The independent Barclay report broadly estimated £5 million annual savings would arise from the removal of charity relief from all independent schools. However, the Scottish Government proposes to retain relief eligibility for independent special schools and are giving further consideration to how we ensure that independent schools with exceptional circumstances – such as specialist music schools – continue to be eligible.

We will continue to engage with the sector as we finalise the detail of our proposals in time for 2020. This notice will allow time for those schools affected to plan ahead for the financial impact.

The following table shows the number of library staff employed in publically funded primary, secondary and special schools in Scotland between 2007 and 2016.

Library Staff (Full Time Equivalents)

1. Staff in libraries that share a site with a school and serve both the public and pupils have been excluded.

As detailed in a previous response, this Government commissioned the independent review of student support because we are committed to ensuring that all students, especially those in our most deprived communities, are provided with the financial support they need to succeed. 

Many of the ideas in the report would fundamentally change the way students in Scotland are supported and therefore require detailed consideration. It is only right that we now take time to consider each of the recommendations in detail.

We will set out our next steps in due course.

(a) Additional Support Needs (ASN) Teachers - Full Time Equivalents

(b) Classroom Assistants, Additional Support Needs Auxiliaries and Care Assistants - Full Time Equivalents

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Information on the work of the group and its progress is provided online at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/HLivi/sex-education/LGBTIWG. This includes information from each meeting, including the actions from the meeting, the workplan for the group, the terms of reference.

This information is updated regularly and includes information on progress against the workplan as it is developed and reaches conclusions.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

We are committed to an ambitious target to reduce all waste by 15% by 2025. As announced in the Programme for Government, we will appoint an expert panel to advise on the use of charges for single-use items, similar to the successful plastic bag charge, with the goal of encouraging long-term and sustainable changes in consumer behaviour.

While we have no current plans to legislate to reduce the use of plastic drinking straws, we will, with the support of this panel, continue to consider the range of options available to us to reduce the use of single-use plastics that are littering our land and seas. We will also continue our work with Zero Waste Scotland to encourage businesses to reduce waste keep products and materials in high value use for as long as possible.

It was a key requirement in the development of the Scottish National Standardised Assessments that the online system is compatible with a wide variety of technical platforms, devices and internet bandwidth connectivity available within Scottish local authorities and schools. The assessments can be accessed on Windows PCs and laptops, Apple Mac devices, Chrome books and tablet devices.

The assessments are widely compatible with the varied digital landscape available in local authorities. Care has been taken from an accessibility perspective to ensure that pupils who use assistive technology are able to use the system. The system will allow pupils to start the assessment on one device and then pick again on another should there be any problems with an individual device. As there is no fixed time for the assessments to be completed, they can be scheduled at a time that suits both the teacher and the availability of digital devices in schools.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the bids received in respect of the tendering process for Attracting High-Quality Graduates into Teaching. We expect to announce the contract award in January 2018.