Data on teachers by sector and subject is published as part of the online dataset associated with the Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland (http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/teachcenssuppdata).

(a) Early learning and childcare (ELC) teachers recorded:

(i) January 2007 = 1,689

(ii) September 2015 = 1,038

In 2010 the ELC teacher census moved to September (in line with the main teacher census) meaning figures are not directly comparable.

Figures are full-time equivalent (FTE).

(b) Teachers recorded in the census with a language as their main subject:

(i) 2007 = 1,746 FTE teachers (of which 81% worked full-time)

(ii) 2015 = 1,344 FTE teachers (of which 75% worked full-time).

This data is for teachers at publicly funded secondary schools, and excludes head teachers or deputy head teachers as we do not collect subject information for teachers at these grades.

In 2015, there were an additional 18 FTE centrally employed teachers with a main subject of a language, but we do not hold an equivalent figure for 2007.

(c) Teachers recorded in the census with a science related subject as their main subject:

(i) 2007 = 3,272 FTE teachers (of which 90% worked full-time)

(ii) 2015 = 3,032 FTE teachers (of which 85% worked full-time).

This data excludes head teachers or deputy head teachers as we do not collect subject information for teachers at these grades.

In 2015, there were an additional 15 FTE centrally employed teachers with a main subject of languages, but we do not hold an equivalent figure for 2007.

The Scottish Government legislated, through the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, to require separate collection of food waste and dry recyclable materials, and to restrict materials going to landfill or incineration. All bills in this parliamentary session have passed.

The BSS provides maintenance bursaries for further (FE) and higher education (HE) students. The bursaries are worth up to £1,500 per year for FE students and £4,950 per year for HE students. Scottish domiciled HE students studying in the rest of the UK are also eligible for a contribution of up to £9,000 towards the cost of their tuition fees.

The bursaries are provided in addition to the tuition fee and living-cost support that the Scottish Government makes available to all Scottish domiciled further and higher education students.

The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 places a statutory responsibility on all local authorities to manage and maintain the school estate across Scotland.

However, the Scottish Government is doing all it can to improve Scotland's school estate. For example, the proportion of pupils educated in schools in ‘poor’ or ‘bad’ condition has fallen from 37% (around 257,000 of all pupils) in 2007 to 15% (around 102,500 of all pupils) in April 2015.

Moreover, since 2007-08, 607 school building projects have been completed during the current administration – almost a quarter of all school premises in Scotland. By comparison, this is 279 more schools than the 328 completed over the preceding 8 year.

The Scottish Government has previously made clear its willingness to work with communities to explore the creation of new national parks. We have been equally clear that such discussions would only be appropriate where there is strong evidence of local authority and community support and a robust case to justify costs.

In response to a request from the Scottish Government in July 2013, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) developed a new procedure for restricting the use of general licences on land where, on the basis of evidence from Police Scotland, they have good reason to believe that wildlife crime has taken place. General licences allow land managers to carry out actions to control wild birds that would otherwise be unlawful. Restrictions on general licences are now in place affecting four properties.

Also in July 2013, the Scottish Government established a review to examine whether the penalties available for wildlife crime properly reflect the seriousness of the damage caused to vulnerable wildlife and fragile habitats and ecosystems. This review, led by Professor Poustie of Strathclyde University, submitted a report to Scottish Ministers on 19 November 2015. The report made 10 recommendations which included increasing the maximum fines to £40,000 and imprisonment to 12 months for more serious offences; extending the use of forfeiture provisions and making more use of and legislating for the use of impact statements in courts. The Scottish Government published a formal response on 24 February 2016 stating that the Scottish Government looked forward to making progress with taking forward the recommendations.

As agreed during the debate on wildlife crime in the Scottish Parliament on 6 May 2014, the Scottish Government has asked SNH to commission a study of the legislation and regulation relating to the hunting of gamebirds in other countries. This study has now commenced and a report is expected in the autumn.

In addition to initiatives which have operated over specified periods of time, such as the Scottish Government funded Pesticides Disposal Scheme 2015 which was in place between February and May of that year to help remove dangerous banned pesticides from Scotland’s environment, the Scottish Government also supports regular ongoing work to assist in the fight against wildlife crime. This includes the publication annually in March of maps showing areas where bird of prey crimes have taken place, and the ‘Heads up for Harriers’ initiative which works with land managers and conservationists to raise awareness of risks to hen harriers and identify reasons for breeding failures.

The Scottish Government continues to lead the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime Scotland, and supports this broad partnership approach as the best way to tackle wildlife crime. The Scottish Government is also continuing to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit based in Livingston.

Since 2011, there has been a reduction of over 28,000 children being educated in unsuitable schools.

Education Scotland continue to support all schools to help them improve the quality of PE.

Healthy Living Survey results for 2016 will be published in June 2016.