Chamber and committees

No Executive, Executive agency and non-departmental public body jobs have been relocated to North Ayrshire since 1 July 1999. At that point there were no such posts in North Ayrshire and that was also the position at 1 January 2003.The Executive remains committed to ensuring that Government in Scotland is efficient and decentralised, as part of a wider vision of more accessible, open and responsive Government. We are committed to examining opportunities as they arise and on a case-by-case basis. In this context, no areas of the country are targeted and equally none are ruled out, nor are there any targets for the number of jobs to be relocated or the areas to which they might go.

There are no plans to have such a debate.

I refer to Cathy Jamieson's letter of 18 March 2003 to the Convener of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, which was copied to you. Copies are also available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 27153).

Information on full-time equivalent (FTE) primary and secondary teachers employed in the North Ayrshire local authority area in 1998-99 to 2001-02 is available from the Summary of Results of the September 1998 to 2001 School Censuses and can be accessed using the following hyperlinks:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library2/doc02/ecsb-00.htmhttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00013-00.asphttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00079-00.asphttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00168-00.aspHyperlinks are not available for earlier years but copies of the relevant bulletins are in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 16940 and 20188).Information available on FTE pre-school and special FTE teachers employed in the North Ayrshire local authority area in 1996-97 to 2001-02 has not been disaggregated to local authority level in publications and therefore is given in the table:

	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02
Pre-School1	17	21	23	36	NA	58
Special	35	40	42	39	39	38

Note:1. Data for 1996-97 and 1997-98 only includes teachers in publicly funded nursery schools. Thereafter (due to changes in the sector) data includes pre-school education centres working in partnership with local authorities and the Scottish Executive. Figures exclude teachers working in daycare centres. Figures for pre-school teachers were not available from the 2001 pre-school census.

Education features strongly in the plans to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns this year. Historic Scotland are inviting pupils from schools across Scotland to participate in a Schools Art Competition to design a crown, a sword or a sceptre for the Coronation of a King or Queen. Further details of the competition, pictures and further information on the Union of the Crowns can be found on the Historic Scotland website and in the specially commissioned Schools Art Competition brochure.In association with the Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network (SCRAN), a Union of the Crowns website has also been set up as part of the wider programme of events. The Union of the Crowns Advisory Group has overseen the arrangements for the design of the website, which provides access to a wide range of learning resources.All members of the advisory group contributed to the setting up of the Union of the Crowns programme of events. The group includes representatives from the City of Edinburgh Council, the University of Edinburgh, Unique Events, Historic Scotland, VisitScotland, the Scottish Tourism Forum, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Scotland Office and the Scottish Executive. Independent academics from the University of Edinburgh assessed the content of the Union of the Crowns website to ensure that it is fair and balanced.

This information is not held centrally and is a matter for Strathclyde Police.

Following consideration of the report from the consultants, we and sportscotland commissioned to carry out a property review and national facilities study, I announced on 23 March a strategy for the development and procurement of national and regional sports facilities. As part of that announcement, I made clear that the consultants' report found that there is an economic case for relocating sportscotland's HQ. We intend to pursue this by investigating fully the case for co-locating it with a major sports facility development in the central belt area. We shall also pursue with equal vigour the case for relocation as a stand alone option. The central belt area identified by the consultants as eligible does not include North Ayrshire but it will be open to any local authority area which considers it can make a persuasive case for locating the HQ there to do so.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34793 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found here Motions, Questions and Answers Search.

The Scottish Executive has no plans to extend the period of consultation. Parents of children who will be affected by the legislation have expressed a range of views about the proposals in the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill. Ministers will consider carefully all views received in response to the consultation.The introduction of the bill to Parliament will be subject to the new administration. After introduction, a further stage of consultation will begin. At this time, normal practice is that a lead committee will consider the proposals in the draft bill, and take evidence from any individual or organisation wishing to submit their views. The lead committee will also scrutinise the adequacy of the consultation process.

Over 7,000 copies of the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill have been sent out. Every school in Scotland - mainstream, grant-aided, self-governing and independent - has been sent a copy, as have all education authorities, parent teacher associations, and many voluntary sector organisations. Head teachers were encouraged to inform parents of the new proposals, and to invite their comments. It is not intended to ask each school or education authority to report on the action taken in the consultation process.Fourteen seminars have been held in six towns/cities across Scotland, with 1,210 delegates attending. Additionally, Scottish Executive officials have been invited to talk and listen at various discussion groups involving parents.A report on the written responses to the consultation will be published in due course.