Chamber and committees

Exact running costs associated with the position of Commissioner for Fair Access cannot be identified, as they may be subject to change as the requirements of the role itself adjust and mature. Relevant costs will include the Commissioner’s fees and expenses and staffing costs as outlined in the answer to question S5W-06719 on 21 February 2017. Staffing support and the level of required investment will be dependent on need as work progresses, and therefore may vary. The Commissioner’s own fees are not expected to exceed £1,000 per month. Further, the Commissioner will be reimbursed for expenses at the Scottish Government’s normal travel and subsistence rates.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Commission made 34 recommendations for different parts of the education system, a number of which were for the Scottish Government to take forward. In line with dates set by the Commission, the Government has appointed a Commissioner for Fair Access and has also made arrangements for the provision of a care experience bursary for those studying in 2017-18. The Government immediately accepted the targets proposed by the Commission and officials have liaised with the Scottish Funding Council to ensure that these are reflected in the latest outcome agreement guidance.

The Government will publish a formal report on progress against the Commission’s recommendations in Spring 2017.

The list of nurseries in each local authority who will receive an additional graduate will be published on the Scottish Government web site once local authorities have submitted their final plans for implementing this commitment.

I will provide the Education and Skills Committee with an update once this information is available.

A document containing this data has been placed in SPICe with the Bib number 58531.

(a) Modern Apprenticeships,

SG spent the following on modern apprenticeships in the last five years

(b) National Occupation Standards,

SG spent the following on National Occupational Standards in the last five years

(c) Graduate Level Apprenticeships,

SG spent the following on Graduate Level Apprenticeships in the last five years

(d) Foundation Apprenticeships,

SG spent the following on Foundation apprenticeships in the last five years

e) Workforce Development

SG spent the following on Workforce Development in the last five years

* Employment focussed College provision figures are not available as they are not held centrally within SG.

(f) Pre-employment support

SG spent the following on pre -employment support in the last five years

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06715 on 10 February 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06715 on 10 February 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Data Protection is a reserved matter which is regulated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) across the UK. Local authorities do not fall under the Scottish Government ICO registration therefore it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to answer for these bodies. The preparations and implications of the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation within schools is a matter for each local authority.

The right to privacy is a right which the Scottish Government takes very seriously. We will continue to promote good practice to all public bodies when handling personal information.

Published aggregate data on Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) can be found on the Scottish Government website at - http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/NDR-Rates-Relief , including the total number of recipients broken down by Local Authority and Rateable Value (RV) band.

Robust summary data on the relief percentage applied to individual properties in receipt of SBBS is only available for 2015-16 at this time. Data for each local authority area and sector is supplied in the table below. Circumstances for the application of SBBS vary on a case-by-case basis and SBBS also interacts with other NDR reliefs. As a result, SBBS is also applied to other properties at different relief percentage levels to those set out below.

Data on what businesses are eligible for SBBS is not held by Scottish Government, as qualification criteria is wider-ranging than the RV level of a property. However, Scottish Government Ministers have in the past written to business owners in Scotland who may be potentially eligible for SBBS in order to raise awareness and increase uptake.

Outturn data on the total amount of non-domestic rates income that has been collected in each local authority area is published annually in the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics report.

Copies of the relevant statistical publications covering the period 2007-15 are available on the Scottish Government website “http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/Publications”. Outturn data for the amount collected for 2015-16 and future years will be available when the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics report for that year is published.

Historic data on net rates income generated from the Large Business Supplement and the Public Health Supplement at property sector level is not collected by Scottish Government.