 July 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many individual schools have been affected by the rejection of applications for exceptional closure from education authorities.
Answer
There were 34 schools affected in applications that were either partially refused or where the number of days applied for was reduced.
