- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 4 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have received Modern Languages in the Primary School training in each year from 2001, broken down by local authority.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect information on the numbers of teachers receiving modern languages in the primary school training. However, we do engage closely with interested parties, particularly through meetings of the COALA (Cultural Organisations and Local Authority Advisers) network, which brings together local authority quality improvement officers with a focus on modern languages and a range of other organisations. This gives us regular opportunities to hear directly about issues in relation to modern languages in primary schools, including training, and to discuss developments.
In addition the Scottish Government provides annual funding to Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, and British Council Scotland to help primary and secondary teachers engage fully with the expectations for modern languages within Curriculum for Excellence, one of which is that schools will offer a modern language beginning no later than primary six.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 4 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) correspondence and (b) discussions ministers have had with Argyll and Bute Council regarding the proposed closure of Castle Toward.
Answer
Ministers have had no correspondence or discussions with Argyll and Bute about the proposed closure of Castle Toward. I refer the member to the question to S3W-31095 on 4 February 2010. 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.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 4 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors the number of teachers receiving Modern Languages in the Primary School training.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31088 on 4 February 2010. 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.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 4 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers are considering the inclusion of a compulsory modern languages component in initial teacher training.
Answer
The implementation of Curriculum for Excellence will increasingly make different demands on Scotland''s teachers and it is timely that we consider whether our existing arrangements for teacher education and development are best suited to developing the flexible, creative, learner centred teachers we need in the longer term; that is why we have set up the Donaldson Review.
The out‘going Senior Chief Inspector of HMIE has been commissioned to conduct a wide ranging review of teacher education and development. The review will start later this month and report towards the end of the year.
The scope of the review will be wide - nothing has been ruled out. The Scottish Ministers will consider the review''s recommendations in due course.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 3 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation took place between ministers and Scottish Enterprise regarding the decision to withdraw the Graduates for Business scheme.
Answer
Ministers meet regularly with Scottish Enterprise and other key agencies on strategic issues, to ensure that their activities and resources are focused on the matters likely to make the most significant contribution to delivering sustainable economic growth. However, the Scottish Government is not involved routinely in detailed matters connected to the funding or refocusing of specific interventions. These are matters for the agencies themselves to determine, taking account of this overarching purpose and the need to optimise the value derived from their spend.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 27 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on bringing the legislation governing the changing of bus timetables into line with that for companies operating rail services.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to amend the regulations governing changes to bus timetables.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 27 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing mandatory statutory consultation and limit changes to once every six months for proposed bus timetable changes.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to amend the regulations governing changes to bus timetables.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 27 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the level of protection provided for passengers by the legislative regime for bus operators wishing to change their timetables.
Answer
We believe that the current legislation governing changes to bus timetables as administered by the Traffic Commissioner strikes the right balance between maintaining a stable network and allowing operators to adjust services to meet commercial needs. A strength of bus as a mode of transport is its ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances when compared to fixed route modes. We also welcome partnership working between operators and local authorities that leads to increased stability of networks.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 27 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the difference between the rules for rail companies wishing to change their train timetables and those for bus operators wishing to change their timetables.
Answer
Buses and trains work in very different operating environments. We believe that the current legislation governing changes to bus timetables as administered by the Traffic Commissioner strikes the right balance between maintaining a stable network and allowing operators to adjust services to meet commercial needs. The legislation governing rail timetable changes is necessarily less flexible given the limited capacity of the infrastructure and the number of train operators.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 27 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to reform the regulations governing proposed changes to bus timetables by bus operators or transport companies.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to amend the regulations governing changes to bus timetables.