Chamber and committees

The establishment of the Site Recovery Group was one of the recommendations from the report of the Buchanan and St Ambrose Independent Review, and we welcome the Group's report.

North Lanarkshire Council has assured us that it is taking action as quickly as possible to resolve the issues raised by the Chair within the Group’s report.

As it is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate, any further questions on this matter should be put to the Council directly.

(a)Additional Support for Learning Teachers

Statistics on the full time equivalent number of additional support for learning teachers by local authority from the 2020 staff census are published in Table 6.5 of the 2020 Teacher Census Supplementary statistics, available on the Scottish Government website here https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/

(b) Pupil Support Assistants - Classroom Assistants, Additional Support Needs Auxiliaries or Care Assistants

The use of the term 'classroom assistant' varies between local authorities and is sometimes used interchangeably with 'additional support needs auxiliary or care assistant'. Therefore these two categories of school support staff are combined and reported as 'pupil support assistants' in the published statistics on school support staff.

Data on school support staff was collected in the form of hours per week rather than Full Time Equivalent in 2020. This is because different local authorities have different definitions of ‘full time hours’, therefore Full Time Equivalent comparisons between local authorities were not valid. Statistics on the number of hours per week of pupil support assistants by local authority from the 2020 staff census are published in Table 1.1 of the 2020 School Support Staff statistics, available on the Scottish Government website here https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-support-staff-statistics/ . Calculations of Full Time Equivalent numbers of support staff are published in table 2.1 allowing a comparison to be made with 2018 and 2019 data at a national level.

The UK government`s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is responsible for the delivery of driving tests in Scotland, however the Scottish government works closely with the DVSA to ensure that waiting times to access a driving test are minimised as much as possible. In collaboration with the DVSA we secured delegated authority earlier this year for some transport operators and the emergency services to undertake driving tests for their own staff, thereby reducing the numbers of people awaiting tests at DVSA test centres. In advance of driving tests resuming when Scotland moved to Protection Level 3 on 26 April 2021, we engaged with DVSA on their remobilisation plans and the development of communications materials to ensure that candidates were “test ready” when they presented for a test. We continue to meet regularly with the DVSA to discuss ways in which we can expedite access to driving tests.

In December 2020, the Scottish Government were delighted to announce that Liberton High School would be included within Phase 2 of the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme.

We remain committed to this funding commitment and expect Phase 2 projects, including the replacement for Liberton High School, to be completed by December 2025.

Following exam changes in 2020, the Scottish Government asked the Scottish Funding Council to fund additional places in Scotland’s universities in AY 2020-21. These places will continue to be funded in AY 2021-22 along with further additional places for affected 2020 students starting their studies in AY
‎ 2021-22.

Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) data covering the 2021 cycle, published in February, shows that, in total across all domiciles, there were 132,960 applicants making 310,190 applications for a Scottish University by the January deadline.

The following link provides further details, including specific domicile groupings:

https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-releases/applicant-releases-2021/2021-cycle-applicant-figures-january-deadline

The Scottish Funding Council continues to work closely with the Universities to determine their AY 2021-22 requirement as definitive student numbers will not be known until courses start.

In January 2021, the then Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport accepted the NHS Lanarkshire’s recommendation of Wester Moffat as the preferred site option for a new University Hospital Monklands. NHS Lanarkshire is currently preparing an Outline Business Case which will then be submitted to Scottish Government for consideration.

Concerns raised over the rising number of Covid-19 cases in South Glasgow over the past several days and its links to the more infectious Indian variant of COVID-19 B.1.617.2.

The JCVI highlighted the need to accelerate and promote vaccine uptake for everyone within priority groups 1-9 who have yet to be vaccinated, and bring forward the dose schedule from 12 to 8 weeks in areas where the 02 variant is of the highest threat.

The JCVI’s advice is that an age-based approach is the best way to quickly protect those who haven’t yet had the vaccine.

We are currently considering options to deliver this scheme which will be informed by pilot projects. No decision has been made on how it will be administered.

The Scottish Government has no functions in relation to the use of animals in scientific procedures which is a matter reserved to the UK Government.

University entry requirements vary among universities and between subject, and also vary over time as demand for particular subjects and courses increases or decreases. As autonomous bodies universities are responsible for their own policies and procedures, including setting entry requirements for each course they offer.

Following exam changes in 2020, the Scottish Government asked the Scottish Funding Council to fund additional places in Scotland’s universities in AY 2020-21. These places will continue to be funded in AY 2021-22 along with further additional places for affected 2020 students starting their studies in AY 2021-22.

With the exception of the controlled subjects (i.e. medicine, pre-registration nursing and midwifery education, dentistry and initial teacher education), the Scottish Government does not direct individual institutions on the number of funded places to make available for eligible students.

Minimum entry requirements (access thresholds) for SIMD20 students have been set by all Scottish universities and were published for the very first time in 2019 (for AY 2020-21 entrants).

All of Scotland’s higher education institutions (excluding The Open University in Scotland as it has a different admissions system) have committed to guaranteeing an offer of an undergraduate place at university to care-experienced applicants who meet minimum entry requirements. This was effective from autumn 2019 for learners entering university in autumn 2020.

We remain absolutely committed to the principle that access to education should be based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay. Every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education.