Chamber and committees

Inspectors were deployed for a total of 4,404 days to carry out school inspections during 2010-11. This figure does not include pre-school inspections as, in the main, seconded pre-school practitioners carried out inspections in this sector.

Following the autumn programme of support to which S3W-33713 referred there are no further planned postponements of inspection activity to assist with the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. Support for Curriculum for Excellence is a major part of Education Scotland’s remit and is embedded within its programmes of activity planned.

Then, as now, the Scottish Government keeps the public bodies landscape under continuous review and explores all potential options as part of its ongoing commitment to reduce costs and bureaucracy and improve service delivery.

The Scottish Government regularly meets the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to discuss a range of issues. David MacBrayne Ltd officials were planning to discuss this issue with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in February this year but the meeting was deferred and a new date is being arranged.

Education Scotland is accountable for the assessment and performance of School Inspectors.

I announced on 14 October 2010 that both Learning and Teaching Scotland and HM Inspectorate of Education provided important support, inspection, practical materials and guidance to schools, colleges and early years provision. The introduction of curriculum for excellence made it the right time to bring these two bodies together.

The Official History of North Sea Oil and Gas by Professor Alex Kemp, published on 4 September 2011, provides an in-depth analysis of the development of UK policies towards North Sea oil and gas industry from the early 1960’s to 1993. Professor Kemp reports that the work of the Offshore Supplies Office lead to an increase in the share of the UKCS (UK Continental Shelf) market obtained by British industry and many companies obtained benefits which enabled them to flourish both domestically and overseas in later years. The publication cites the development of sub-sea technologies as a particular success story.

Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies continue to support the growth and development of Scotland's supply chain capability, both domestically and internationally and help to ensure that businesses seek and develop opportunities in new and emerging sectors such as offshore wind.

Payments made to innocent victims of violent crime are made under provisions of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. This scheme applies in Scotland, England and Wales and is founded on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995.

In his Explanatory Memorandum to the European Scrutiny Committee the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Justice Lord Bach stated that the UK is fully compliant with the EU directive relating to compensation for victims of crime.

The Scottish Government has had a number of discussions and communications with the European Commission on aspects of the wide ranging Stockholm Programme, which was agreed by heads of government at the European Council in December 2009. A written submission was sent to the commission during the development phase of the programme, in March 2009, which was copied at the time to the Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament. Most recently, Scottish Government officials met with the commission in May 2011 to discuss the Procedural Rights Roadmap and the Victims' Roadmap, which are included in the programme. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice met with the Vice President of the Commission, Viviane Reding, in Luxembourg in June 2011 during which aspects of the Stockholm Programme were discussed.

The deployment or introduction of defibrillators on ferry services is not mandatory. Health and safety legislation requires organisations, including ferry operators, to undertake a risk assessment analysis that reflects the business arrangements for their premises and operating locations. Depending on the outcome of this, the organisation may decide to deploy a defibrillator but there is no legislative requirement to do so.

The Scottish Government is responsible for subsidising passenger ferry services currently provided by CalMac Ferries Ltd, NorthLink Ferries Ltd and Argyll Ferries Ltd, all subsidiaries of David MacBrayne Ltd (DML). The David MacBrayne group takes this issue very seriously.

The DML risk assessment process is based on: the number of heart-related incidents per year, per route and per passenger carried; length of sea crossing; statutory and legal requirements; the logistics of ensuring that suitable staff are trained; the logistics of providing ongoing medical treatment in the immediate aftermath of a heart-related incident, and the ongoing cost of training and equipment.

All DML companies have carried out such an assessment and on the basis of those assessments CalMac and Argyll Ferries have decided not to carry defibrillators on their vessels.