- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether provision could be made by (a) ministers or (b) a variation in the determination of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland to cover any costs that might be incurred by Scottish Water in the removal of security measures at Milngavie reservoir should such measures prove unnecessary.
Answer
If security measures prove to be unnecessary, there are a number of options available to Scottish Water to fund their removal depending on the level of expenditure likely to be incurred. The Water Industry Commission for Scotland could consider making funds available if a case can be made that the works are of a high priority.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it has not responded to Scottish Water’s application of April 2009 for authority to remove many of the security measures put in place at Milngavie reservoir on national security grounds.
Answer
My officials have responded to a confidential memo that Scottish Water sent to them in April 2009 asking for clarification on the steps required to be taken to carry out changes to the security measures at Milngavie. We are not aware of any other application.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 25 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that college staff responsible for the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence receive the necessary training.
Answer
Colleges are autonomous institutions with responsibility for ensuring that their staff are fully equipped to undertake the duties that will support Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). Colleges are committed to the adoption of CfE, and are actively represented on the CfE Management Board by Graeme Hyslop, the Principal of Langside College. Colleges have also embraced the ADES led Programme Implementation Framework which incorporates college sector specific issues and actions.
As well as supporting the ongoing development of CfE within college lecturer teaching qualifications, the Scottish Government provided the colleges'' training and development body Scotland''s Colleges with additional funding to support a rolling programme of CfE training events, for all levels of college staff including senior management and practitioner levels. Scotland''s colleges and Learning and Teaching Scotland are also now working together on planning joint training events for school and college staff in 2010-11.
Additionally, Graeme Hyslop has recently accepted the post of chair on the newly refreshed strategic and advisory staff development body the FE Professional Development Forum. The Scottish Government welcomes this as a positive move in further positioning and highlighting the importance of CfE within all staff training and development in colleges.
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- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 24 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that community learning and development staff responsible for the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence outwith schools receive the necessary training.
Answer
The approach taken by community learning and development (CLD) staff and their skill set align closely with those needed for Curriculum for Excellence. CLD is represented on the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Management Board by Duncan Simpson, Chair of the CLD Standards Council.
The Scottish Government is currently encouraging the development of the CLD workforce in all settings and sectors through the establishment of the CLD Standards Council and the CLD workforce Up-skilling Programme. This programme is supporting local employers, through CLD Partnerships across Scotland, to produce workforce development strategies and widen Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities. This will support employers in their responsibility to ensure that staff have the skills and training they need, including a focus on how they can contribute to CfE.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 24 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that work-based learning providers responsible for the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence receive the necessary training.
Answer
Skills Development Scotland has been tasked to work with training providers to ensure that all provision enables young people undertaking a national training programme to develop the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence.
Key documents have been sent to employer organisations and employers have been involved in Curriculum for Excellence support events. For example, five support events for Building the Curriculum 4 are planned for March 2010, and will involve local employers working with schools, as well as representation from Chambers of Commerce, the Support Training Action Group (STAG) and Scottish Training Federation (STF).
STAG and STF are also involved in national training programmes linking with enterprise in education. Determined to Succeed (the Scottish Government''s Enterprise in Education strategy) has worked in partnership with Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Training Federation and the Scottish Training Action Group to identify appropriate support for their members to promote understanding of enterprising approaches to delivery of Curriculum for Excellence and the effectiveness of such approaches in securing positive outcomes for learners.
As part of the Employer Engagement strand of Determined to Succeed, local authorities have been supported to undertake work directly with work based learning providers, enabling them to address and engage with developments in education including Curriculum for Excellence.
EEBL (Enterprise in Education Business Links) teacher placement in business also provides opportunities for sharing and joint development opportunities around Curriculum for Excellence.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that university staff responsible for the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence receive the necessary training.
Answer
Universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for ensuring that their staff are fully equipped to undertake the duties that will support Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). To ensure that universities are able to best prepare their staff, the sector is now represented on the CfE Management Board. In addition, Universities Scotland has agreed to develop an engagement strategy as CfE enters its crucial implementation phase. Universities are also involved in the distribution of CfE documentation and are involved, along with other key partners, in a range of support events for CfE, including a number of events planned for March on Building the Curriculum: skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 4 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received a review of progress made on the Curriculum for Excellence from the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board following the request from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, as noted in his letter of 8 January 2010 entitled Taking Forward Curriculum for Excellence, and whether it will be made available to the public.
Answer
I wrote to the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board on 8 January 2010 asking it to review progress and report its findings to me as we work towards full adoption of Curriculum for Excellence. Its next meeting is on 25 February 2010 and I expect its report shortly thereafter.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 28 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-27902, which received a holding reply on 29 October 2009.
Answer
Parliamentary question S3W-27902 was answered on 25 January 2010.
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.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 25 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the names of its special advisers; their dates of appointment; previous employment, and salary band.
Answer
The names of the 10 special advisers currently in post and their dates of appointment are provided in the following table.
| Name | Date Appointed |
| Geoff Aberdein | 18 May 2007 |
| John McFarlane | 18 May 2007 |
| Stephen Noon | 18 May 2007 |
| Kevin Pringle | 18 May 2007 |
| Noel Dolan | 21 May 2007 |
| Will McLeish | 22 October 2007 |
| Stuart Nicolson | 18 August 2008 |
| Colin McAllister | 20 October 2008 |
| Stephen Gethins | 20 February 2009 |
| Jennifer Erickson (part-time) | 10 August 2009 |
There were 12 special advisers in post at the end of the previous administration in 2007. Information relating to previous employment and individual pay bands is regarded as personal. The number of special advisers in each pay band is:
| Pay Band | Pay Range from 1 April 2009 | Number of Special Advisers |
| 1 | £39,445 - £52,904 | 5 |
| 2 | £51,041 - £67,709 | 1 |
| 3 | £65,017 - £83,963 | 4 |
| 3 (premium) | £83,549 - 100,942 | 0 |
| 4 | £86,965 - 104,462 | 0 |
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 20 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive who authorised the removal of the active travel overarching statement “I know and can demonstrate how to travel safely whether on foot, on a bicycle, in a motor vehicle or on public transport” and the outcome “I am encouraged and supported to travel actively and safely to and from my place of learning”, which were in the draft but not in the final published version of the Curriculum for Excellence, and when this decision was made.
Answer
Safe and active travel has not been removed from the new curriculum framework. The draft outcome and overarching statement were simplified to broaden the basis for interpretation and delivery and to allow active travel to permeate health and wellbeing. The Learning and Teaching Scotland led development team reviewed and redrafted the health and wellbeing experiences and outcomes in collaboration with a wide range of practitioners.
The final experiences and outcomes for health and wellbeing and accompanying principles and practice were approved by the Curriculum Governing Group on 11 March 2009 and by the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board on 25 March 2009.
