Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00660 on 22 June 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

Entitlements are not a feature of the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme. Applicants receive payments based on the number of eligible animal for which they have submitted a claim. For payment details, please refer to the answer supplied to parliamentary question reference number S5W-00660 on 22 June 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

The Scottish Government is considering the findings contained in the postgraduate working group's final report carefully, and will produce a response in due course.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of postgraduate study, and set up the postgraduate working group to identify the barriers to participation for Scottish domiciled students.

As an interim measure, while the options identified in the report are examined, all Scottish higher education institutions were invited to add an additional 10 taught postgraduate courses to the list of courses for which students are eligible for financial support, for academic year 2016-17.

<>All region review requests received under Basic Payment Scheme 2015 will be completed by Friday 24 June 2016.

The last ‘Scottish Survey of Adult Literacies’ was conducted in 2009. It can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2010/07/22091814/0. However, other available evidence suggests that progress in tackling adult basic skills levels is being made. The latest skills profile data (2015), collected by the Scottish Government as part of labour market trend data, shows a downward trend in the proportion of adults aged 16 to 64 with low or no qualifications. The figure has fallen from 16.3% in the 2007 baseline year to 11.1% in 2015.

Each local authority is responsible for what it spends on adult learning including adult literacy, based on its evaluation of local needs. The Scottish Government funds local authorities through the block grant. Under the Concordat, the Scottish Government establishes the overall direction and desired outcomes for policies but does not manage local service delivery.

The Scottish Government continues to raise awareness of adult literacy and numeracy through The Big Plus, which is managed by Skills Development Scotland and supported by Education Scotland. Education Scotland further supports adult literacy through Inspection and development activity. Our strategy ‘Adult Learning in Scotland (ALIS 2020), a Statement of Ambition’ recognises the key and distinctive role that adult learning, including adult literacy, plays in helping to develop the person, the family, communities and society.

The Scottish Government has awarded grant funding of £1,000,000 to national partners within the third sector through the adult learning and empowering communities fund. A proportion of this funding will be used to provide local adult literacy support and improved outcomes for adult literacy learners.

We will allocate £750 million over this parliamentary session to expand the Attainment Scotland Fund to close the gap in educational attainment. As well as investing £50 million each year in our established area-based approach to raising attainment, we will allocate the additional £100 million that will be raised each year from our local tax reforms directly to schools. The allocation will be based on the numbers of children in each school who meet the eligibility criteria for free school meals.

This additional funding will ensure that children affected by poverty, wherever they live, will receive additional support to ensure they can get the help they need, when they need it. We will work with key stakeholders to establish how this funding will achieve maximum benefits for eligible children and I will confirm the per pupil funding levels in due course.

The estimated 2015 expenditure for Basic Payment Scheme (including Greening measures) is approximately £334.5 million.

To date, Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) has issued instalment payments of £216 million or around 65% of the planned expenditure. The breakdown of payments by RPID area office is shown in the following table:-

 

Area Office	Value
Ayr	£ 26,207,726.10
Benbecula	£ 1,042,667.15
Dumfries	£ 23,008,480.37
Elgin	£ 4,622,488.87
Galashiels	£ 31,264,559.10
Golspie	£ 1,439,323.92
Hamilton	£ 9,557,224.05
Inverness	£ 17,290,209.08
Inverurie	£ 40,259,584.49
Kirkwall	£ 5,704,218.78
Lerwick	£ 3,255,914.07
Oban	£ 6,938,155.11
Perth	£ 37,948,173.71
Portree	£ 1,240,934.69
Stornoway	£ 580,934.92
Thurso	£ 5,592,618.51
TOTALS	£ 215,953,212.92

We published information on possible costs of the new standardised assessment in the supplementary Financial Memorandum to the Education (Scotland) Act 2016. http://www.parliament.scot/S4_Bills/Education%20(Scotland)%20Bill/SPBill64AFMS042016.pdf

As the memorandum notes, the figures quoted are indicative and may change. Detailed costs will emerge as we work through the procurement process.

All local authorities will be supported by the £750 million investment during this parliamentary session. The Attainment Scotland Fund already provides support to 21 local authorities who receive funding either as a challenge authority or have schools in the schools programme.

I made a number of announcements last week about the expansion of the Scottish Attainment Challenge to increase its scope, reach and pace. Existing challenge authorities will receive up to £20 million from the Attainment Scotland Fund during this year, and we will add East Ayrshire and Renfrewshire to the Challenge Authorities Programme – both of which have significant levels of multiple deprivation. I also announced the extension of the challenge into secondary schools in challenge authority areas as well as those which are associated with the schools in the Primary Schools Programme.

The Attainment Scotland Fund will also continue to support a package of universal support which has been developed to support all local authorities across Scotland, such as the Innovation Fund. From 2017, the £100 million that will be raised each year from our local tax reforms will be allocated directly to schools, based on the numbers of children in each school who meet the eligibility criteria for free school meals. This will mean all local authorities in Scotland will receive funding from the Attainment Scotland Fund.