Current status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 25 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is appropriate to include a category for asylum seekers and refugees in the nationality classification in the School Census September 2002.
Information on national identity and ethnic background is being collected in the School Census through the ScotXed project for the first time in September 2002.As part of this exercise, it is important to collect information on asylum seekers and refugee children in education in Scotland. This information is required to enable effective policy development and improved planning and delivery of education services for these children and young people.The national identity and ethnic background categories used in the School Census are subject to review to ensure that they remain relevant and well understood. This will ensure that on-going work at a national level on equality and inclusion issues is reflected in future censuses.