Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30383 on 22 March 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government has established a steering group to bring together partners to discuss how they are contributing to delivering the actions and to track progress. Local authorities are represented on this group by COSLA and KIMO. Activities currently being undertaken include encouraging companies to produce alternatives to plastic microbeads in personal care products and promoting a plastics industry code of conduct. The Scottish Government also continues to support Fishing for Litter Scotland and plays a full part in implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Scotland’s first national marine plan includes a general policy on marine litter which is reflected in the pilot marine spatial plan for the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters developed in partnership with Orkney Islands Council and Highland Council.

Healthy Living Survey results from 2015 outlined that 93% of pupils in secondary schools (S1-S4) received at least 100 minutes of PE each week. This PE provision was delivered by either a General Teaching Council for Scotland registered class teacher or a PE specialist.

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.

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.

This information can be found in Table 4.1 in the Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland, No: 6 - 2015 publication document: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/12/7925/321884

Table 4.1: Average class size of primary school pupils⁽¹⁾, 2006 to 2015

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
P1	23.1	20.9	21.0	21.1	21.1	20.5	20.6	21.2	21.2	21.1
P2	23.7	23.5	23.0	22.8	22.8	23.3	23.3	24.0	23.9	24.1
P3	24.1	24.0	24.0	23.7	23.4	23.9	24.0	24.5	24.7	24.8
P1-P3	23.6	22.8	22.6	22.5	22.4	22.5	22.6	23.2	23.3	23.3
All Primary	23.2	22.8	22.7	22.5	22.5	22.7	22.7	23.2	23.3	23.4

(1) Data refer to the average class size of pupils in each stage, not the average class size of single stage classes. The total average class size is calculated on a different basis than the P1 to P3 class sizes, see background note 3.7.

This information was published on 9 December 2015 in Table 2.1 of the Summary statistics for schools in Scotland, No.6: 2015 Edition, http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/12/7925, and past years data are available in previous publications.

In the 2015 teacher census there were 49,679 full-time equivalent teachers across the primary, secondary, special and centrally employed sectors. In 2007 the corresponding figure was 53,411. In 2015, there were 41,884 school teachers working full-time (excluding centrally employed), compared with 47,061 in 2007.

In response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s energy market investigation, the Scottish Government raised the issue of the current distribution network charging methodology and highlighted the impact on consumers in the North of Scotland who face some of the highest electricity prices.

Ofgem published a report on regional differences in network charges in October 2015, which included an analysis of the current cost-reflective arrangements and the potential impacts of moving to a national network charge. The report shows that a move to a national network charge would see 1.8 million households in Scotland facing higher bills, while 0.7 million households would see reductions. Following discussions on this topic at the Convention of the Highlands and Islands (COHI) meeting in Stornoway on 7 March 2016, Ofgem and National Grid will be invited to the next COHI meeting to brief members on the relevant issues.

For rural and remote communities across Scotland, a fair network charging regime is a crucial factor – but other factors like energy efficiency and raising household incomes are equally important. That is why we have commissioned the Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force to examine the full range of issues around fuel poverty in rural areas, including national network charging proposals. We look forward to the task force producing a report of their findings later in 2016, and will carefully consider their recommendations.

<>I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30367 on 21 March 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government currently is taking action to tackle wildlife crime on a number of fronts.

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.