To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to local training organisations in Clydebank and Milngavie. (S4O-02914)

The Minister for Youth Employment (Angela Constance):
Local training organisations in Clydebank and Milngavie have access to the same Scottish Government funding support that is available to all commercial or third sector businesses. In addition, those who are registered on the Skills Development Scotland national learning objectives database can bid to support the delivery of the Scottish Government training programmes, including modern apprenticeships and the employability fund, or to become an individual learning account-approved provider. SDS local skills investment advisers, who operate out of local offices throughout Scotland, are also able to provide support to locally based training providers on skills investment and training issues.

Gil Paterson:
I thank the minister for that full answer. Can she confirm that the Scottish Government will encourage and continue local partnerships between schools and training organisations in Clydebank and Milngavie to ensure that young people have the maximum opportunities to learn new skills?

Angela Constance:
Absolutely. Local training providers are very important to the local employability infrastructure. I suppose that one of the prevailing themes of the Wood commission’s interim report was how we galvanise and develop further the partnerships between schools, employers and training providers. I know that there are excellent training providers in Mr Paterson’s constituency. I have been out to visit the Lennox Partnership, which I had the good fortune of bumping into again today at the third sector and voluntary sector 10th annual gathering. It spoke about how it had benefited from investment in community jobs Scotland.

Question S4W-00771: Gil Paterson, Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 14/06/2011
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases of child contact and residency disputes children’s views were (a) sought and (b) implemented in each of the last five years.

Answered by Roseanna Cunningham (24/06/2011):
This information is not available. However, the Scottish Government published research in December 2010 on contact cases in the Sheriff Court. This research can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/08145916/0.

In particular, chapter 7 of this research discusses putting children at the centre of the court actions.



Question S4W-00770: Gil Paterson, Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 14/06/2011
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases of contact and residency disputes where child abuse was alleged in each of the last five years contact or residency was awarded to the alleged abuser and what the gender of each party was.

Answered by Angela Constance (24/06/2011):
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-769 on 24 June 2011 (below).



Question S4W-00769: Gil Paterson, Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 14/06/2011
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases of contact and residency disputes where domestic abuse was alleged in each of the last five years contact or residency was awarded to the alleged abuser and what the gender of each party was.

Answered by Roseanna Cunningham (24/06/2011):
This data is not available in the form requested.

No data on contact or residence cases is available for before April 2008, as the pre-April 2008 data does not include contact or residence as case types.

Information on contact and residence cases in the Court of Session in 2008-09 and 2009-10 is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17153314/9 and http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17153314/10

(Note: The 2008-09 Court of Session data does not give contact/residence separately - these are combined under Parental Responsibilities and Rights.)

Information on contact and residence cases in the Sheriff Courts in 2008/09 and 2009/10 is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17153314/22 and http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17153314/23.

To ask the Scottish Executive how many apprenticeship places it is supporting in 2010-11.
Answered by Keith Brown (25/11/2010): The Scottish Government, through Skills Development Scotland (SDS), initially offered 15,000 new apprenticeship places in 2010-11. Through the use of strategic European Social Fund funding, SDS were able to supplement this by an additional 5,000 places as announced by the First Minister in June 2010.

To ask the Scottish Executive how many apprenticeship places it is supporting in 2010-11.

Answered by Keith Brown (25/11/2010): The Scottish Government, through Skills Development Scotland (SDS), initially offered 15,000 new apprenticeship places in 2010-11. Through the use of strategic European Social Fund funding, SDS were able to supplement this by an additional 5,000 places as announced by the First Minister in June 2010.

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides for further education colleges in the West of Scotland.

Answered by Fiona Hyslop (30/10/2008): Responsibility for the core funding of Scotland''s colleges of further education lies with the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council. The funding council is also able to provide colleges with support for capital projects and for other purposes. I have arranged for the funding council to write to the member with details of how it funds colleges in the West of Scotland.

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15425 by Maureen Watt on 1 October 2008, which local authorities are using biometric technologies in their schools.

Answered by Maureen Watt (15/10/2008): The 12 local authorities currently using biometric technologies in their schools are Aberdeenshire Council, Angus Council, Clackmannanshire Council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, East Dunbartonshire Council, Glasgow City Council, Highland Council, Midlothian Council, Perth and Kinross Council, Renfrewshire Council, Stirling Council and West Lothian Council.

S3W-15425: To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools use biometric fingerprinting for pupils, broken down by local authority.

S3W-13998: To ask the Scottish Executive how many nursery teachers are employed in the Inverclyde Council area.

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nursery teachers are employed in the Inverclyde Council area.

Answered by Adam Ingram (13/06/2008): There were 23.6 whole-time equivalent General Teaching Council for Scotland registered teachers providing pre-school education in Inverclyde Council as at September 2007.

S3W-01638: To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals are provisionally listed on the Disqualified from Working with Children List.

Answered by Adam Ingram (20/07/2007): The conclusion of individualcases and the arrival of new referrals to the Disqualified from Working with ChildrenList (DWCL) means that the number of individuals provisionally listed in the DWCLvaries over time. On 13 July 2007, there were 62 individuals provisionally listedin the DWCL.

The case management team is currentlygathering information on the matters that led to these referrals not only from theindividual and referring organisation but also from other relevant bodies e.g. police,previous employers and regulatory bodies. Any information received for the determinationpanel’s consideration is shared with the individual.

Individuals are generally provisionallylisted for three or four months prior to a determination panel decision.

S3W-01639: To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals provisionally listed on the Disqualified from Working with Children List are employed in a child care position.

Answered by Adam Ingram (20/07/2007): On 13 July 2007, of the 62 individualsprovisionally listed in the Disqualified from Working with Children List, it isknown that five are working in a child care position either in a paid capacity oras a volunteer. The employing organisations have been notified of the individual’sprovisional listing status.


S3W-01640: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that all cases relating to individuals who previously worked at Kerelaw School but who now work for another local authority and who have since had complaints made against them relating to when they worked at Kerelaw will be swiftly investigated.

Answered by Adam Ingram (20/07/2007): Referrals to the Disqualifiedfrom Working with Children List (DWCL) are dealt with on a case by case basis andevery effort is made to deal with them timeously. Each referral is subject to dueprocess as laid down in the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act2003 Determination Regulations 2004.

Where the initial tests for provisionallylisting in the DWCL have been met in terms of the 2003 act, the legislation requiresus to notify any known employer where the individual is working in a child careposition about the individual’s provisional listing status.