Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is currently working with partners to identify target nurseries for the rollout of the additional graduate or teacher commitment from 2018. This is drawing on new SIMD data published on 31 August 2016 and locally held information, to ensure that the highest possible number of the most disadvantaged young children can benefit from an additional graduate or teacher. We will set out more information autumn 2016.

Ahead of any recruitment campaign, the Scottish Government is currently working with delivery partners to explore all existing routes to recruit a high quality and diverse early learning and childcare workforce. A Skills Investment Plan is being developed and research is currently being conducted with target audiences. This work will inform the cost and scope of the recruitment campaign. We will start to target our marketing activity from spring 2017.

All public bodies covered by the Scottish Government’s public sector pay policy 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.

We have also made sure that since [April] 2011, all NHS staff in Scotland earn above living wage rate. All teachers, police officers and Fire Service personnel already earn above the living wage rate.

The Scottish Government’s public sector pay policy does not extend to local authorities. Local authorities are self-governing bodies and set the terms and conditions under which local government staff are employed. However, I welcome the fact that local authorities do pay the living wage as part of their current pay settlement and the Scottish Government will encourage them to continue to do so for future pay awards.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) currently employ 293 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance Advisers and 52.7 FTE work coaches who provide services to schools across Scotland. SDS manage and deliver their services using 5 geographical regions in Scotland they have defined which do not follow local authority structures.

Due to changes in the delivery landscape and the changing nature and definition of the role of a careers advisor since 2006, SDS does not hold information on the yearly breakdown of the number of careers advisors.

Information is not held centrally. I have asked the Chief Executive of sportscotland to write to you regarding the range of outdoor sporting facilities available to schools across Scotland.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills published both the 2012, BIS Retail Strategy and 2013, A Strategy for Future Retail, in response to the Mary Portas independent review into the future of UK high streets and in support of work they were undertaking to revitalise high streets and town centres. At that time, the Scottish Government were undertaking their own independent review of town centres with a focus that went beyond retail.

The UK Government did not consult with the Scottish Government on these strategies as town centre regeneration, which both of these strategies address, is devolved to the Scottish Government.

The percentage of Transport Scotland's budget allocated to active travel is as follows:

Since 2007, a total of 13 new stations have been added to the rail network. Some stations were constructed on the operational railway whilst others were built as part of larger rail projects re-establishing former railway lines and, accordingly, with differing circumstances there is a variation in construction costs. The table below provides the costs for each station, in outturn prices, and the number of platforms.

***A £4.22 million contribution from third party promoters was made towards the overall cost of the Stirling-Alloa and Kincardine project; there was no hypothecation in respect of the station.

The Scottish Government's vision is of a more active Scotland. Our national Physical Activity Implementation Plan, "A More Active Scotland", includes commitments to support employers to create opportunities for people to be more active during their working day. We are leading by example, taking steps to become an active employer by encouraging physical activity in the workplace and promoting opportunities for staff to travel actively to and from work, and during their working day.

We encourage cycling to work by a range of means. We hold sustainable travel road shows in our main buildings, and we offer personalised travel plans that include active travel options. Twice a year we run a cycle to work scheme to enable staff to buy a bike to ride to work. We provide free cycle maintenance sessions and sheltered and accessible cycle parking, along with lockers, drying and changing facilities and showers. There are clearly marked cycle lanes to access our buildings. We hold the Cycle Friendly Employer award for our Victoria Quay, St Andrew’s House and Saughton House buildings.

The Scottish Government provides grant funding to external bodies to work with all employers to encourage more people to travel actively to work. A number of public and private sector organisations, including the Scottish Government, are participating in a pilot Exemplar Physical Activity Employer (EPAE) Award. Run by NHS Health Scotland, it aims to recognise employers who promote physical activity in the workplace, including active travel.

Central government and health bodies can use an existing Scottish Government collaborative framework for the provision of Voluntary Employee Benefits. As well as employee discounts, the framework provides the salary sacrifice scheme for cycle to work. The framework is used by more than 60 public sector organisations in Scotland. A new framework agreement is now also open to the whole Scottish public sector. It includes provisions for staff who were previously excluded from cycling, by way of access to specially adapted bicycles.

There are 49 staff members of the Transport Policy Directorate in Transport Scotland working on various policy areas including cycling policy. In addition, a number of staff within other Transport Scotland Directorates deal with cycling issues in relation to public transport and trunk road policy to ensure cycling is considered across all transport areas. Furthermore, in the wider Scottish Government, a number of civil servants in Health, Education, Planning, and Environment Directorates deal with aspects of cycling and active travel.