Chamber and committees

The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum recommended that the Energy Assistance Package be delivered via the existing Energy Saving Scotland Advice Network rather than by a separate contract. An additional £3.7 million is being provided to Energy Saving Trust this year to manage the Energy Assistance Package under grant in aid funding to the organisation under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The level of grant provided to Energy Saving Trust is reviewed on an annual basis.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26723 on 24 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

There is no evidence that Scotland''s reputation has suffered greatly through the global economic crisis. Scotland remains an attractive and highly competitive location for both indigenous and international businesses, and has real strengths and continued potential for growth in many sectors.

Recruitment and deployment of teachers are matters for local authority employers to determine.

Two of the recommendations of the Teacher Employment Working Group (chaired by COSLA) report published last year referred to post probationers and supply work. These are:

Recommendation 4: Local authority employers should wherever possible use post-probation teachers to fill supply vacancies

Recommendation 5: Local authorities should consider making more use of permanent supply pools to ensure stable employment opportunities are available to post-probation teachers.

The purpose of these recommendations is to help to develop more opportunities for those newly qualified by reducing the use of retired teachers in supply. The recommendations, unanimously agreed by all parties in the working group including COSLA, on supply are for local authorities as the employers of teachers to take forward while bearing in mind both employment and age legislation.

The Code of Practice on the Use of Temporary Contracts for Teachers, developed by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, the body responsible for teachers'' pay and conditions of service states that employees on temporary contracts should not be treated any less favourably than those on permanent contracts. The Code takes into account the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Employment Relations Act 1999 and Employment Act 2002, as well as the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) and Fixed Term Workers Regulations (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) 2002.

In addition two of the recommendations of the Teacher Employment Working Group report published last year referred to post probationers and supply work. These are:

Recommendation 4: Local authority employers should wherever possible use post-probation teachers to fill supply vacancies.

Recommendation 5: Local authorities should consider making more use of permanent supply pools to ensure stable employment opportunities are available to post-probation teachers.

The purpose of these recommendations is to help to develop more opportunities for those newly qualified by reducing the use of retired teachers in supply. The recommendations on supply are for local authorities as the employers of teachers to take forward while bearing in mind both employment and age legislation.

The recruitment and deployment of supply teachers are matters for local authority employers to determine.

The employment of teachers is a matter for local authorities. The Scottish Government is currently providing local government in Scotland with record levels of funding of £23 billion for the period 2008-10. We have also taken steps to rebalance the supply and demand for teachers by reducing the proposed intakes to initial teacher education courses this year by 500 places.

Two of the recommendations of the Teacher Employment Working Group report published last year referred to post probationers and supply work. These are:

Recommendation 4: Local authority employers should wherever possible use post-probation teachers to fill supply vacancies.

Recommendation 5: Local authorities should consider making more use of permanent supply pools to ensure stable employment opportunities are available to post-probation teachers.

The purpose of these recommendations is to help to develop more opportunities for those newly qualified by reducing the use of retired teachers in supply. The recommendations on supply are for local authorities as the employers of teachers to take forward while bearing in mind both employment and age legislation.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering access to a teacher for all pre-school children, but it is for local authorities to take decisions on teacher deployment.

Renfrewshire Council have adopted a peripatetic teacher model in their nursery provision. The Pre-School and Childcare statistics for 2008 showed that 49.4% of pre-school children in Renfrewshire had access to a teacher. The figures for 2009, published yesterday, show that this figure has now increased to 62.3% of pre-school children.

In May 2009, we published guidance, jointly with COSLA, for providers on delivering access to a teacher for all pre-school children. This makes clear that there is currently no research evidence to inform setting of a minimum threshold, expressed in FTE terms, for access to a teacher, and that peripatetic teacher support which contributes positively to the learning experience for children is one model which may be adopted.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26723 on 24 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.