Chamber and committees

Our vision for Scotland is that our children and young people are successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. The outdoor environment has massive potential to help us achieve this vision. That is why we are investing in the production and promotion of guidance and an online resource to support opportunities presented by the new curriculum for learning in the outdoors. This work has been taken forward on behalf of the Outdoor Learning Strategic Advisory Group and Learning and Teaching Scotland. The guidance and online resource will be launched in spring 2010.

The Scottish Government has released £1.6 million to support a Justice Department targeted intervention scheme that will include use of the outdoors to turn round the lives of some of our most vulnerable young people. Details of the programme will be announced soon.

There is a wide range of facilities such as Castle Toward across Scotland which are both local authority and privately owned and it is not for the Scottish Government to intervene in the administration and upkeep of all of these.

Graduates have participated in a total of 266 projects under the Graduates for Business scheme over the past two years, contributing to the improved performance of a range of Scottish businesses. Scottish Enterprise has confirmed that it plans to have an alternative programme in place by the end of June with improved geographic coverage and consistency and which will deliver even better value for money than its predecessor.

Ministers have had no correspondence or discussions with Argyll and Bute about the proposed closure of Castle Toward. I refer the member to the question to S3W-31095 on 4 February 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.

The Scottish Government values the contribution made by local newspapers to Scotland''s communities and is committed to helping them survive and prosper in a time of immense change for the industry.

We are paying close attention to the responses we have received to the consultation on the future of Public Information Notices and will pay particular attention to the views expressed by Parliament last week. The consultation closes on 12 February 2010.

On the same day, Jim Mather will host an event for local newspapers to explore some of the challenges and opportunities which currently confront the sector. In addition, we will, of course, take very serious account of the findings of the inquiry into local newspapers being carried out by the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee.

Ministers meet regularly with Scottish Enterprise and other key agencies on strategic issues, to ensure that their activities and resources are focused on the matters likely to make the most significant contribution to delivering sustainable economic growth. However, the Scottish Government is not involved routinely in detailed matters connected to the funding or refocusing of specific interventions. These are matters for the agencies themselves to determine, taking account of this overarching purpose and the need to optimise the value derived from their spend.

I refer the member to the question S3W-30783, answered on 27 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.

As an autonomous institution, the University of Edinburgh is responsible for managing its own estate. The Scottish Government does not have any role in such matters. From discussions with the Scottish Funding Council and the University, we understand that the estates strategy for the University of Edinburgh does not currently include plans to dispose of its Moray House School campus.

The following is the original answer (published on 27 January 2010); see below.

We understand from the Scottish Funding Council that the estates strategy for the University of Edinburgh includes plans over the longer term to dispose of its Moray House School campus. However, as an autonomous institution, the university is responsible for managing its own estate. The Scottish Government does not have any role in such matters.

The funding of specific provision within the higher and further education sectors is an operational matter for the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

The SFC requires all institutions to make proper arrangements for financial management and accounting to ensure its funding is used in a manner consistent with the purpose for which it was provided.

We understand from the Scottish Funding Council that the estates strategy for the University of Strathclyde includes plans over the longer term to dispose of its Jordanhill College of Education campus. However, as an autonomous institution, the University is responsible for managing its own estate. The Scottish Government does not have any role in such matters.

We believe that the current legislation governing changes to bus timetables as administered by the Traffic Commissioner strikes the right balance between maintaining a stable network and allowing operators to adjust services to meet commercial needs. A strength of bus as a mode of transport is its ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances when compared to fixed route modes. We also welcome partnership working between operators and local authorities that leads to increased stability of networks.