Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive publishedits draft Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Strategy for Scotland forpublic consultation on 12 March 2007. This sets out the Executive’s aims for encouraging agreater uptake of microgeneration. In addition the Executive recently consultedon Scottish Planning Policy 6 on Renewable Energy, including proposals for requiringminimum standards for on-site generation from microgeneration technologies in newdevelopments. The Executive also plans to consult later in the year on detailedchanges to planning controls to make the uptake of these technologies easier.

The consultation on the ScottishEnergy Efficiency and Microgeneration Strategy can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/09144516/0.

The consultation responses onScottish Planning Policy 6 can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/12/04103231/0.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-30919 on 22 January 2007. 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.

Since 2001 the Scottish Executivehas provided education authorities with £22.5 million for language learning andteaching. This funding should be used to support the teaching of any languages andin offering funding for 2006-07, the Executive specifically asked education authoritiesto work towards providing “a diversifiedrange of languages for young people in schools, so that they have the opportunityto try lesser known or community languages such as Chinese, Urdu etc”.

Support for language learningteaching is also provided through grant aided expenditure but it is for localauthorities to determine how this is spent.

In addition to direct fundingto authorities, the Executive also provides core funding to the Scottish Centrefor Information on Language Teaching and Research to support language teachers inScotland.

The Executive is also providingspecific support for Chinese, as outlined in the answers to questions S2W-31813and S2W-31815 on 26 February 2007. Allanswers 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/webapp/wa.search.

The following table details theestimated value of Scottish exports to China for the period 2003-05. Import estimates are not availableat this level.

Table 1: Estimated Scottish Exportsto China (£ Million), 2003-05

2003	2004	2005
130	130	320

Source: Scottish Executive GlobalConnections Survey 2005.

According to information providedto the Executive by education authorities in May 2006, the following non-Europeanlanguages are taught in Scottish schools: Latin; Urdu; Hebrew; Cantonese; Bengali;Chinese; Punjabi; Parsi; Arabic, and Japanese.

The first objective of the Executive’sStrategy for Stronger Engagement with China, launched in August 2006, aimsto raise understanding of Chinese language and culture and, specifically, to haveat least 200 pupils studying for Chinese language national qualifications in Scottishschools by 2010. Accordingly, the Executive is working with the Scottish QualificationsAuthority (SQA) to develop qualifications in Chinese that will come on stream withinthe next two years. We are also working to ensure the timely and coordinated supplyof Chinese language teachers (with General Teaching Council Scotland and the ConfuciusInstitute at Edinburgh University) and the provision of appropriate curricular resources(with Learning and Teaching Scotland).

In addition to the activitiesoutlined in response to questions S2W-31814 on 26 February 2007 and S2W-31815 on26 Febuary 2007, the Executive also supports, and is a member of, the Scotland ChinaEducation Network (SCEN) that was established in 2006 and aims to:

promote educational links betweenScottish and Chinese schools by bringing together those involved to support eachother and to share experiences and good practice.

work in collaboration with theSQA and other national agencies to develop qualifications in Chinese language andculture.

raise the understanding of Chineselanguage and culture in Scottish schools and promote the understanding of Scottishculture and education in Chinese schools.

All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

We do not hold this informationcentrally at present. However, a list of China linked schools in Scotland has beencollated by the Executive with British Council Scotland and the Scotland China EducationNetwork, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. number: 41961).

The Executive has commissioneda national survey to establish the extent to which Scottish schools are engaginginternationally, including with China, and the findings of this will be available in the spring.A more detailed research study is being undertaken by Strathclyde University toascertain the number of schools teaching Chinese language and culture in Scotland, aswell as evaluating possible areas of concern with regard to uptake, curricular developmentsand materials. Findings will be available towards the end of 2007.

The Scottish Executive has provided£346,000 over three years (2005-08) to the British Council Scotland to promote andadminister a Scotland-China School Links Initiative, where up to 120 young Scotscan learn Chinese and experience Chinese culture and way of life. The initiativealso encourages Chinese Language Assistants to come to Scotland to teachChinese and assists graduates from Scotland to travel to China as English language assistants. Further school linksare being established through funding head teachers/teachers from Scottish schoolsto travel to China for one week visits, to establish new school links. Thereis also funding for head teachers and teachers to visit their partner schools toensure that links can be consolidated and developed. Information, including applicationprocedures are on the British Council Scotland website:http://www.britishcouncil.org/scotland.htm.

The £4 million annual fundinggiven to education authorities in 2006-07 for language learning and teaching canalso be used by them to support the teaching of Chinese.

In August 2006 we launched ourChina Strategy. Two key objectives within the strategy are increasing trade andexpanding connections between businesses in both countries. Over the last two yearsthe First Minister, The Finance Minister and I have visited China raisingScotland’s business profile, strengthening links and establishing partnerships. Lastyear we signed a co-operation agreement with Shangdong Province – China’s secondlargest regional economy.

Scottish Development International(SDI) has offices in Beijing and Shanghai and has recently doubled its staff in China. SDI providessupport services direct to Scottish companies looking to develop business in/withChina. It has made additional investment in terms of awareness-raising about theopportunities and challenges of the Chinese market and in terms of information provisionto Scottish companies. SDI works closely with key partners such as China BritainBusiness Council and UK Trade and Investment to deliver services, and seeks thesupport of the globalscot network to assist Scottish companies.

The Executive is working withdeaf organisations through its BSL and Linguistic Access Working Group to developa package of measures to ensure a sustainable increase in registered sign languageinterpreters including supporting the development and delivery of a Graduate Diplomain Teaching British Sign Language Tutors at Heriot-Watt University and funding the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters.

In addition, the Executive isin the final stages of recruiting a BSL and Linguistic Access Project Manager todevelop a road map for improving linguistic access for deaf, deafblind and hardof hearing people, which will include exploring further ways in which the Executivecan increase the number of registered BSL/English interpreters.