Chamber and committees

Components within the core of courses of initial teacher education already consist, where appropriate, of inter-related units in special educational needs. Guidelines for initial teacher education in Scotland require teacher education institutions to prepare teachers to be responsive to the needs of all pupils in respect of special educational needs.

The road works related to the construction of the Holyrood Parliament fall into two categories. The first involves the upgrading of the roads in Holyrood Park around the Parliament site to carry the traffic which will be displaced by the closure of the eastern end of Holyrood Road. This work, which is now underway, is being funded through Historic Scotland, the managers of Holyrood Park, at an estimated cost of £1.420 million inclusive of fees and VAT.The second area of road works involves traffic calming measures to Horse Wynd and Reid's Close. This work is being funded by the Scottish Executive through the City of Edinburgh Council, who are responsible for the roads outwith the park and is at detailed design stage. There will be further discussions with the council about the cost of these works.

The enterprise networks are responsible for procurement and contracting for the national training programmes. The Scottish Executive does not recognise training providers directly.

We have no such plans at present. However, we will consider carefully any recommendations from the "It Pays to Pay" Working Group, which we have established to look at options for improving council tax collection. The group includes representatives from local authorities and consumer organisations and other relevant interests.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.Improvements are being considered to the New Deal options including the full-time education and training option. In addition through the Innovation Fund there is funding for specific projects addressing the issue of early leavers.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.The New Deal is very much about designing flexible, local provision to meet the needs of unemployed young people and prevailing labour market conditions. Each year local partnerships review closely the provision on offer and adjust this to suit local needs.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.Statistics are monitored monthly with a view to improve or develop performance. However, I understand there are no plans to undertake a formal evaluation of the Gateway.

In pursuing Best Value local authorities should consider all routes to service improvement. They are expected not to discriminate between potential means of service delivery on any grounds other than those prescribed by statute or directive.

The Scottish Executive's approach to Best Value in local government is not prescriptive about tender exercises to any great degree, but where sheltered employers such as Remploy and Blind Workshops are eligible to compete for contracts and meet the basic criteria set by the invitation to tender, we would certainly encourage local authorities and other public bodies to allow them to do so.The Scottish Executive's own procurement guidance encourages buyers to include sheltered employers on tender lists wherever possible.

The details of the contracts for such schemes are matters between the education authority and the contractors concerned. The parties to such a contract would take a number of factors into account where out of hours use of facilities is an issue, including the needs of the schools and the wider community.However, I support the principle that school premises and facilities generally should be accessible for community use. I propose to raise this with CoSLA to discuss ways in which access can be improved and encouraged.

Scottish Executive recruitment is conducted by officials with support, where appropriate from the following external agencies:

Thomson Partners

Pertemps

Kelly Services

Capita RAS