Seòmar agus comataidhean

The following table shows the numbers and rate of NHS registered Orkney residents as at 31 March 2011, and those participating in the General Dental Service over a two year period up to 31st March 2011.

Source: ISD Scotland

Note:

Participation is defined as a measure of attendance at an NHS dental practice for treatment, registration or other forms of contact within a 2 year period.

This information is not held centrally. As independent contractors dentists are not obliged under their NHS terms of service to advise NHS Boards of any waiting lists they may hold. Individual NHS Boards may hold information on those waiting to register with their salaried dental service.

The warm homes fund will deliver renewable energy and energy-efficient homes in those areas worse affected by fuel poverty. The operational details, including the fuel poverty criteria, are being worked on and will be announced in due course.

The warm homes fund will deliver renewable energy and energy efficient homes in those communities worse affected by fuel poverty. We expect to publish more details on the fund following the spending review.

The warm homes fund will deliver renewable energy and energy efficient homes in those communities worse affected by fuel poverty. We expect to publish more details on the fund in the spending review.

(a) In 2009-10 the deadlines for applications were published on the Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) website.

(b) In 2010-11 the deadlines for applications were published on the SAAS website. In addition all continuing students were emailed twice in autumn 2010, to highlight the guarantee date for processing of applications before course commencement and twice in February 2011 to remind them of the deadline for applications. The deadline for applications was also heavily promoted in SAAS literature, by universities and colleges and on the SAAS Facebook and Twitter sites.

The increase in reminders was part of a concerted communications programme designed to encourage students to apply early and to inform them of any changes to the student support package.

The tuition fee deadline was moved from 30 June to 31 March to ensure that eligible applications for tuition fee support are processed in advance of exam diets. Universities and colleges reserve the right to remove access to IT and library services and to withhold exam results for those students who have failed to pay their tuition fees.

Students have a 12 month window in which to apply for tuition fees. Applications for 2010-11 courses starting in the autumn term opened in April 2010 and closed at the end of March 2011. The Students Awards Agency for Scotland is expected to pay tuition fees to Institutions on behalf of eligible applicants in January each year.

(a) 142,365 students applied to Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) for support in 2009-10.

(b) 145,520 students have so far applied to SAAS for support in 2010-11.

These numbers cover all those who applied for SAAS support and therefore will include a relatively small number of undergraduate students who applied for loan or supplementary grants but not tuition fee support. However, the figures do exclude applications from nursing and midwifery students as SAAS is not responsible for nursing tuition fee payments.

The application session for 2010-11 is not yet complete with students on courses which commenced between April and July 2011 still able to apply for their fees.

As of 10 June 2011, 78 students have submitted applications for support after the closing date for courses starting in autumn 2010-11, out of over 145,000 applications received. This figure includes applications for 2011-12 session made on the wrong form, applications for ineligible courses and an application from a student who never attended the course for which support was requested.

Fifteen students have so far appealed the decision not to accept a late application for session 2010-11. Four students have subsequently been awarded tuition fee support on medical or compassionate grounds and six appeals are still under consideration.

For 2009-10 session, there were 12 late application appeals of which five were successful.

The Scottish Government is determined that teachers should be in employment. The budget agreement with COSLA therefore guarantees enough teaching posts for every new probationer, for every teacher completing probation in summer 2011 to apply for and additional posts to reduce existing teacher unemployment.

We will continue to work with COSLA and local authorities to achieve a better reconciliation between local and national teacher workforce planning with a view to re-establishing an appropriate balance between teacher supply and demand.