Chamber and committees

The National Priorities in Education define the key outcomes we want from school education. The inclusion of any issue in the priorities requires ministers, local authorities and schools to address it in planning and delivering school education. The inclusion of Gaelic in the priorities is, accordingly, a significant achievement for the development of Gaelic-medium education.The focus on outcomes in the Improvement Framework, under the National Priorities, is intended to give authorities and schools considerable flexibility to determine locally how these outcomes are secured.The Policy Memorandum to the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Records) (Scotland) Bill makes clear that to support the duties introduced in Part IV of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, requires specific legislative provisions which could not be secured through the inclusion of a single indicator in the performance measurement framework, under the National Priorities. In addition, the provisions of the Bill require to apply to all schools in the public and private sectors. The Improvement Framework applies only to publicly-funded schools. The memorandum in no way questions the value of the priorities, in setting the agenda for improvement in Scottish education.

We are presently considering a claim for damages submitted on Ms McKie's behalf by her legal representatives.

The conclusion of the Independent Scrutiny Committee, which was set up to be independent of SCRO and Strathclyde Joint Police Board, was that there were no matters of misconduct or lack of capability in the work surrounding the fingerprint comparisons made by SCRO officers. The Scrutiny Committee accordingly recommended that no disciplinary action be taken against the four officers concerned.

The eligibility criteria for the Teacher Induction Scheme has been developed to include all those students studying in Scotland who are in publicly funded places.

It is not normal practice for the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) to record the nationality of postgraduate students, as nationality is not used as a criterion in determining eligibility for student support. Under the previous arrangements, whether or not a particular student fell to be dealt with by SAAS or the AHRB was determined by residency. The AHRB currently monitors and will continue to monitor the residency of postgraduate students. It will therefore remain possible to identify those students receiving awards from the AHRB who would previously have fallen within the remit of SAAS.

I understand that the Sunday Herald have accepted that their report of this matter was inaccurate and they agreed to publish a letter from the Court of the Lord Lyon in a subsequent edition. I understand, too, that the Lord Lyon has written to you to explain the background. I have no further comment to offer on matters which are for the independent Lyon Court to consider.

The eligibility criteria for the Teacher Induction Scheme has been developed to include all students studying in Scotland who are in publicly funded places.No barrier to access to the scheme exists for those students, studying at Scottish institutions, who are funded by English Education Authorities.

Question S1W-22764 asked what new facilities would be available after renovation that were not available before. The answer given provided that information and also referred to other upgrading of the court. The South Lanarkshire Council's planning application report provides further information on the work being undertaken including facilities that are currently available but that are going to be upgraded. For example, the layout of the existing facilities is being altered to provide a more efficient use of space and to create secure routes for prisoners through the court building.

The amount spent on the recruitment of their new director is a question for the Scottish Arts Council themselves. Details on recruitment costs in other non-departmental public bodies are not held centrally. New guidance is being devised at present covering the Executive's sponsorship of non-departmental public bodies. This will include specific guidance on the appointment of Chief Executives and similar posts, and will emphasise the importance of value for money considerations in the recruitment process.

The Scottish Executive does not hold information regarding any plans by local authorities' to involve private companies or private finance in assisting those who are temporarily or permanently excluded from school. Funding allocated by the Scottish Executive to local authorities under the Alternatives to Exclusion Programme of the Excellence Fund is subject to certain conditions. This includes reporting to the Scottish Executive how the allocated funds have been spent. Local authorities have discretion in determining how best these funds should be spent, provided that they comply with the conditions attached to the funding programme.