Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government values the key role that providers in the private and third sectors play in delivering the funded early learning and childcare entitlement, and we have provided the resources to ensure that the current entitlement of 600 hours per year is delivered in a way which is financially sustainable.

Whilst we cannot comment on the methodology underpinning the NDNA Annual Survey, research for the Scottish Government by Ipsos MORI in 2016 estimated that the average rate paid by local authorities would be insufficient to cover the costs of around 40% of private and voluntary setting currently delivering the funded ELC entitlement.

We also know from our Blueprint for 2020 consultation, which ran from October 2016 to January 2017, that a number of providers highlighted that a key barrier to offering the funded entitlement is that the hourly rate offered by local authorities doesn’t meet the costs of provision.

As highlighted in our Blueprint for 2020 Action Plan, which sets how the expansion to 1140 hours will be taken forward, the Scottish Government’s approach to delivering the expanded funded entitlement will be fundamentally provider neutral. This means that we will create a model which prioritises the settings that are best placed to deliver quality outcomes for children, and supporting our ambition to close the attainment gap, regardless of which sector they are provided by.

The Scottish Government values the key role that providers in the private and third sectors play in delivering the funded early learning and childcare entitlement, and we have provided the resources to ensure that the current entitlement of 600 hours per year is delivered in a way which is financially sustainable.

The value of any cross-subsidy is jointly determined by the costs faced by providers in the private and third sector delivering the funded entitlement and by the funding rate that they receive from the local authority to deliver this entitlement. Research for the Scottish Government by Ipsos MORI in 2016 estimated that the average rate paid by local authorities would be insufficient to cover the costs of around 40% of private and voluntary setting currently delivering the funded ELC entitlement. This implies that for these providers some element of cross subsidy may be necessary.

The Scottish Government has not produced an estimate of the overall value of any cross-subsidy.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 places a statutory responsibility on all local authorities to manage and maintain the school estate and provide a safe school environment for all school users.

The number of schools operational in each year since 2007 are as follows:

The reason for decline in the total number of schools since 2007 is that many local authorities have chosen to rationalise their school estate. We have seen poor condition schools replaced with multi school campuses to enable local authorities to operate a more sustainable school estate.

It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to hold information about which schools have building certificates.

Following publication of the report on Phase 2 of the Enterprise and Skills Review on 22 June 2017, an Implementation Board has been established to lay the groundwork for the creation of the Strategic Board that will co-ordinate the activities of Scotland's skills and enterprise agencies.

The Implementation Board is chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar, and met for the first time on 28 June 2017. Further information on the Implementation Board, including a full list of membership, can be found at https://beta.gov.scot/groups/enterprise-and-skills-review-implementation-board/.

As set out in the June 2017 Scottish Government publication Education Governance: Next Steps, we anticipate that Scotland will initially establish up to seven Regional Improvement Collaboratives. To ensure that the regional support arrangements are appropriate for local circumstances, the Scottish Government will work with partners to establish the regional improvement geographies to be covered by each Regional Collaborative and the detailed operating arrangements. The timescale for their establishment will be subject to those discussions. We wish to make early progress in establishing Regional Collaboratives.

The establishment of Regional Improvement Collaboratives and the appointment of Regional Directors are key elements in the devolution of decision making to our schools, headteachers and teachers. Regional Directors will work with partners in ensuring that the support and guidance provided to schools by Regional Improvement Collaboratives is tailored to local needs and supports school improvement plans. It is therefore our position that the appointment and the role of Regional Directors is entirely consistent with a system which empowers our education professionals in taking decisions on children’s learning and strengthens the middle to support them in that role.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on the eligibility of pupils for free school meals. It does collect data on the number of pupils registered for free school meals through the Attainment, Leaver Destinations and Healthy Living survey.

The survey is conducted in all publicly funded schools in Scotland in February each year and the data is published.

The latest dataset was published on the Scottish Government's website on 20 June 2017. Information on the number of pupils registered for free school meals is available on the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/06/9699/6.

We will consult on proposed legislative changes to take forward our education governance reforms in autumn 2017.

The reforms set out in Education Governance: Next Steps, including the regional improvement collaboratives, reflect evidence from the OECD, the International Council of Education Advisers and other international evidence as well as the messages we heard during the consultation process.

In developing regional improvement collaboratives, we took account of the views we heard on: the importance of collaboration; the desire for curriculum area specialist support and hands on improvement support; and the need to address inconsistency while maintaining a democratically accountable role for local authorities in the delivery of education.

We will work with local authorities and other partners in ensuring that the regional improvement collaboratives deliver on these expectations and are responsive to local circumstances.