Allocations of the additional graduates to local authorities were determined by their share of the nurseries located in the 20% most deprived postcode areas. Using the Care Inspectorate data on Early Learning and Childcare settings, and the latest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), 432 nurseries were identified as being located in the 20% most deprived postcode areas. Each of the three local authorities (Orkney, Shetland, and Western Isles) without a nursery in the 20% most deprived postcode areas will also receive one additional full-time equivalent graduate.

However, to ensure that this commitment benefits as many children as possible local authorities will be given flexibility to draw on their local data to prioritise how they allocate these additional places.

We are currently working closely with local authorities on progressing this commitment, and will ask them provide plans setting out how they propose to allocate the additional places in their area.

The Scottish Government will invest around £1 million in 2017-18 to increase awareness of routes into Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and to attract new recruits in to the sector. This campaign will be informed by the research that we are currently undertaking with target audiences.

We are also currently working with stakeholders to develop a Skills Investment Plan (SIP). The SIP will set out an action plan on how we will address issues such as raising the profile of a career in ELC and promoting routes into the sector.

Allocations of the additional graduates to local authorities were determined by their share of the nurseries located in the 20% most deprived postcode areas. Using the Care Inspectorate data on Early Learning and Childcare settings, and the latest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), 432 nurseries were identified as being located in the 20% most deprived postcode areas. Each of the three local authorities (Orkney, Shetland, and Western Isles) without a nursery in the 20% most deprived postcode areas will also receive 1 additional graduate.

To ensure that this commitment benefits as many children as possible local authorities will be given flexibility to draw on their local data to prioritise how they allocate these additional places.

We are currently working closely with local authorities on progressing this commitment, and will ask them to provide plans setting out how they propose to allocate the additional places in their area.

Taking next year's local government finance settlement plus the other sources of income available through potential increases in council tax, and Health and Social Care Integration, the overall increase in spending power to support local authority services amounts to £241 million (2.3 per cent in cash terms) or over £91 million (0.9 per cent in real terms).

In addition the Scottish Draft Budget 2017-18 has allocated over £60 million in new investment to support the expansion to 1,140 hours of Early Learning and Childcare entitlement.

This includes investment in the training and employment of new staff as well as the upskilling of some of the existing ELC workforce to ensure those currently within the sector have an opportunity to progress their careers. For example in order to support delivery of the Additional Graduate commitment the Scottish Government will invest nearly £1.5 million in 2017-18 to fund additional places for teacher training and on the BA Childhood Practice.

This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Funding Council are the Public Body responsible for this information. They can be contacted at:

Scottish Funding Council, Apex 2, 97 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 5HD.

We expect the 435 additional graduates to be in place for the start of the 2018-19 academic year (which commences in August 2018).

We are currently working closely with local authorities on the implementation of this commitment, including bringing additional teachers with early years expertise into nurseries in deprived areas.

Local authorities will be asked to provide plans setting out how they propose to allocate, and fill, the additional places in their area.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on the qualification route of teachers in Early Learning and Childcare. The number of teachers working in this sector is collected through the Early Learning and Childcare census each year, and these teachers must be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on the qualification route of teachers in schools or in Early Learning and Childcare.

Information on school teachers is collected in the teacher census every year, and information on early learning and childcare teachers is collected in the early learning and childcare census every year. For both of these collections, teachers must be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

Taking next year's local government finance settlement plus the other sources of income available through potential increases in council tax, and Health and Social Care Integration, the overall increase in spending power to support local authority services in 2017-18 amounts to £241 million (2.3 per cent in cash terms) or over £91 million (0.9 per cent in real terms).

Furthermore, we will meet out Programme for Government commitment to maintain the budget for active travel at record levels throughout this Parliament, with planned investment in 2017-18 of £39.2 million.