Chamber and committees

The Executive has committed tokeeping Parliament fully informed of progress with the March Agreement – and wewill report when key measures are implemented. We will, for example, inform Parliamentof the findings of the autumn 2006 joint inspection of services for asylum seekerchildren once ministers receive the formal report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorateof Education. We expect to receive the formal report shortly.

Under the Standards in Scotland’s SchoolsAct 2000 every child, including asylum seeking and refugee children, has a rightto school education provided by an education authority. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 requireseducation authorities to identify, meet and keep under review the additional supportneeds of all pupils who require support to access and benefit from education. Tohelp ensure that all asylum seeker and refugee children get the education to whichthey are entitled, the Executive has produced an education guide which providesnew arrivals with information on how the Scottish education system works and relevantcontact details.

The Executive collects data onthe number of asylum seekers and refugees in Scottish schools and on their educationalattainment. We have also commissioned research to assess the experiences of thechildren of asylum seekers in our schools, and the policies employed by local authoritiesto support their learning, and we expect the findings to be published shortly.

In addition, the Children (Scotland)Act 1995 places duties on local authorities relative to the provision of servicesto safeguard and promote the welfare for children in their area who are in need.The fieldwork for the first joint inspection of children’s services for asylum seekersin Glasgow took place in the autumn. The inspection will assess the quality of allsuch services, including education provision. We expect to receive the formal reportof the inspection shortly and will inform Parliament of its findings.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24258 on 23 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Thefollowing table shows the requested information for students from Scottishhigher education institutions for each year between 1998-99 and 2005-06:

Year	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Number of Students	1,215	1,202	1,081	1,109	949	944	1,019	982
% of UK Total	12.1%	11.9%	12.0%	13.1%	11.9%	12.5%	14.1%	13.8%

 

This information has been providedby the UK Socrates-Erasmus Council which coordinates the Erasmus Programme withinthe UK and is coded for the location of the Higher Education Institution.

The following table shows therequested information for students from Scottish higher education institutions foreach year between 1998-99 and 2005-06.

Year	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Number of Students	1,215	1,202	1,081	1,109	949	944	1,019	982

 

This information has been providedby the UK Socrates-Erasmus Council which coordinates the Erasmus Programme withinthe UK and is coded for the location of the higher education institution.

The following table providesthe figures requested for overseas students studying at Scottish institutions throughthe Erasmus Programme for each year since 1998-99.

Year	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Number of Students	2,320	2,455	2,376	2,261	2,165	2,245	2,168

 

The figures for incoming studentsin 2005-06 are not yet available.

This information has been providedby the UK Socrates-Erasmus Council which coordinates the Erasmus Programme withinthe UK.

In the academic year 2003-04(the most recent year for which we have figures), 2,168 incoming students attendedScottish Institutions through the Erasmus Programme. It is a condition of the ErasmusProgramme that host institutions may not request payment of tuition fees from incomingstudents on the Erasmus programme. This condition applies to all participating institutions.

Source: Statistics provided bythe UK Socrates Erasmus Council.

I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

The information requested isnot held centrally.

In announcing my approval ofNHS Lanarkshire’s service reconfiguration proposals under A Picture of Health,I placed a number of requirements on the board. These included the development ofa shuttle bus service between Monklands, Wishaw and Hairmyres Hospitals whichwould be in place by the time accident and emergency provision changes at Monklands Hospital. I understandthat NHS Lanarkshire is actively participating in the Regional Transport Partnershipto consider how wider provision of transport to hospitals and health facilitiesacross Lanarkshire may be improved and the board has confirmed that the frequencyof additional services will depend on the improvements made in public transportservices. The provision of the shuttle bus service will be a matter for NHS Lanarkshireand its planning partners and I have been clear that usage of the service shouldbe kept under review.

I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

The information requested isnot held centrally.