Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has encouraged pension funds to invest into affordable housing. Key to success is close partnership working across the public and private sector to ensure there are clearly defined investment opportunities. An early example is Falkirk Local Government Pension Scheme fund investing £30million into a residential investment fund that is focussed on delivering affordable housing within Scotland.

There has been no change in policy. The Scottish Government continues to support a distinct Scottish approach to developing cadet forces, with the syllabus integrated into Curriculum for Excellence, rather than following the UK Government model with the school ‘hosting’ a Cadet Unit which does not contribute to the curriculum. The Cadet Experience syllabus is currently going through accreditation with the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

The Scottish Government has received no additional funding from the UK Government to expand cadet forces.

There are no cadet forces in schools and no expansion is planned.

The Scottish Government’s position is unchanged in support of a distinct Scottish approach to developing cadet forces as voluntary, community-based units. We do not support cadet units based in state schools.

The Scottish Government has met with the Hometown Foundation on two occasions since May 2016, to hear about their proposals for state-funded autonomous schools. I met the Director of the Hometown Foundation on 25 October 2016. Officials were also present. The second meeting, between the Director of the Foundation and Special Advisers, took place on 21 November 2016. No future meetings are planned at present.

The National Concessionary Travel Scheme for Young People already provides discounts on bus and rail travel within Scotland for all young people living in Scotland aged 16 to 18. Using the Young Scot smart card, the Scheme offers a one-third discount off the adult single fare on any registered bus service in Scotland, one third off most rail journeys in Scotland and a 50% discount on rail season tickets. Eligible Island residents also receive vouchers for 4 free ferry journeys a year.

In addition, the Scottish Government will introduce free bus travel for Modern Apprentices aged under 21 in 2018. We will also be providing three months free bus travel for recipients of the Job Grant aged between 16 and 24 once this benefit comes into force.

The Scottish Government has no plans to extend eligibility to the National Concessionary Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled People to people aged 18 and under.

The Scottish Government is committed to rail electrification recognising the key benefits it brings in terms of improved journey times and connectivity, environmental benefits and reduced industry costs.

Future electrification schemes, such as Glasgow to Kilmarnock and East Kilbride will be considered as part of the broader rail infrastructure strategy and investment priorities beyond 2019. Any investment decisions will be subject to business case and affordability.

The Scottish Government does not have any plans to review the charitable status of independent schools at present.

The Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (“OSCR”) is responsible for determining charitable status in Scotland in accordance with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. To be granted charitable status an organisation must meet the ‘charity test’; this means that a body must have wholly charitable purposes and be able to demonstrate that it will provide public benefit in furtherance of those purposes. Independent schools must meet OSCR requirements in order to obtain charitable status.

As part of its role, OSCR also has a duty to ensure that charities entered in the Scottish Charity Register continue to meet the charity test and since 2007 have reviewed the charitable status of 52 schools.

The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’) is reviewed regularly as part of the Scottish Government’s formal and informal engagement with OSCR.

The Scottish Government is aware of the capacity issues associated with the increasing demand for Gaelic education. The question of capacity generally focuses on staffing, accommodation and resources. Information is collected on pupil and teacher numbers by the Scottish Government and Bòrd na Gidhlig and the uptake of Gaelic at the Early Learning and Childcare stage is also a good indication of future numbers at primary. New routes have been created, and are being promoted, to attract increasing numbers of Gaelic teachers into the profession or to transfer to Gaelic teaching. The Scottish Government has a Gaelic schools capital fund which has assisted a number of authorities with future Gaelic education accommodation needs and with the establishment of the e-Sgoil. In addition, both the Scottish Government and Bòrd na Gidhlig will maintain their support for resources and support for pupils and teachers in Gaelic education. The Scottish Government is continuing to work closely with local authorities to plan for future demand and thus to address capacity issues in Gaelic education.