Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-04688

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 14 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03029 by John Swinney on 29 September 2016, whether it will provide an update on what progress is being made by the working group, and by what date its recommendations will be published.

The Working Group on Headteacher Recruitment met for the first time on 25 October 2016 and is scheduled to meet again on 30 November 2016 at which point the group intend to discuss possible actions further to the recommendations of the ADES Report. The Working Group has agreed to produce a shared action plan by June 2017. Going forward the Working Group will be jointly chaired by the Scottish Government and COSLA.

Question reference: S5O-00369

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last met the EIS and what matters were discussed.

Question reference: S5W-04447

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04013 by John Swinney on 2 November 2016, whether it will provide a breakdown of the secondary schools that are being supported through the Scottish Attainment Challenge, also broken down by how much each will receive.

The Scottish Attainment Challenge provides both targeted support through the Attainment Scotland Fund and universal support available right across Scotland. Up to 133 secondary schools are being supported by Scottish Attainment Challenge funding following the recent expansion of this programme, while a further 45 have received funding to support innovative projects through the Attainment Challenge Innovation Fund, including some benefitting as part of projects delivered across school clusters.

The first table below shows the funding to individual schools from the Scottish Attainment Challenge and the Innovation Fund. The second table below shows the allocations for the secondary school programme across the 9 Challenge Authorities.

From financial year 2017-18 the additional £100 million per annum that will be raised each year from our Council Tax reforms will be allocated directly to schools. It is likely that the vast majority of publicly funded schools will receive funding.

2016-17 Attainment Challenge Innovation Fund and Schools Programme Funding

Local Authority	School Name	Innovation Fund	School Programme Funding
Aberdeen City	Northfield Academy		£49,428
Aberdeen City	St Machar Academy		£79,206
Aberdeen City	Torry Academy		£64,658
Aberdeen City	Aberdeen Grammar School	£15,362*
Aberdeen City	Bridge of Don Academy	£1,500
Aberdeenshire	Peterhead Academy	£2,000
Angus	Arbroath Academy	£5,500
Clackmannanshire	Alloa Academy	£10,000
Dumfries & Galloway	Sanquhar Academy	£7,153	£56,000
East Ayrshire	Cumnock Academy	£10,000
East Ayrshire	Doon Academy	£10,000
East Ayrshire	St Joseph’s Academy	£10,000
East Dunbartonshire	Kirkintilloch High School	£9,150
East Renfrewshire	St Ninian’s High School	£7,700
East Renfrewshire	Woodfarm High School	£5,270
Edinburgh	Castlebrae Community High	£20,000*	£73,262
Edinburgh	Craigroyston Community High		£99,650
Edinburgh	Holy Rood RC High		£81,880
Edinburgh	Wester Hailes Education Centre		£74,650
Edinburgh City	Broughton High School	£7,300
Edinburgh City	Currie Community High School	£6,650
Edinburgh City	Portobello High School	£5,100
Edinburgh City	Gracemount High School	£5,900
Edinburgh City	Tynecastle High School	£8,330
Na h-Eileanan Siar	Castlebay School	£2,800
Na h-Eileanan Siar	Sgoil Lionacleit	£5,810
Falkirk	Falkirk High School	£7,700	£85,463
Fife	St Columba's High School		£74,913
Fife	Glenwood High School	£9,953	£87,472
Fife	Viewforth High School	£17,550	£72,525
Fife	Glenrothes High School	£14,100
Fife	Inverkeithing High School	£9,932
Fife	Lochgelly High School	£10,000
Fife	Queen Anne High School	£9,991
Glasgow City	Castlemilk High School	£7,000
Glasgow City	Springburn Academy	£7,672
Glasgow City	Whitehill Secondary School	£6,700
Highland	Invergordon Academy		£71,576
Highland	Wick High School	£9,720	£86,102
Highland	Alness Academy		£73,731
Highland	Inverness High	£43,968*	£80,035
Highland	Golspie High School	£18,600*
Highland	Grantown Grammar School	£10,000*
Highland	Kingussie High School	£12,500*
Highland	Kinlochleven High School	£10,000
Highland	Nairn Academy	£8,520
Highland	Portree High School	£10,000
Midlothian	Newbattle High School	£10,000
Moray	Lossiemouth High School	£5,000
North Ayrshire	Ardrossan Academy	£12,796
North Ayrshire	Arran High School	£10,000
North Ayrshire	Garnock Academy	£8,000

North Ayrshire	Greenwood Academy
North Ayrshire	Irvine Royal Academy
North Ayrshire	Kilwinning Academy

£34,200*

North Ayrshire	Largs Academy	£10,000
North Lanarkshire	Chryston High School	£10,000
North Lanarkshire	Dalziel High School	£7,000
Orkney Islands	Kirkwall Grammar School	£28,400*
Perth & Kinross	Perth Academy	£10,000
Perth & Kinross	St John’s RC Academy	£10,000
Scottish Borders	Hawick High School		£97,093
Scottish Borders	Galashiels Academy	£1,865
Scottish Borders	Kelso High School	£26,000*
Scottish Borders	Peebles High School	£56,764*
Shetland Islands	Brae High School	£9,000
Shetland Islands	Sandwick Junior High School	£10,000
South Ayrshire	Ayr Academy		£78,288
South Lanarkshire	Calderside Academy		£89,941
South Lanarkshire	Cathkin High		£74,997
South Lanarkshire	Hamilton Grammar		£77,234
South Lanarkshire	Holy Cross High School		£83,180
South Lanarkshire	Lanark Grammar		£63,710
South Lanarkshire	Larkhall Academy		£94,878
South Lanarkshire	Stonelaw High School		£89,543
South Lanarkshire	Trinity High School		£70,283
South Lanarkshire	Calderglen High School	£10,000
South Lanarkshire	Duncanrig Secondary School	£1,601
South Lanarkshire	Lesmahagow High School	£10,000
South Lanarkshire	St John Ogilvie High School	£8,237
South Lanarkshire	Uddingston Grammar School	£8,500
Stirling	Wallace High School		£93,047
Stirling	Balfron High School	£1,284
Stirling	Stirling High School	£50,000*
West Dunbartonshire	Clydebank High School	£10,000
West Dunbartonshire	Vale of Leven Academy	£10,000
West Lothian	St Kentigern's Academy		£105,313
West Lothian	Bathgate Academy	£39,704*
West Lothian	Broxburn Academy	£7,520
West Lothian	Linlithgow Academy	£10,000
West Lothian	The James Young High School	£47,727*

* Cluster or consortium projects where more than one school is involved. This could include catchment primary schools. The named school is unlikely to be in receipt of all of the funding.

2016-17 Challenge Authorities – Secondary Programme

Local Authority	Number of secondary schools	Authority funding allocation
Clackmannanshire	3	£300,000
Dundee	9	£727,077
East Ayrshire	9	£1,038,406
Glasgow	30	£3,100,000
Inverclyde	6	£540,894
North Ayrshire	9	£740,215
North Lanarkshire	23	£1,644,687
Renfrewshire	11	£533,369
West Dunbartonshire	5	£572,960

Question reference: S5W-04581

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the evidence by the Director General Economy to the Public Audit Committee on 29 September 2016 (Official Report, c. 28) that, “we will not be sending out letters before 15 October”, when letters to applicants detailing payments made under the Basic Payment Scheme will be sent by the Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID).

Letters detailing payments under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme will start to be issued from late November and will go out in batches over the following weeks.

All customers can register to use the online portal through which they can access information about their claims and payments. For those who need help getting online, equipment is available for use in areas offices where appointments can be booked with staff.

Question reference: S5W-04612

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03831 by Michael Russell on 7 November 2016, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding how it defines (a) hard and (b) soft Brexit.

As answered on 7 November 2016, a ‘hard brexit’ would remove the UK not just from the EU but from the single market as well. The Scottish Government is committed to protecting Scotland’s interests and considers that this means remaining in the single market. The Scottish Government will publish proposals over the coming weeks for an alternative to a “hard Brexit” that would allow Scotland to stay in the single market and to preserve key aspects of our relationship with the EU.

Question reference: S5W-04406

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it is engaging with the UK Government to extend the post-study work visa pilot scheme to universities in Scotland.

The Tier 4 student visa pilot scheme falls far short of our calls for a post study work visa, and we remain concerned that the scheme was introduced without any consultation with the Scottish Government or Scottish higher education institutions.

The Minister for International Development and Europe and I jointly wrote to the UK Immigration Minister on 5 August, asking that he reconsider widening the scope of the pilot to include Scottish higher education institutions.

The UK Government's current post study work offer is not adequate for Scotland and we have pressed the UK Government for a number of months to meet with us and discuss this issue further. The Minister for International Development and Europe has requested a meeting with the UK Immigration Minister to discuss both post study work opportunities and the scope of the Tier 4 Pilot, and I understand that a date for that meeting has now been agreed.

Question reference: S5W-04481

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 15 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding resettling child refugees from the Calais refugee camp.

I met with the Immigration Minister on 11 October 2016 to discuss issues relating to refugees and asylum. During the meeting, I raised the plight of unaccompanied child refugees and made clear that Scotland was willing to play its part in helping to facilitate the transfer of such children.

I have also written to the Immigration Minister on a number of occasions to raise matters of concern in relation to the asylum system and refugees. On 22 August 2016, I wrote to him about the circumstances of unaccompanied child refugees across Europe to urge him to increase the speed of response to the crisis.

Question reference: S5W-04509

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 04 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04062 by Kevin Stewart on 3 November 2016, when it will carry out the review of the Highland Self Build Loan Fund.

Question reference: S5W-04349

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 15 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe on 27 September 2016 (Official Report, c. 62), that he did not recognise figures from the Treasury suggesting that there is a £1,600 "bonus" per-person in Scotland as a result of living in the UK, and its use of Treasury figures in its publication, Potential Implications of the UK Leaving the EU on Scotland's Long Run Economic Performance, what basis it uses to reject or accept figures published by the Treasury

The Scottish Government published analysis on 23 August 2016 summarising the potential impact that leaving the EU could have on Scotland’s GDP. This analysis was based on a range of recent studies by the Centre for Economic Performance, HM Treasury, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), the OECD, PWC and the CBI.

There is a clear consensus among forecasters that leaving the European Union will damage the UK economy. The analysis highlights the potential costs of leaving the EU and implies that by 2030 output in the Scottish economy could be up to £11.2 billion lower compared to forecast GDP in the absence of Brexit.

Subsequent analysis by the Fraser of Allander Institute confirms the risks Brexit poses to Scotland’s economy, predicting that after ten years, GDP could be over 5% (£8 billion in 2015-16 terms) lower after leaving the EU than would otherwise be the case.

Question reference: S5W-03889

Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists and (b) vacancies for child and adolescent psychiatrists there have been in each of the last five years.

Since 2009 the overall CAMHS workforce has increased by 27.7%, to 976.1 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE).

Over the next five years we will be investing £150 million in mental health innovation, including £15 million to support better access to CAMHS.

Information on: a) the number of child and adolescent psychiatrists in post and: b) the number of vacant child and adolescent psychiatrist posts for each of the last five years is published by ISD Scotland and is shown in the following tables.

Table 1. Number (WTE) of child and adolescent psychiatrists in post by NHS Board each year from 30 September 2012 to 30 June 2016.

	Sep-12	Sep-13	Sep-14	Sep-15	Jun-16
NHSScotland	70.7	73.6	91.0	81.1	82.2

Source: Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS).

Table 2. Number (WTE) of child and adolescent consultant psychiatrists vacancies by NHS Board each year from 30 September 2012 to 30 June 2016.

	Sep-12	Sep-13	Sep-14	Sep-15	Jun-16
NHSScotland	1.8	2.0	6.0	8.1	10.5

Source: ISD(M)36c

Notes:

In March 2014 the definition of a vacancy changed to a post which has been cleared for advert after being through the redeployment process (internal or external advert) and remains a vacancy until an individual starts in the post. Prior to this, a vacancy stopped being classified as such at the point when the post was offered to someone and accepted. The impact of this change is a significant increase in the number of reported vacancies.

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