Chamber and committees

This will be dependent on the exact solution and functionality of the next generation of Glow.

A programme structure has been established by the Scottish Government to manage the development of the next generation of Glow and the wider ICT in Education agenda. The current membership includes officials from Scottish Government and Education Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s contract for Glow is with RM Education PLC. Since 2007 the value of payments to RM has been £23.9 million excluding VAT. In addition £9.8 million excluding VAT has been paid to JANET(UK) for the provision of the Interconnect – the high speed education broadband network connecting all Scottish local authorities and key education sites. Over the same period Education Scotland, Glow’s managing agent, has received £18 million for the management and development of Glow and Interconnect, provision of user support and online content.

The Scottish Government is committed to the development of the next generation of Glow that is flexible, dynamic and which delivers best possible learning outcomes for our children and young people. The exact solution and functionality will be finalised following the completion of the current engagement activity with the education community.

Since 2007 the Scottish Government has made available a total of £67.4 million for Glow. This includes payments to contractors for Glow and Interconnect (Glow’s supporting broadband infrastructure), and funding for Education Scotland to manage and develop these resources.

With regards to the development of the next generation of Glow and the wider ICT in Education agenda, eight Scottish Government and two Education Scotland staff members have a direct involvement.

On 8 September, the Scottish Government announced that the next generation of Glow will be developed using readily available tools and open source services. As a result of this, the procurement of Glow Futures has been stopped. Five ICT in Education objectives were then set out on the Engage for Education website and used as a basis for ongoing discussion on future investment and priorities.

Where publicly funded civil legal assistance is needed to obtain a power of attorney, decisions on eligibility are based on the resources of the person who will be subject to the power of attorney and eligibility is assessed by the solicitor acting. This reflects the position for most advice and assistance applicants where eligibility is based on the resources of the person seeking the assistance. There are no plans to change this. In the specific case of adults with incapacity, the government recognises that such people can be especially vulnerable and that they may need the support and protection which welfare guardianship provides. That is why the government has ensured that no legal aid means test applies in relation to applications for guardianship orders under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 where the applicant is seeking powers relating to the welfare of an incapable adult. Equally, though, the number of guardianship orders is increasing and there is a need to ensure that, in line with the principles of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, any intervention in the life of the adult must benefit the adult, cannot reasonably be achieved without the intervention and that the intervention shall be the least restrictive option consistent with the purpose of the intervention. Unnecessary applications for guardianship, or applications which seek too many powers, do not bring social benefits and involve costs on the Scottish Court Service, local authorities and the legal aid budget. The Scottish Government will consider further, working closely with key stakeholders including those representing the interests of carers, whether any changes are required to the current arrangements in relation to applications for guardianship orders.

The Scottish Government is not able to identify which staff are engaged directly in tackling poverty in agencies or NHS Scotland. Within the Scottish Government, tackling poverty is a cross-cutting activity which involves contributions from staff in many directorates. It is not possible to provide exact numbers. A core team of eight staff works exclusively on tackling poverty work.

Single outcome agreements are subject to regular review both by Community Planning Partnerships and in discussion with the Scottish Government. They are not formally subject to independent monitoring.