Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23761 on 26 May 2009. 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.

Employment matters are for local authorities themselves to manage, as independent corporate bodies.

The Scottish Government has regular discussions with COSLA on a range of issues involving local government, including finance. However, employment matters are for local authorities themselves to manage as independent corporate bodies within the resources available to them.

The Scottish Government does not set targets for the uptake of qualifications. There has been a positive response to the baccalaureates, with over 100 schools and colleges expressing an interest in offering the award in their initial implementation years. It is expected that modest numbers will be involved in the first year (academic year 2009-10) with this growing steadily as baccalaureates become established.

The Scottish Government has funded the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to develop and support the implementation of the Scottish Science and Language Baccalaureates. As with other National Qualifications, SQA is providing support to all centres who wish to offer the Scottish Science and Languages Baccalaureates, including publishing information on the SQA website and holding support events. SQA will also be appointing a Scottish Baccalaureate Development Manager to provide additional support to those centres implementing the Scottish baccalaureates in 2009-10.

There has been a positive response to the Scottish Science and Language Baccalaureates, with over 100 schools and colleges across Scotland expressing an interest in offering the award in their initial implementation years. However, the precise number of schools and local authorities offering the baccalaureates in 2009-10 will not be known until candidate entries for the Interdisciplinary Project are received in December 2009. Numbers for 2010-11 will not be known until December 2010.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23545 on 19 May 2009. 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 schools and colleges which have expressed an interest in the baccalaureates are drawn from across Scotland, from both urban and rural areas.

Local authorities are already adopting imaginative solutions to increase access to Higher and Advanced Higher courses, including developing collaborative arrangements between schools and with other establishments, and using new technology such as SCHOLAR and Glow.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority will be appointing a Scottish Baccalaureate Development Manager to provide additional support to those centres implementing the Scottish baccalaureates in 2009-10. A key role of this post will be to help facilitate partnerships between centres.

The Scottish Government is currently providing local government in Scotland with £23 billion for the period 2008-10. It is the responsibility of local authorities to set budgets for education, within the overall resources provided to them.

Two of the National Outcomes agreed in the concordat are that We are better educated, more skilled and more successful, renowned for our research and innovation and that Our young people are successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. The Scottish Science and Language Baccalaureates can clearly contribute to the delivery of these outcomes.

As a result of the concordat agreement, funding for local government changed fundamentally from 1 April 2008 with the rolling-up of the vast majority of former ring-fenced grants into the local government finance settlements. As a consequence there is no directly comparable funding figure for 2007-08.

However, using broadly comparable figures for 2007-08, the estimated year-on-year real terms increases in the local government settlement for East Renfrewshire Council for 2008-09 was £3.1 million or 1.8 per cent. The actual real terms increase for 2009-10 is £9.9 million or 5.7 per cent.

At this stage it would be misleading to give out figures for 2010-11, when final decisions have still to be taken by the Scottish Government on the impact of the UK Government''s decision to impose a cut of almost £500 million in the Scottish Budget.