Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government attaches a high priority to Gaelic teacher education. I have written to the Scottish Funding Council outlining that I wish to see the council continue to promote provision in this area, continue to pursue new avenues to increase the numbers of Gaelic teachers and to give consideration to initiatives which could improve effectiveness.

In addition, the Scottish Government has provided financial support for the retention of a Gaelic Teacher Recruitment Officer who is based at B²rd na G idhlig and is responsible for promoting the recruitment and education of Gaelic teachers.

Decisions on the future of Gaelic medium education in Edinburgh are for the City of Edinburgh Council. The Scottish Government recognises that there is strong support for a Gaelic school in Edinburgh from parents, from B²rd na G idhlig, from other Gaelic interests and in an independent study commissioned by the council.

The Scottish Government has supported Gaelic medium education in Edinburgh for many years with additional running cost support. In the course of this financial year the Scottish Government indicated that we would be keen to support the City of Edinburgh with capital support towards a Gaelic school and a specific offer was made in November and December 2010. This offer was limited to 2010-11. There will be a Gaelic Schools Capital Budget in 2011-12 and if required consideration can be given to support for the establishment of a Gaelic school in Edinburgh at that time.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39643 on 4 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The evaluation of the Energy Saving Scotland home loans pathfinder scheme was published in December 2010. It is based on interviews and data analysis and therefore provides useful information a number of aspects of the scheme including:

The customer''s decision making process;

The mix of customers and what measures they are likely to install;

The cost effectiveness of loans;

The difference a loan makes; and

Recommendations for refinements to the scheme.

It fulfils the Scottish Government''s aim to determine the receptiveness of domestic consumers to government-backed interest-free loans and gives strong evidence which will be used to inform future development of policy for domestic energy efficiency and micro-renewables.

Edinburgh is being supported by the Scottish Government in a number of ways to help deliver employability initiatives.

On 14 December 2010, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell MSP, announced £64.6 million European Structural Fund (ESF) grant towards 21 strategic projects worth £168 million. A joint bid from Edinburgh and Midlothian councils received £3.96 million directly from this allocation. They will also benefit from targeted local funding from a number of the other strategic bidders including the Scottish Funding Council, STUC, Skills Development Scotland and a Third Sector Consortium bid.

The bids are being supported over two years from 2011 onwards and will deliver employability and training services for the unemployed, the lowest paid and the socially deprived, ranging from early engagement through to in-work support and skills development. The organisations will all be involved in the delivery of the strategic skills programme which fits with the Scottish Government''s Skills Strategy and Economic Recovery Programme.

Edinburgh and Midlothian councils are also working jointly to deliver a higher support needs consortium, which focuses on providing personalised support to people with disabilities and long-term health issues to ensure they are able to acquire and sustain employment. The project has received ESF support twice since 2008, with ESF awards totalling £1.78 million (total project costs of £3.97 million). The current project will be supported by ESF until September 2012.

In addition, £724,310 has been allocated in 2008-11 through the Scottish Government''s Wider Role Fund to support the employability programmes of registered social landlords in the City of Edinburgh.

The Scottish Government has not withdrawn Fairer Scotland Funding from the Capital City Partnership. The Community Planning Partnership for Edinburgh, The Edinburgh Partnership, was awarded £22.798 million from the Fairer Scotland Fund from 2008-11 to work together to tackle area-based and individual poverty, and to help more people access and sustain employment opportunities. The ring fence from the Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) was removed in 2010-11 to provide local partners with increased flexibility in how to use resources to tackle local priorities. The regeneration resources associated with the former FSF have been retained and maintained within the 2011-12 local government finance settlement.

The Minister for Housing and Communities, Alex Neil, wrote to Councillor Tom Buchanan at City of Edinburgh Council on 21 December 2010 informing him that the Scottish Government were unable to continue additional dedicated central government support to the Edinburgh Partnership.

Edinburgh is being supported by the Scottish Government in a number of ways to help deliver employability initiatives.

On 14 December 2010, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Michael Russell announced £64.6 million ESF grant towards 21 strategic projects worth £168 million. A joint bid from Edinburgh and Midlothian Councils received £3.96 million directly from this allocation. They will also benefit from targeted local funding from a number of the other strategic bidders including the Scottish Funding Council, STUC, Skills Development Scotland and a Third Sector Consortium bid.

The bids are being supported over two years from 2011 onwards and will deliver employability and training services for the unemployed, the lowest paid and the socially deprived, ranging from early engagement through to in-work support and skills development. The organisations will all be involved in the delivery of the strategic skills programme which fits with the Scottish Government''s Skills Strategy and Economic Recovery Programme.

City of Edinburgh and Midlothian Councils are also working jointly to deliver a higher support needs consortium, which focuses on providing personalised support to people with disabilities and long-term health issues to ensure they are able to acquire and sustain employment. The project has received ESF support twice since 2008, with ESF awards totalling £1.78 million (Total project costs of £3.97 million). The current project will be supported by ESF until September 2012.

Allocations of the Fairer Scotland Fund to each local authority area for 2009 and 2010-11 are as follows.

Local Authority Area	Funding in 2009-10	Funding in 2010-11
	(£ Million)	(£ Million)
Aberdeen City	2.481	2.843
Aberdeenshire	1.038	1.286
Angus	0.988	1.24
Argyll and Bute	0.965	1.104
Clackmannanshire	2.043	2.263
Dumfries and Galloway	1.634	1.694
Dundee City	8.286	8.131
East Ayrshire	4.621	4.589
East Dunbartonshire	0.523	0.621
East Lothian	0.413	0.546
East Renfrewshire	0.575	0.526
Edinburgh, City of	7.599	7.554
Eilean Siar	0.545	0.5
Falkirk	1.955	2.212
Fife	4.692	5.675
Glasgow City	51.491	51.969
Highland	1.959	2.354
Inverclyde	6.125	5.78
Midlothian	0.718	0.817
Moray	0.422	0.5
North Ayrshire	5.427	5.258
North Lanarkshire	14.339	13.19
Orkney Islands	0.345	0.5
Perth and Kinross	0.847	1.2
Renfrewshire	6.348	5.654
Scottish Borders	0.527	0.739
Shetland Islands	0.348	0.5
South Ayrshire	1.452	1.67
South Lanarkshire	8.164	6.117
Stirling	0.752	0.906
West Dunbartonshire	5.507	5.067
West Lothian	1.88	1.993
Total	145	145

 

It is for each Community Planning Partnership to decide the balance of investment between tackling area-based and individual poverty, and helping more people access and sustain employment opportunities.

The Scottish Government has not withdrawn Fairer Scotland Funding (FSF) from the Capital City Partnership. The Community Planning Partnership for Edinburgh, The Edinburgh Partnership, was awarded £22.798 million from the Fairer Scotland Fund from 2008-11 to work together to tackle area-based and individual poverty, and to help more people access and sustain employment opportunities. The ring fence from the Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) was removed in 2010-11 to provide local partners with increased flexibility in how to use resources to tackle local priorities. The regeneration resources associated with the former FSF have been retained and maintained within the 2011-12 local government finance settlement.

The decision to end the additional support that the Edinburgh Partnership received to address the strategic priorities for Edinburgh in respect of community regeneration, tackling poverty and improving employability was taken in December 2010.