Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-04518

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 23 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03782 by Mark McDonald on 3 November 2016, in light of the data in the response providing the information for children who are registered for the funding only, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding the number who are entitled to it.

As reported in the Financial Review, we estimate that there were around 16,000 two year olds entitled to free early learning and childcare in Scotland in 2015 under the terms of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. This does not include those children receiving free ELC under the terms of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or those children who receive free ELC based on local priorities. Our Scotland-level estimate is based on information from various sources most of which are not disaggregated to local authority level.

a) Looked after children (including children formally looked after in kinship care but not those subject to a Kinship Care Order) - The table below contains a breakdown of looked after 2 year olds entitled to free ELC by local authority. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Some of these children may also qualify under other criteria eg because their parents receive qualifying benefits.

b) Kinship Care Orders / Guardianship - We do not collect data on 2 year olds eligible for free ELC through kinship care orders or guardianship. As explained in the Financial Review, to derive the estimate of overall two year old eligibility, we estimated that looked after children, children under kinship care orders and children in guardianship combined were around 3 per cent of the population and that the total population is around 60,000. Some of these children may also qualify under other criteria eg because their parents receive qualifying benefits. We estimate that this applies to 70 per cent.

c) Qualifying benefits – Information on households in receipt of qualifying benefits is held by Department for Work and Pensions and by HMRC. They do not provide the relevant information on two year olds to Scottish Government at a local authority level. For Scotland as a whole, we estimate that around 15,200 two-year olds are eligible for free ELC because they live in a household in receipt of qualifying benefits.

d) In need / local priorities - Scottish Government does not collect data on the number of children entitled to free ELC under the terms of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or those children who receive free ELC based on local priorities.

Number of looked after two year olds, 2015

	LAC
Aberdeen City	30
Aberdeenshire	20
Angus	20
Argyll & Bute	10
Clackmannanshire	less than 10
Dumfries & Galloway	30
Dundee City	30
East Ayrshire	20
East Dunbartonshire	less than 10
East Lothian	10
East Renfrewshire	10
Edinburgh, City of	50
Eilean Siar	less than 10
Falkirk	20
Fife	60
Glasgow City	100
Highland	20
Inverclyde	10
Midlothian	10
Moray	10
North Ayrshire	40
North Lanarkshire	30
Orkney Islands	less than 10
Perth & Kinross	10
Renfrewshire	30
Scottish Borders	less than 10
Shetland Islands	less than 10
South Ayrshire	10
South Lanarkshire	20
Stirling	less than 10
West Dunbartonshire	20
West Lothian	20

Question reference: S5W-04235

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 22 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many children in each of the last five years have been (a) identified at birth as being disabled and (b) recognised as having additional learning support needs, broken down by local authority.

The Scottish Government does not hold information about how many children have been identified at birth as being disabled. The data that is available is from the 2011 Census, which relates to people with a long-term health problem or disability which limits their day-to-day activities. This data, broken down by age and sex, can be accessed here: www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html
People with a long-term disability or health problem may have responded in their census questionnaire that their day-to-day activities were not (or, in the case of under 5 year olds, likely judged by their parent/ carer not to be) limited as a result of their disability or health problem.

Under the Education(Additional Support for Learning) Scotland Act 2004 education authorities are required to provide appropriate additional support for certain disabled children under school age (generally children under 3 years of age) belonging to their area who have been brought to the attention of the authority as having additional support needs arising from their disability.

The number of children attending publically funded schools who are reported as having additional support needs is published each year as part of the pupil census. This information is available from Table 1.6 of the pupil census supplementary datasets: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus Note that those recorded as having Additional Support Needs includes a broad range of reasons for additional support, from ‘learning disability’ and ‘autistic spectrum disorder’ to ‘bereavement’ and ‘more able pupil’. See Table 1.8 of the supplementary tables for a full list of Reasons for Support.

Question reference: S5W-04240

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many early learning and childcare settings have been inspected by Education Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by type of setting.

ELC inspection numbers - Financial year April to March - All published April 2011 to March 2016

Inspection types	Figures
Full	Full inspection resulting in QI evaluations
Try out	Try out inspections not resulting in QI evaluations
Other	2 day notice inspections resulting in QI evaluations

Sector	Figures
Pre-school	Local authority & grant-aided Primary School, All Through Nursery Classes and Early Learning and Childcare centres
PSNC	Local Authority Primary School Nursery classes and All Through Nursery Classes
ELC	Private, Voluntary, Other LA/Family centre, LA Nursery class-special, LA Nursery school-not special
Independent School Nursery	Independent-in-partnership-with-LA Nurseries & Independent-not-in-partnership-with-LA Nursery

	Inspection type	2011-12	Inspection type	2012-13	Inspection type	2013-14	Inspection type	2014-15	Inspection type			2015-16
Sector	Full	Total	Full	Total	Full	Total	Full	Total	Full	Try out	Other	Total
Pre-school (PSNC + ELC)	199	199	162	162	194	194	130	130	130	4	0	134
PSNC	92	92	65	65	90	90	64	64	60	4	0	64
LA Nursery Class	87	87	62	62	87	87	63	63	58	4	0	62
LA Nursery Class (All through)	5	5	3	3	3	3	1	1	2	0	0	2
ELC	107	107	97	97	104	104	66	66	70	0	0	70
LA Nursery Class - Special	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	1	0	0	1
LA Nursery School - Special	1	1	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
LA Nursery School - Not Special	15	15	20	20	21	21	11	11	8	0	0	8
Other LA/Family Centre	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	4	7	0	0	7
Private	59	59	49	49	50	50	29	29	38	0	0	38
Voluntary	28	28	23	23	27	27	18	18	16	0	0	16
Grant Aided	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Independent School Nursery	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	1
In partnership	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	1
Not in partnership	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Grand total (PSNC, ELC & Independent)	201	201	162	162	194	194	131	131	131	4	0	135

Question reference: S5W-04517

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 22 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03783 by Mark McDonald on 3 November 2016, in light of the requested information not being held centrally, what the evidence is for its claim in the report, Financial Review of early learning and childcare in Scotland: the current landscape, that there was "likely to be some overlap of children who are registered with more than one provider (estimated at around 2 per cent)".

We do not routinely collect information on the number of children who are registered with more than one provider. We contacted local authorities in June 2015 to ask them to provide data which would allow us to estimate the double count of registrations for 3 and 4 year olds. From the information received, we estimated that around 2 per cent of children are registered with more than one provider.

Question reference: S5F-00517

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2016

To ask the First Minister, following the recent call by Save the Children, what action the Scottish Government will take to increase the number of teachers and other staff working in nurseries with specialist training in speech and language development.

Question reference: S5O-00361

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 17 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its and its agencies' staff earn below the Scottish Living Wage.

The Scottish Government and its agencies are covered by the Scottish Government’s public sector pay policy and as such are required to pay their employees the Scottish Living Wage as part of their annual pay settlements. This requirement has been an integral part of our public sector pay policy since 2011. The policy covers the Scottish Government, its agencies, and the non-departmental public bodies for which we are responsible. It also covers the subsidiaries of these bodies.

There may be a small number of staff in public bodies subject to Minister’s pay policy still to benefit from the 2016 Scottish Living Wage increase, but this is due to the fact that these bodies are still to conclude pay negotiations with members of staff and their unions this year and Scottish Ministers cannot intervene while these negotiations continue.

Question reference: S5W-04252

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government further to the publication of Higher Education Student Support in Scotland 2015-16, what the reason is for the reduction in the number of bursary recipients (a) since 2014-15 and (b) over the longer term.

The publication does not identify a reason for the reduction in the number of students accessing bursaries. However, the Scottish Government will investigate this further, in consultation with stakeholders, as part of the recently announced review of student support.

The Scottish Government is committed to doing more to ensure support is equitable and fair for all students, particularly the most vulnerable, which is why we have announced a comprehensive review of student support with an independent chair. The review will examine a range of issues including the current split between bursaries and loans.

Question reference: S5W-04245

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many students (a) began and (b) completed a Childhood Practice (BA) degree in each of the last five years, broken down by institution.

ADMISSIONS

Institution

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

Total

Aberdeen University

15

28

25

19

47

134

Ayrshire College

10

Dundee University

82

56

39

35

67

279

Edinburgh College

24

0

48

72

Edinburgh University

24

25

121

Experiential Play

4

Glasgow Clyde College

20

14

12

46

Glasgow University

56

60

88

97

131

432

Hamilton School

0

12

North East Scotland College

8

Stirling Council

14

15

35

64

Strathclyde University

46

24

33

169

University of the Highlands & Islands

18

29

43

140

370

University of the West of Scotland (UWS)

61

26

30

5

148

West Lothian College

14

3

17

TOTAL

302

247

362

424

551

1886

COMPLETIONS

Institution

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

Total

Aberdeen University

23

2

6

15

16

62

Ayrshire College

13

Dundee University

17

57

39

51

32

196

Edinburgh College

20

23

43

Edinburgh University

18

19

20

97

Experiential Play

4

Glasgow Clyde College

18

Glasgow University

63

48

31

46

121

309

Hamilton School

0

North East Scotland College

0

Stirling Council

12

Strathclyde University

44

84

40

37

205

University of the Highlands & Islands

36

55

91

University of the West of Scotland (UWS)

45

70

9

15

148

West Lothian College

9

TOTAL

210

280

154

283

280

1207

Question reference: S5W-04244

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many students (a) began and (b) completed an undergraduate degree in primary school teaching in each of the last five years, broken down by university.

The number of a) entrants and b) qualifiers to first-degree primary education courses at Scottish Higher Education Institutions is included in the following tables:

Entrants in degree-level Primary Education courses in Scottish HEIs by institution


	2010-2011	2011-2012	2012-2013	2013-2014	2014-2015
All	760	775	745	795	750
University of Aberdeen	155	150	110	110	110
University of Dundee	65	70	70	70	70
University of Edinburgh	130	120	120	120	115
University of Glasgow	150	165	155	220	180
University of Stirling	30	45	50	45	45
University of Strathclyde	150	155	165	155	150
University of the West of Scotland	85	75	80	90	75

Qualifiers in degree-level Primary Education courses in Scottish HEIs by institution

	2010-2011	2011-2012	2012-2013	2013-2014	2014-2015
All	615	705	785	655	675
University of Aberdeen	80	110	115	115	125
University of Dundee	60	75	70	65	70
University of Edinburgh	115	155	150	120	115
University of Glasgow	150	125	170	150	165
University of Stirling	0	15	45	35	40
University of Strathclyde	145	150	165	115	105
University of the West of Scotland	60	70	75	50	60

Source: Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA)

Notes:

Numbers have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 5. Values of 0,1,2 are all rounded to zero.

Totals may not add up due to rounding.

Figures are not weighted for Full-Person-Equivalent (FPE) - that is, individuals studying combined degrees of which a Primary education course is only a part of, are counted equally to those studying a Primary education course only.

Primary Education courses are defined in HESA data as those assigned JACS 3.0 code 'X120 - Training teachers - primary'.

Question reference: S5W-04254

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many students from poor backgrounds were eligible for the additional £125 payment in 2015-16; how many claimed it, broken down by (a) income and (b) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile, and what plans it has to incorporate similar payments in the future through bursaries or grants, rather than on an ad-hoc basis.

A total of 37,820 students received the additional £125 bursary in 2015-16. The bursary was payable to eligible students who were already in receipt of a bursary and were from a household with an income below £24,000. 30,930 students who received the bursary were from households with an annual income below £16,999.

The £125 additional bursary was embedded in the student support rates for 2016-17 which means all eligible students will receive this additional payment going forward.

The following table shows the students who received the additional bursary in 2015-16 by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2012.

SIMD 2012	BURSARY RECIPIENTS
1 - 20% most deprived	10,520
2	8,560
3	7,430
4	6,205
5 - 20% least deprived	4,790
TOTAL	37,820

Source: Student Awards Agency Scotland

Note: SIMD 2012 identifies small area concentrations of multiple deprivation across all of Scotland in a consistent way. The SIMD ranks small areas (called datazones) from most deprived (ranked 1) to least deprived (ranked 6,505). Analysis here is based on quintiles which split the ranks in to five equal sized groups, such as the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland.

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