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Core Purpose and Strategic Priorities

The new agency is to be established as a key national body supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education by:

leading and supporting the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence;

increasing the capacity for self-evaluation and self-improvement amongst education providers and practitioners;

promoting high quality professional learning and leadership;

identifying and stimulating innovation, sharing successful approaches widely with others;

providing independent external evaluations of the quality of educational provision at individual provider, local authority and partners, and national levels, and

supporting the development and implementation of policy at National Level.

Values and Operating Principles

The new agency will work in partnership alongside the full range of bodies and organisations active in the field of Scottish education, from local authorities to further and higher education, third sector and parent groups, according to their own statutory and other duties and capabilities. It will:

focus on delivering value and enhanced capacity to front-line providers and practitioners.

promote and support a climate of ambition that maximises effective local developments and implementation.

be capable of providing consistent, flexible and proportionate support, based on the presumption that the majority of educational establishments are well run organisations, not in need of major intervention;

have the capacity to intervene strongly wherever there is evidence that education providers are not ensuring satisfactory quality and standards through their own action;

be characterised by an ethos of trust, partnership openness, excellence, and accountability, and

be driven by end-user accountability, and committed to the continuous improvement of the quality of its own services.

Activity

The agency will inherit the full range of functions currently being undertaken by Her Majesty''s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS);

It will assume responsibility from the Scottish Government Learning Directorate for aspects of activity supporting Continuing Professional Development at national level;

Ministers, on the advice of Scottish Government policy departments, will continue to set policy and strategy for the public sector and the education system at a national level, including the broad framework of policy for scrutiny and inspection in each sector;

The agency will take over responsibility for the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board and Excellence Groups from October 2011, or when all major policy decisions have been agreed;

The agency will collate and analyse intelligence and data from all its support and improvement activities in Scotland, and knowledge of effective international practice. Other evidence and analysis functions will sit as currently with the Scottish Government;

On the formation of the agency on 1 July, there will be a seamless continuity in the operation of the various programmes run by these entities;

The continuous improvement of these programmes will be driven over time by the senior team and staff of the agency to best meet the strategic priorities set out above, and

Future changes in the agency''s activity and the timeframe for its implementation will be determined in concert with key delivery partners as appropriate.

Ethos

In order to most fulfil effectively its remit, the new agency will aim to be:

flexible, non-hierarchical, with open lines of communication throughout the organisation, and people coming together to work on specific projects according to their skills, interests and abilities;

expert in relationship management and the facilitation of highly effective collaborative partnership working, within and beyond the education sector, Scotland-wide and internationally, and

evidence-based, and capable of rapid, flexible response, but not rule bound and heavily bureaucratic.

Benefits

The key benefits to accrue from the establishment of the agency are:

a single point of contact for the range of support services currently offered;

improved flows of information, knowledge and skills between review activity and support activity that builds on existing local arrangements;

closer integration of the provision of support services among the organisations being brought together;

more proportionate, streamlined and flexible use of resources, to deliver against an over-arching strategy;

extension of the principle of earned autonomy and trust, enabling establishments to determine - with their natural partners - their own strengths/opportunities/development areas where they have demonstrated their ability to manage their development effectively, and

the opportunity to make full use of the experience and skills of staff coming into the organisation.

The output for each area would reflect the differences in:

Profile of housing stock types;

Fuel use distribution across each of those dwelling types;

Geographical differences such as latitude and elevation, and

Climatic variation such as the degree day region and average wind-speed.

The following table shows the estimated percentage for the differences in the principal heating system fuels and the difference overall.

Percentage Difference, by Area, of Heating Fuel Required Relative to Bristol

Source: Scottish House Condition Survey 2009.

QM was tasked to consider the following:

the best future delivery model for the functions currently carried out by HIAL;

company performance since 1999;

the internal structures of HIAL;

the government/HIAL working relationship, and

working relations with other stakeholders.

A joint HIAL/Scottish Government Steering Group was formed to guide the Review and the work of QM. QM''s final report was presented to the Scottish Government in April 2009 and a copy has been provided to the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib number 52068).

The most significant conclusions from QM''s work were that:

HIAL''s current status as a public corporation is best in moving forward on the basis that it affords the Scottish Government an appropriate and cost effective level of control over air service provision in the Highlands and Islands;

the company should be afforded more flexibility on certain pay and staffing matters;

a review of operating costs, subsidy levels and potentially categorisation should be conducted for Wick and Campbeltown Airports;

the potential for operational efficiencies at Scatsta and Sumburgh Airports should be reviewed, and

consideration should be given to HIAL bringing Highlands and Islands local authority owned airports into the group.

For the reasons provided by QM, we agree with the conclusion that HIAL should remain a Public Corporation.

On more flexibility for the company on pay policy, we agree that this would be a reasonable consideration for the company and whilst it would be free to present a business case, it should be clarified that ministers are not minded at this point to remove from public sector pay policy rules those Scottish public bodies which they currently apply to.

Ministers remain committed to Wick and Campbeltown having appropriate transport connections. Whilst it is appropriate for HIAL to consider costs, subsidy levels and value for money at these airports, ministers believe that when considering the remoteness of the areas they serve and the lengthy surface connections which are often involved, their mainland status should not be a factor in any analysis or decisions taken.

The Scottish Government''s full response to the conclusions in QM''s report has been provided to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52068).

We will now draw up an action plan in consultation with HIAL covering those conclusions agreed.

Particular examples of marketing campaigns which help attract visitors to the Western Isles include: A Perfect Day; Autumn Moments, Meet the Scots and of course the visitor guide for the Outer Hebrides which is available in over 100 visitor information centres across Scotland.

I am delighted to report that we agreed a revised and updated Memorandum of Understanding, the first since 2001, which includes a new protocol on dispute avoidance and resolution. These new agreements give Scotland a strong platform from which to advance its interests.

The meeting also held a useful discussion about meeting the challenges of the downturn through integrating employment and skills support and agreed that in recognition of the particular relevance and timeliness of this issue a follow-up discussion between the relevant Ministers of the four administrations should take place shortly.

I am placing a copy of the revised Memorandum of Understanding in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 50576).

In relation to charging for residential care and assessing ability to pay, it is the responsibility of local authorities to interpret and apply the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992. If a local authority is of the view that a croft tenancy constitutes capital for the purposes of those Regulations it will also need to consider whether the circumstances require or permit the application of a capital disregard. The resolution of a dispute over the interpretation of the Regulations is a matter for the courts.

In the case of a marital dispute the division of assets is a matter for those involved, and may require to be determined by the courts if an amicable or mediated solution can not be agreed.

Against a background of a particularly challenging economic climate and the tough effort restrictions affecting a proportion of Scotland''s industry, the deal includes effective rollovers and quota increases for some of Scotland''s most valuable stocks while also ensuring that the sustainability of our stocks remains our primary concern. The £6.9 million North Sea and west of Scotland megrim fisheries will see a 10% quota increase in 2010. There will be a quota rollover for the monkfish fishery, worth over £28 million in 2008, with a flexibility provision which will allow up to 5% of the North Sea quota (460 tonnes) to be taken in the west of Scotland. This provision has been a long-standing request from the Scottish industry.

The cuts in nephrops and west of Scotland haddock quotas originally proposed have been mitigated. There is an effective rollover in the north Sea nephrops quota (a cut of 0.6%) and a 15% cut in the west of Scotland nephrops quota which is broadly in line with industry expectations at a time when Scotland only catches around two-thirds of its west coast nephrops quota. While the west of Scotland haddock quota will be reduced by 25% in 2010 rather than the proposed 54% cut, the European Commission has agreed to look again in early 2010 at the emergency technical measures re-imposed on the west coast at the November Council.

Council also confirmed the Commission''s decision to exempt from further cuts in days at sea 67 west coast vessels that catch a very low percentage of cod.

The Fisheries Council took place against the backdrop of the recent postponement of the EU-Norway negotiations. However, Council agreed to set interim quotas for stocks such as North Sea cod, North Sea haddock and mackerel to ensure fishermen can continue to go to sea while these talks are concluded.

The Council also approved a catch less, land more trial, which Scotland, in partnership with Denmark, Germany and the UK, has been promoting as another innovative way of rewarding fishermen for their conservation efforts. In return for catching and discarding less, fishermen will be allowed to land and earn more. This initiative will build on the success of Scotland''s Conservation Credits Scheme which rewards fishermen for pro-conservation activities with additional days at sea.

I will be writing to the Convener of the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee in the coming days to set out the full details of the quota changes and other measures agreed at this week''s Council.