Education and Lifelong Learning
The next item of business is portfolio question time. As ever, to enable as many members as possible to speak, I would prefer short, succinct questions and answers to match.
First Aid Cover (Primary Schools and Nurseries)
To ask the Scottish Government what provision primary schools and nurseries make for first aid cover. (S4O-03571)
The provision of first aid in primary schools and nurseries is a matter for the education authority or nursery provider itself in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Occupiers’ Liability (Scotland) Act 1960 and, where appropriate, the Schools (Safety and Supervision of Pupils) Scotland Regulations 1990.
A constituent of mine has questioned Glasgow City Council about first aid in its schools, which seem to rely entirely on volunteers and often have no cover whatever. That concerns both my constituent and me. Is the minister willing to look into the issue and perhaps raise it with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities?
As I said, the 1990 regulations make certain specifications in the area and, in the first instance, any specific concerns that the member has should be raised with the local authority concerned. The Scottish Government is leading a review of the administration of issues such as medicines in schools.
Referendum (Evaluation of Help for Young Voters)
To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation will be done of the work carried out by schools to help prepare 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the referendum. (S4O-03572)
Education Scotland undertook an interim evaluation of a sample of primary and secondary schools between January and June 2014 to evaluate the approaches that were being adopted to promote political literacy and to prepare young people to vote in the referendum. The evaluation involved discussions with school staff, with partners including the Electoral Commission and with pupils themselves, and it found that, in best practice, schools demonstrated clear vision and strong leadership for the development of young people’s political literacy. Education Scotland is committed to sharing that good practice more widely.
I am sure that, like me, the minister welcomes the cross-party support that exists for 16 and 17-year-olds voting in future elections. Does he agree that, during the referendum campaign, different schools tended to take different approaches and that, if 16 and 17-year-olds are to get the vote on a more permanent basis in the future, a more consistent approach to how young people engage in the political process should be taken across all schools?
As both I and the member have mentioned, schools have an array of different strategies to support the development of responsible citizenship, and one of the tenets of curriculum for excellence is to encourage that diversity of approach. However, many schools have also established successful engagement with partners, including the Scottish Parliament education service and electoral registration officers, who have ensured that, this time around, young people have taken up the right that I think we all want them to take up in all future elections.
Information and Communication Technology in Education Excellence Group
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in implementing the recommendations of the ICT in education excellence group. (S4O-03573)
A range of activity to take forward the recommendations has been undertaken. Investment in glow has continued and, last weekend, glow was fully transitioned to a new, flexible, cloud-based arrangement. Nationally procured core services including collaboration tools, email, blogs, wikis and storage have been implemented and users can now personalise their own glow services through a library of educational applications.
Support and training are available to help teachers to make informed decisions on how best to use glow, and options for the future evolution of glow are being considered.
Some local authorities, including Dumfries and Galloway Council, are now considering how pupils’ use of their own information technology devices in school might have a positive impact on teaching and learning. What advice and support is the Scottish Government offering to councils that are considering introducing that policy?
We are at the stage at which it could be said that glow is almost device agnostic—it is encouraging of new approaches—and we are supportive of that attitude. Through our technical and operational advisory group, which is comprised of ICT managers, information security officers and others, we will continue to promote that diversity of approach.
Relationship, Sexual Health and Parenting Education (Guidance)
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updated guidance for the delivery of relationship, sexual health and parenting education. (S4O-03574)
Relationship, sexual health and parenthood education is an integral part of the health and wellbeing organiser of the curriculum. We will publish finalised guidance on that later this year. We recognise the importance of the guidance and want to ensure that we strike the right balance.
The Scottish Youth Parliament has conducted research about the extent of RSHPE in schools, and “Lessons for Scotland from the Jay Report into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham: A Barnardo’s Scotland discussion paper” has shown its importance for child protection. What action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that we have top-quality RSHPE in all schools?
Marco Biagi rightly highlights the importance of the issue. The contribution of the Scottish Youth Parliament and others has been important in highlighting a range of issues including, for instance, the importance that the SYP attaches to teaching young people about consent.
We all agree about the importance of ensuring that quality sex and relationship education is in place and we work together with many stakeholders to ensure that that happens.
College Mergers (Effect on Staff)
To ask the Scottish Government how many further education college staff have had pay reductions or an increase in working hours following the recent merger process. (S4O-03575)
The Scottish Government does not hold such information centrally. It is for individual colleges as employers to determine appropriate pay, terms and conditions for their staff.
I am sure that the minister appreciates the difficulty in trying to harmonise terms and conditions throughout Scotland, particularly when lecturers might have enjoyed different salary levels, levels of contact time or study leave. Will he assure me that lecturers in, for example, the newly merged Ayrshire College who might previously have enjoyed more favourable terms and conditions will not be forced by underhand tactics—such as being forced to apply for jobs at lower grades—to accept lower terms and conditions of employment?
I am glad that Ken Macintosh is converted to the concept of national terms and conditions. He and his colleagues voted against it in the Post-16 Education (Scotland) Act 2013, but I am glad that he welcomes it now.
I am keen that harmonisation takes place through negotiation between the trade unions and employers but, as the trade unions will no doubt confirm, that negotiation will have to ensure that no individual suffers in the process and that, over a period, all individuals are satisfied that their interests are being met. That is the aim of the harmonisation process within colleges and nationally, and I am keen that it produces the best results for all staff individually and collectively.
The cabinet secretary mentioned the Post-16 Education (Scotland) Act 2013. One of the key strengths of that act was the reintroduction of collective bargaining in the college sector, a move which the Labour members of the Parliament voted against. Will he confirm that the colleges will take that forward in the future?
Absolutely. I am glad that all members—I hope it is all members—now support national pay bargaining, because it is an important element of the reforms that took place.
Colleges Scotland is providing support for a series of committees that will determine the new national salary and terms and conditions of service for the sector. The first meeting of the national joint negotiating committee for college staff took place in June 2014. The process will be difficult and complex, because there were many, many terms and conditions. Indeed, I have made that point often in this chamber—at one stage, there were 43 sets of terms and conditions and only 41 colleges. It will take work, but the unions are engaged in the process; management is engaged in the process; and it is backed by the Government.
Post-study Work Visa (Reintroduction)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the United Kingdom Government about reintroducing the post-study work visa. (S4O-03576)
The Scottish Government was opposed to the abolition of the post-study work visa and we want the ability to reintroduce the visa in Scotland. Last week, we submitted evidence to the UK all-party parliamentary group on migration inquiry into the closure of the post-study work route. The evidence made clear the negative impact that the closure of the route has had on international student numbers, on businesses and on universities and colleges.
I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. Can he confirm that he will work with Universities Scotland and others who wish to see a reintroduction of the post-study work route to ensure that the Smith commission will consider devolving immigration?
Indeed. Of course, the clearest and most obvious way to have immigration controlled by the Scottish Parliament would be to support independence. However, given the present constitutional set-up, it is more than possible to see how migration and immigration issues could be devolved. Indeed, if Gordon Brown is honest to his intention of introducing a federal structure, there are federal structures that work in that way. For example, in Quebec, there is shared sovereignty over the issues of migration. Of course, in those circumstances, I would want control of the issue to be vested in this Parliament so that we can advantage Scotland and advantage those who want to come and study and work here.
College Sector (Severance Packages)
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on severance packages in the college sector since 2011. (S4O-03577)
The information is not held centrally, but I have asked the chief executive of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to write to the member.
As the cabinet secretary knows, almost £500,000 in severance payments was shared between the principal and the vice-principal of the former North Glasgow College, and Audit Scotland has raised serious questions over the process that led to those packages being agreed. Can the cabinet secretary tell me who was involved in the agreement of those packages and what knowledge he had of them at the time?
Of course, the Government has no knowledge of arrangements that are made between employers and employees, but I am very happy to say to the member that I thoroughly disapprove of circumstances in which individuals are seen to be in receipt of payments whose amount is questioned by other people. I have said that about university salaries, I have said that about other salaries, and I say that about severance payments. A sense of responsibility needs to be observed in such matters, so I am quite happy to work with the member and others to ensure that, if questions are raised—as there have been over that case and others—those questions are fully investigated and any responsibility is understood.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Awareness and Understanding in Schools)
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase awareness and understanding of autistic spectrum disorder in schools. (S4O-03578)
Education authorities have duties to identify, make provision for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including pupils with autism spectrum disorder. To improve awareness and understanding of autism in schools, I launched the autism toolbox website in April, at Grangemouth high school. Delegates included teachers, educational support staff and pupils. The toolbox website encourages best practice in schools. It also provides a forum for updating and disseminating good practice.
I am grateful to the Scottish Government for launching the autism toolbox. Can the minister update the chamber on how that is being promoted within education authorities and in individual schools and how it will be monitored and reviewed? Can he also consider how issues around autistic spectrum disorder and other additional support needs are captured in teacher training to ensure that newly qualified teachers have a good grounding in and understanding of those conditions?
The member has a commendable record on raising these issues. Scottish Autism has contacted all education authorities with the offer of awareness sessions about the toolbox. The sessions have already reached more than 1,500 delegates. To enable the Scottish Government to monitor the promotion of the toolbox, Scottish Autism provides us with regular updates about the take-up of awareness sessions and about the usage of the toolbox.
Gaelic-medium Education (Number of Pupils)
To ask the Scottish Government what the trends are in the number of children in Gaelic-medium education. (S4O-03579)
The overall trend in the number of children in Gaelic-medium education shows an increase, as can be seen in the number of pupils entering primary 1 Gaelic-medium education classes, which has increased from 406 in 2011-12 to 428 in 2012-13, 486 in 2013-14 and 536 in 2014-15.
The minister will no doubt be aware of the £36 million investment that is planned for a new school for Kilmarnock, £1 million of which will support a magnificent Gaelic two-to-18 campus. With a project of that scale being delivered, does the minister see further opportunities to develop Gaelic and perhaps to reach out to parents in the wider community to encourage them to take an interest in Scotland’s language?
The Scottish Government is always happy, as Willie Coffey says, to reach out to the community of parents who, whether they are with or without Gaelic, have an interest in ensuring that their children have a bilingual education. The support that is on offer from the Scottish Government has been made use of enthusiastically in East Ayrshire.
Postgraduate Masters Degrees (Student Funding)
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on funding for people studying for postgraduate masters degrees. (S4O-03580)
In the academic year 2013-14, the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council introduced 850 fully funded postgraduate diploma and masters places up to 2016-17. Encouraging more Scottish students to participate in postgraduate study is a priority for the Government. Increased participation in postgraduate study can help to improve employment prospects for graduates and the competitiveness of the Scottish economy. We have been examining our overall support package for taught postgraduate students, and I intend to make an announcement about that in the near future.
I am aware that, last year, the cabinet secretary announced that Scottish postgraduate students who study eligible courses will be able to get an additional loan of up to £4,500 from 2015-16. Has consideration been given to extending the number of courses that are eligible for the incoming loan facility?
I am glad that Roderick Campbell has drawn attention to the additional loan for living costs that will be available from 2015-16. I acknowledge his long-standing interest in the matter, in particular in the funding of the postgraduate legal diploma.
We are examining our overall support package for taught postgraduate students, as I have said, including the eligible course list, which is a complex matter given the range of subjects. As I promised Roderick Campbell, I will make an announcement about that in the near future.
I am pleased to hear that postgraduate funding is a priority for the Government. Taught postgraduate degree fees for humanities at the University of Edinburgh increased by 42 per cent last year from £7,000 to £10,000, with a significant reduction in the number of Scottish students doing postgraduate study. One course at Edinburgh has had no Scottish students for four years. What is being done to help Scottish students and students from poorer backgrounds to access those postgrad courses?
I am glad that Mary Scanlon is concerned about that. It is important that we support students in every way that we can. One of the main disincentives for study, both at undergraduate and at postgraduate level, is the level of debt that will be incurred. In Scotland, we have the lowest level of undergraduate debt, and I intend to keep it that way. We now want to ensure that postgraduate students, given the debt that they incur, are similarly helped. The announcements that I have made to date have been directed towards that aim.
More can be done. We are operating in a hostile financial environment, and in an environment in which there is considerable pressure south of the border to increase student borrowings. If Mary Scanlon will lend her support to the Government in its aim to keep Scottish education free, that will assist Scottish recruitment to postgraduate study over time. I will be glad to have that support from Tory members.
National Qualifications (Grades)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that grades awarded in the new national qualifications are considered to be equal across all subjects. (S4O-03581)
The Scottish Qualifications Authority is responsible for ensuring that standards and grades remain consistent across all subjects from year to year, and it has robust processes in place to ensure that. The SQA is confident that those standards have been applied to the new qualifications certificated in 2014.
Is the minister aware of the article in The Times Educational Supplement Scotland on 12 September with the headline “Teachers reach boiling point over physics marking”, in which education experts are reported as expressing concerns that the new national exams are making science subjects too difficult and that teachers in physics in particular are concerned that their subject will suffer because good marks have been so hard to come by this year? Does he recognise those concerns and how would he respond to the experts and teachers who believe that science subjects in general, and physics in particular, will suffer a long-term decline in relation to other subjects because obtaining good marks will be comparatively more difficult?
The member will of course be aware that the issue of marking is for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. However, I can say that the SQA, which has 15,000 experts across different subjects, goes to great effort to ensure that no cohort of people sitting an exam is in any way disadvantaged or advantaged and to ensure that, from year to year, the grade boundaries take cognisance of any variations that are perceived in the exams. In the year that has gone past, a record number of people got highers. In fact, I think that I may be right in saying that record numbers have gone forward for highers in science subjects, at a time when the pass rate has not gone up. That shows that in Scotland we are not only maintaining high standards of which we should be proud but increasing access.
On the implementation of the new national qualifications, we have teachers who have never been so angry and parents and pupils have been worried and stressed. Yesterday, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning told the Education and Culture Committee that he has made mistakes. When people make mistakes, the normal thing to do is to apologise for them. Will the minister do what Mike Russell did not do yesterday and apologise to teachers, parents and pupils in Scotland for his Government’s mismanagement of the curriculum for excellence, or is he, too, happy to hide behind everybody else?
If that was a question rather than just a series of complaints about humanity, I would like to say that I think that we should, as a country and an education system, be very proud of the efforts that teachers and young people have gone to and of their achievements. We certainly should not say anything that suggests that this year’s qualifications are somehow to be disparaged. There is every reason to be proud of this year’s achievements. Of course we want to learn from the way in which we implement things and do things even better in the future, but we should be proud that, this year, the number of highers is up, as I just mentioned. There is every indication that young people are achieving and achieving well.
Question 12, from Jenny Marra, has not been lodged. An explanation was provided.
Children and Young People’s Summit
To ask the Scottish Government how plans for the children and young people’s summit are progressing. (S4O-03583)
The children and young people’s summit will bring together children, young people, those who support them and wider civic society. It will provide an opportunity to harness the renewed interest in the positive, energising and consented improvement that we have seen over the past two years. That was personified in the two young women whom I met yesterday at a visit to indi youth in Castlemilk, who are bright, articulate and interested in contributing to decision making.
The gathering will be the beginning of a process that will involve conversations with children and young people taking place around the country. Those conversations will inform future policy and will drive improvement in services for children and young people. The Scottish Government will convene the summit, with the participants determining the most effective way to involve interested citizens at grass-roots level in improving services for children and young people.
Will the minister confirm that young people from every local authority area will be invited to attend the summit, thereby ensuring that the widest possible range of opinions from all parts of the country, taking in urban and rural in all its forms, can be canvassed?
Yes. I am happy to confirm that a wide range of children and young people from right across Scotland will be invited to engage in the conversation. We want to hear from children and young people from right across Scotland and we have asked Scottish Government officials to plan on that basis.
At the recent public meeting of the Cabinet that I attended in Arbroath—the member was there, too—I had the pleasure of meeting many engaged children and young people from Angus. We want to ensure that that breadth of talent is involved and that those voices are heard and listened to. We need to capture the momentum that the referendum process has created among our young people and harness it for the betterment of our country.
Colleges (Number of Female Students)
To ask the Scottish Government what the head count, enrolment and full-time equivalent figures are for female students at colleges in 2014 compared with 2011. (S4O-03584)
In keeping with normal practice, college sector figures for 2013-14 will not be available until January 2015. The latest figures, however, show that in 2012-13, 53 per cent of college students were female, the same percentage as in 2011-12.
The trend that we have seen over recent years is that, while the full-time equivalent figure has gone up, the head count number has been going down, indicating that fewer women are studying in our colleges.
When I had a round-table discussion with single parents from Levenmouth, they said that the biggest barrier to women going into college was the affordability and availability of childcare. There is an on-going review of the childcare workforce, but what analysis has the Government done of capacity in the childcare sector, which could specifically address the needs of parents who are seeking to go back to college?
The biggest difference that could come in transformational childcare was laid out in the Government’s white paper, “Scotland’s Future”. Claire Baker chose to campaign against the white paper, and therefore she should be aware of the consequences of her action and the actions of her colleagues.
That is outrageous.
Order, please.
Actions always have consequences, and Claire Baker should recognise that.
We want to continue to do many things to assist women in Fife and elsewhere. Let me give the member two examples. First, we will continue the process that my colleague Angela Constance has taken forward—Levenmouth will be a pilot area for the Wood commission—so that we can ensure that lots of opportunities are created to assist young women in the circumstances that Claire Baker mentioned.
Secondly, we will present the situation as it should be presented, by showing that the full-time equivalent figure is based on real qualifications that are being provided in colleges. Those real qualifications lead to employability. The number of students achieving higher national certificate and higher national diploma qualifications, which are recognised and valued by employers, has gone up 36 per cent since 2007-08. Those are real qualifications with which we will help.
There are many other things that we are trying to do, but it becomes more difficult if this Parliament does not have full, normal powers, and Claire Baker cannot escape the consequences of her own actions.
Will the cabinet secretary confirm that the number of people studying for HNCs and other recognised qualifications has increased, which boosts the chances of our young people getting work?
He has just said that.
I am happy so to confirm. The number of students achieving those qualifications has risen by 36 per cent since 2007-08.
That is the same figure as before—36 per cent.
The number of people getting degrees is up 121 per cent over the same period. Mary Scanlon did not have that figure, but I am happy to give it to her.
It is the policies pursued by this Government that have improved the quality of opportunities for young people and the skills supply to our economy. The United Kingdom Commission for Employment and Skills says that 78 per cent of Scottish employers that recruited a college leaver found them well prepared for work—the figure is higher than the closest comparable figures in other UK nations. That is a result of the reforms that this Government has taken forward, in the teeth of opposition from the Labour Party and others.
Further Education and Lifelong Learning (People in Remote Areas)
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports people in remote areas into further education and lifelong learning. (S4O-03585)
The matter is of great concern and interest to me as a constituency member, and as the cabinet secretary.
The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council pays college regions that deliver in rural areas a premium totalling around £8 million. Our reforms have meant that colleges are increasingly funded on the basis of need. That has led to several colleges that operate in a rural context—such as Dumfries and Galloway College and Borders College in the member’s region—receiving additional activity. Record levels of student support mean that students of all ages are receiving better financial support than ever before to access college right across the board, in both rural and urban settings.
As the cabinet secretary will be aware, living in more remote rural areas can pose a challenge for those seeking further education at colleges such as Borders College, which he mentioned, and New College Lanarkshire. Scottish Government statistics for 2012-13 show that the number of school leavers attending further education in those areas is roughly 6 per cent less than the national average.
Can the cabinet secretary set out in more detail what the Scottish Government is doing to support the development of outreach courses and specifically to provide transport support for links to colleges in those areas?
There are two areas in which I think that Claudia Beamish will be interested. One is the flexibility of transport support that colleges are able to provide. An example that is not in her region is the work that has been done by Dundee and Angus College, which has drawn in students by laying on transport. A similar approach has been taken by Borders College. That is very useful indeed.
In Claudia Beamish’s members’ business debate in September on the value of skills partnerships, Angela Constance gave a commitment to write to her about wider open learning opportunities—not just massive open online courses, which are of interest, but skills-based open learning, which is even more important, in my view. Those things are taking place.
Also of relevance is the joint development by Heriot-Watt University and Borders College of the Scottish Borders campus, which is creating new opportunities and drawing people to them. Further, I am strongly committed to the development of the Crichton campus as a centre for the whole of Dumfries and Galloway. That requires there being not only better transport links but, possibly, better student facilities on the campus for college and university students.
Much work is being done—and I have not even started to talk about the work that is being done in the Highlands and Islands, which is of importance, given that 13 colleges work together in that area to provide wide opportunities.
Education System (Alignment with Job and Career Opportunities)
To ask the Scottish Government how the education system can be more closely aligned toward job and career opportunities. (S4O-03586)
The commission for developing Scotland’s young workforce published its report, “Education Working for All!”, in June. That report sets out an ambitious agenda for improving young people’s employability—of which the Scottish Government is fully supportive and to which I have referred in response to other questions today—including forging stronger links between schools, colleges and employers.
Later in the year, the Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment will publish our implementation plan to take forward the report’s recommendations, benefiting learners and the wider economy alike.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that there is scope to fulfil suggestions made in the Wood report with regard to the secondary 1 to 4 junior secondary model for education that some rural authorities use, and does he agree that that is not incompatible with curriculum for excellence?
I am happy to confirm to the member—as I have done before; I believe in writing to other members—that there is no incompatibility between curriculum for excellence and delivery models such as junior secondaries or small schools. That incompatibility does not exist; any contention that it does is wholly false.
The opportunity to have more diverse and richer models of delivery exists throughout Scotland. I encourage all authorities, including rural authorities, to consider that diversity and ensure that the flexible framework for curriculum for excellence is used to support a range of possibilities. If authorities do that, young people in rural and urban settings will benefit.
Increasing School Rolls (Support for Local Authorities)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local authorities to ensure that there is suitable accommodation to deal with the projected increase in school rolls. (S4O-03587)
The statutory responsibility for the provision of adequate and sufficient school accommodation in Scotland lies with the local authorities. That said, the Scottish Government is investing £800 million in Scotland’s school estate through the £1.25 billion Scotland’s schools for the future school building programme. I was pleased and honoured to be involved in the new Mearns academy in Laurencekirk on Friday, which is a good example of how that programme is working.
The City of Edinburgh Council is considering introducing cluster-based learning, although its strong preference is to build new accommodation. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the pressure on council budgets. Given the demographic pressure on Edinburgh and the council’s review of its school estate, can the cabinet secretary update Parliament on what discussions he has had with the City of Edinburgh Council and what particular support his Government is providing to help to ensure the right capacity and the right quality in our school provision?
The decision on how local authorities organise and establish their provision is up to those local authorities. I am sure that the member would defend the right of local authorities to make those decisions.
That said, my officials regularly meet representatives of the City of Edinburgh Council, and I have met the councillors, too. I remain open to discussion of the school estate throughout Scotland. Obviously, in the week of the budget, I do not want to say any more than that, but there is a constant examination of the need to ensure that the highest quality accommodation is provided and that we do our best to help areas that are under pressure.
Aberdeen City Council (Education)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed education issues with Aberdeen City Council. (S4O-03588)
Scottish Government officials regularly meet representatives of Aberdeen City Council to discuss a wide range of education issues.
Labour-led Aberdeen City Council is failing to improve conditions in Victorian schools in the city, which is leading to difficulties for pupils, teachers and other staff. In fact, the council has just withdrawn funding that it had previously committed. What can the cabinet secretary do to ensure that Aberdeen City Council invests in schools such as Ferryhill, Broomhill, Ashley Road and Skene Square, in my constituency, to ensure that they are fit for the 21st century?
Aberdeen City Council is currently receiving revenue funding of more than £325 million. It is the responsibility of Aberdeen City Council to allocate its total financial resources to all services, including school maintenance, on the basis of local needs and priorities. Aberdeen has been allocated an extra £7 million over the period 2012 to 2015 as a result of the new 85 per cent funding floor formula that the Government introduced, which ensures that Aberdeen gets a better deal than ever before. The city will get a further £11.2 million in 2015-16.
The Scottish Government is also investing £800 million in Scotland’s school estate, through the £1.25 billion Scotland’s schools for the future programme. Aberdeen City Council already receives more than £28 million from the Scottish Government through that programme to build replacements for the existing Bucksburn and Newhills primary schools and for Torry and Kincorth academies. There will be even further investment in school infrastructure through the extension to the non-profit-distributing—NPD—programme, further details of which will be announced by ministers at the end of the week.
We remain committed to developing and building the school estate. That is the prime responsibility of local authorities, which deliver education, but the Scottish Government is a willing partner in ensuring, where we are able to do so, that that takes place.
Independent Schools (Charitable Status)
I am somewhat surprised to be able to ask this question.
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on independent schools having charitable status. (S4O-03589)
Independent schools, like all charities, have to meet the requirements of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, including the public benefit test. Broadly speaking, as long as that test commands public confidence, qualifying independent schools will maintain charitable status. Whether individual schools meet the test is, of course, a matter for OSCR.
I commend the cabinet secretary and his ministerial team on the efficiency of their responses to questions this afternoon. In that spirit, I ask them what their attitude might be to the extension of charitable status to cover all schools in Scotland.
That is an interesting possibility. I think that it was first mooted by Brian Monteith when he was a member of the Parliament’s Education, Culture and Sport Committee in a previous session. That proves not only that the education team has efficient responses, but that we have long memories. The idea was rejected at the time, but we should at least get some information on the matter in the future. If Mr Carlaw wishes to provide some information to us on the virtues of the proposal, I will of course look at it.
Does the cabinet secretary think that the test is stringent enough?
That is a matter for the Parliament to decide, as far as the legislation is concerned. OSCR has an obligation to meet the requirements of the present legislation. Whether that legislation should change and whether the test still commands public confidence are matters that the Parliament may wish to discuss at an appropriate time. At present, however, I am certainly not going to criticise OSCR, which is putting in place the test as it exists.
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