Chamber and committees

Cycling has its place within the health education curriculum and may be discussed in other areas such as environmental studies. However, as with the rest of the curriculum, priority given to individual aspects is for each education authority to determine.Many primary schools do undertake cycle training. A study earlier this year - A review of the Take-up of Cycle Training in Scottish Schools - indicated that of the 85% of schools who are offered training, two out of three accepted. In total circa 31% of children complete a cycle training course during the year.The Executive also supports the Safer Routes to Schools initiative. The aim of this initiative is to encourage more children to walk, cycle or take public transport to and from school.Finally, the Scottish School Travel Advisory Group is currently developing a strategy to reduce the reliance on car travel for the school run and thus increase the use of other modes including walking, cycling and public transport. Their report is due in the next few months.

Grants to local authorities under the National Grid for Learning programme of the Excellence Fund are determined on the basis of pupil numbers. It is up to each local authority to decide how to allocate resources among all its schools, including special schools and units. In addition to the £8.2 million annual subsidy which the seven grant-aided special needs schools will receive in 2001-02 as a recurrent grant, and which can be used for the maintenance and replacement of information communication technology (ICT) equipment, they also share £0.5 million per year in capital support. This is available, among other purposes, for ICT development.

Ministers are currently considering funding arrangements for the seven grant-aided special schools beyond this date.

The number of passes as a percentage of the number of entries for each sector are set out in the following table:

Year	Higher Passes in Secondary Schools (%)	Higher Passes in Further Education and External Centres
1997-98	70.7%	60.1%
1998-99	71.4%	58.5%
1999-2000	74.3%	60.1%

Note: Higher refers to old SCE Highers and new National Qualifications at Higher level.

This information is not currently available. However, results of the latest School Survey of Information and Communication Technology, carried out in October 2000, were published in a Scottish Executive Statistical News Release on Wednesday 28 November 2001. This is a sample survey, the results of which will show the percentage of schools that have access to the internet and/or internet email via a broadband connection.

The proposal to have all probationer teachers paid on the probationer point for the period of their training year has come from a working group of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), so this is not solely a decision for the Scottish Executive, or for me as the Education Minister. The SNCT is not a free-standing organisation, but is a forum through which the Scottish Executive, COSLA and the teacher organisations reach collaborative decisions. No decisions will be taken until the full SNCT meets.I am convinced that the improvements we are implementing through the agreement are of significant benefit to probationer teachers and the profession, both now and in the long-term. However, I am aware of the concerns raised by those mature students studying now, and in particular that they have budgeted for their training under certain expectations and assumptions. With our partners in COSLA and the teacher organisations, we will give the issues they have raised our full consideration at the next meeting of the SNCT.

The recent Teacher Recruitment Advertising Campaign has the twin objectives of improving the public perception of teaching as a worthwhile and rewarding career, and increasing the numbers of talented people entering the teaching profession. The success of the campaign in meeting its objectives will be judged firstly by monitoring the numbers of applicants for the 2002-03 academic session and secondly by checking changes in public perception reported through the System 3 survey later this month.The final decision on the introduction of a single entry point for all probationary teachers is one for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The SNCT will consider this proposal at their next meeting in December.

The decision on whether or not to accept the proposed changes to pay for probationer teachers is one for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. This body includes the Scottish Executive, local authorities and teachers organisations, and we have been consulting closely with them.We have received a number of presentations from concerned students and others on this issue. We have also received a letter from the Deans of the Faculties of Education, and have been in dialogue with the National Union of Students.We are convinced that the improvements we are implementing through the agreement are of significant benefit to probationer teachers and the profession, both now and in the long-term. However, we are aware of the concerns raised by those mature students studying now, and in particular that they have budgeted for their training under certain expectations and assumptions. With our partners in COSLA and the teacher organisations we will give the issues they have raised our full consideration.

Teachers pay and conditions are agreed through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The Scottish Executive, COSLA and the teacher organisations are all represented on the SNCT and all parties all contribute to collaborative decisions. The proposal for a single entry point for all probationer teachers for the period of their training year has come from a working group of the SNCT. Since the full SNCT have not yet considered this proposal no final decision has been taken. The full SNCT will consider the proposal at its next meeting in December.The Scottish Executive are convinced that the improvements being implemented through the agreement A Teaching Profession for the 21^st Century are of significant benefit to probationer teachers and the profession, both now and in the long-term. However, we are aware of the concerns raised by those mature students studying now, and in particular that they have budgeted for their training under certain expectations and assumptions. With our partners in COSLA and the teacher organisations we will give the issues they have raised our full consideration.

The Scottish Executive made no such approaches to international sporting bodies.