Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is fully committed to protecting Scotland’s relationship with Europe and we are exploring all options available to achieve this. Last month we published a detailed set of proposals in “Scotland’s Place in Europe”. We have been engaging consistently, and in good faith, with the UK Government through the new JMC(EN) forum - the next meeting of which will be this Thursday [19^th January] where we will discuss the proposals in ‘Scotland’s Place in Europe’. Scottish Government Ministers have furthermore been working closely with Ministers in Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as meeting with heads of administration from Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. There has also been a programme of engagement with other EU member states and institutional partners to raise awareness of the way Scotland voted and our determination to retain our relationship with Europe. Ministers have also undertaken a number of community engagements to meet with other EU nationals, hear their concerns and (as far as possible) offer reassurance and Official-level engagements continue.

This work is currently resourced by the Culture, Tourism and External Affairs portfolio and the new combined total of the European Strategy line and the Brussels Office line is 2.049 million. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05925 on 19 January 2016 for further budget explanation and to the official report of the EEAC Committee of 22 December 2016.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

In October 2016, I announced an independent Review of Further and Higher Education Student Support. The review will consider all relevant data and assess the effectiveness of the current system, making recommendations for beneficial change to ensure all students have access to a fair and effective package of appropriate support.

As I explained in response to the same question at the budget session of the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee you attended in December, the European Strategy line has this year been separated out to establish a new Brussels Office line. The Brussels Office line of £1.139 million added together with the European Strategy line combine to make a total of £2.049 million which is focussed on Europe and our broader engagement activity. This total includes an additional £245,000 which we have added to the European Strategy line this year in recognition of the importance of Europe and in line with our key objective of influencing the world around us on the issues that matter most in helping Scotland flourish. This combined total is therefore 23% higher than the discrete European Strategy line for 2016-17.

In October 2016, I announced an independent Review of Further and Higher Education Student Support. The review will consider all relevant data and assess the effectiveness of the current system, making recommendations for beneficial change to ensure all students have access to a fair and effective package of appropriate support.

Professor Scott, the newly appointed Commissioner for Fair Access to Higher Education in Scotland, will be consulted as part of the review process.

The Scottish Government was one of the bodies who participated in the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) scoping study ‘Exploring the concept of a centre of innovation excellence for Scottish aquaculture’. Since the publication of the report in December 2016, the Scottish Government has not had any discussions with stakeholders on the proposed centre of excellence for aquaculture, understanding that SAIC intends to offer the study as advisory input to the newly formed Aquaculture Industry Leadership Group on which the Scottish Government is represented.

The Scottish Government does not hold the minutes of these meetings.

The specific information sought is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government’s 1+2 languages policy is supporting increased provision in both primary and secondary contexts, all pupils will learn two languages in addition to their own during the Broad General Education. Information provided by local authorities in 2015 indicated that, by June 2016, 21 of 32 authorities would be providing language learning to all Primary one children. We expect this trend to continue and provision to grow throughout primary and into secondary as schools move to full implementation of the Scottish Government’s 1+2 languages policy by 2021.

Within the senior phase, National Qualifications are just one of the many ways in which courses in modern languages are being offered to pupils.

We expect to see a continued trend of secondary schools providing diverse opportunities for language learning both in broad general education and in the senior phase. Flexible and innovative ways of learning are increasing, including non-certificated courses, clubs and master classes as well as participation in courses which lead to national qualifications.

In late 2016 we set out our programme of ELC expansion trials, which will test a variety of different delivery models across Scotland.

The programme covers 14 different trials, with ten of these located in deprived areas (the trials in Aberdeen, Dundee, East Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Eilean Siar, Midlothian, Glasgow, North Ayrshire, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire). The trials form part of the Scottish Government’s wider drive to increase the quality and flexibility of provision as work towards delivery of 1140 hours of early learning and childcare by 2020 continues.

We are committed to ensuring that nurseries in the most deprived areas will have an additional teacher or graduate from 2018 and we will set out more details as to how this commitment will be delivered later in January.

We have also sought views on a wide range of policy areas as part of our consultation on the expansion of early learning and childcare in Scotland, A Blueprint for 2020. The consultation closed on 9 January 2017 and the Scottish Government will set out its response in the Spring.

The Scottish Government has supported all bird keepers by providing information and guidance (including Frequently Asked Questions) about the requirements of the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone on its website, within emails to stakeholders, societies and their members, and shared via social media.

As laid out by the declaration of declarations of 6 December 2016 and 6 January 2017, all poultry and captive bird keepers in Scotland are required to keep their birds indoors or take appropriate steps to keep them separate from wild birds and apply heightened biosecurity measures. Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are also available to offer further advice and support if bird keepers have any specific questions about complying.

Smaller-scale farmers' and crofters' flocks are subject to the same risk from Avian Influenza circulating in wild birds as the larger, commercial flocks, therefore any exemption for certain keepers to the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone may reduce its effectiveness.

As laid out by the declaration of 6 December 2016 and the declaration of 6 January 2017, all poultry and captive bird keepers in Scotland are required to keep their birds indoors or, as this may not be practical for some smaller scale keepers, they should take appropriate steps to keep them separate from wild birds and apply heightened biosecurity measures.

We would encourage smaller farmers and crofters to speak with their private vets, or their local Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) office, if they have any specific questions about complying with these requirements.