The Scottish Government

This chapter provides a historical account of the locus of responsibility for Scotland's educational policies, explains the relationship between the recently devolved Scottish Parliament and UK government and indicates the roles of Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Executive and local government bodies. It also provides information on languages, demography and economic conditions in Scotland.

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Scotland forms an integral part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a parliamentary democracy with a monarch as head of state. Under the terms of the Act of Union of 1707 the separate governments of Scotland and England were united under one Parliament (a century after James VI of Scotland united the two kingdoms in 1603 on his accession to the throne of England) to form Great Britain. Scotland's separate legal system and her national church were safeguarded under the settlement, which also made provision for the office, within government, of a Secretary for Scotland and for continuation of the historic Privy Council, which had seen to the preservation of law and order.

To meet the growing complexity of government in Scotland a ministerial post of Secretary for Scotland was created in 1885. Under this Minister the Scottish Office was first set up in Dover House, Whitehall, London. It took over from the Home Office the responsibility for law and order in Scotland and for the various Scottish Boards. The Secretary for Scotland also assumed responsibility at that time for the Scotch Education Department, which had already been formed in 1872 from the Board of Education for Scotland. (The Department was renamed the Scottish Education Department in 1918, the Scottish Office Education Department in 1991, the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department in 1995; and in 1999 the new Scottish Executive set up an Education Department and an Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department.) The status of the office of Secretary for Scotland was enhanced in 1926 to that of Secretary of State. Throughout the 20th century the responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Scotland continued to expand and The Scottish Office finally comprised six Departments.

On 1 July 1999 a new Scottish Parliament and Executive were established with legislative and executive responsibility for a wide range of devolved matters, including education and training. There continues to be a Secretary of State for Scotland, who remains a member of the UK Cabinet, but the role is now much different.

The Scottish population elects members to both the UK and the Scottish parliaments. The main political parties represented are Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Scottish Nationalist. Smaller parties active in Scottish politics include the Green Party and the Scottish Socialist Party.

Current debates and developments relating to particular aspects of the education system are indicated in the relevant section of each chapter. This section provides an indication of the education policies of the main political parties as set out in their Manifesto commitments for the elections of May 2003.

Summary of Principal Party Manifesto Commitments, May 2003, of the Six Main Political Parties in Scotland (listed in alphabetical order)

The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party

The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party May 2003 Election Manifesto pledged to:

• Empower head teachers to exclude violent or disruptive pupils
• Encourage a greater choice of specialist schools
• Give schools greater freedom to set their own priorities
• Abolish the graduate tax
• Guarantee access to higher education solely on merit

The Manifesto states that Scots rightly take great pride in their tradition of learning. It is a passport for progress for individuals and for society. That is why the aim of Scottish Conservatives is to create an education system which caters for the needs of every individual child so that no child is left behind (see http://www.scottishtories.org.uk/dosomething3.html for more details).

The Scottish Green Party

The Scottish Green Party May 2003 Election Manifesto pledges to work for the following:

• We will abolish league tables for all educational institutions, and replace them with an accreditation of excellence reflecting the circumstances of the school, the local community and both academic and non-academic activities.
• We will continue to oppose top-up fees for universities. We will abolish all student fees and restore grants through a citizen's income scheme. We oppose the creeping privatisation of education provision.
• We will extend the philosophy of community schools and make the resources of all schools, colleges and universities more widely available to the communities in which they are situated.
• We want to see greater flexibility within all levels of education, allowing institutions to share areas of specialist knowledge and enjoy the benefits of shared resources. We will also ensure the introduction of citizenship education and education on sustainable development in all Scottish schools.

The Manifesto states that learning is a process for life, not just for young people. The Scottish Green Party believes that examinations should not be considered the sole criterion of achievement of education. Education should be concerned with social and emotional development as well as academic ability. The education system must meet the needs of learners, teachers and communities as well as employers (see http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk/policies/2003/ for more details.

The Scottish Labour Party

• Excellent Schools
  e.g. improve the comprehensive system with increased pupil choice and better information and access for parents so that they can help their child learn.
• The Highest Standards for All
  e.g. increase flexibility in our education service to allow each school to develop and build high standards where improvement is needed.
• Choice for Pupils
  e.g. create a well balanced core curriculum, widen choice to include vocational training and reduce the current overload for 5 to 14 year olds.
• Creating Opportunity
  e.g. help every child grow in confidence and have ambition.

The manifesto states that education is seen as fundamental to enabling people to fully realise their talents, increase their skills and knowledge and so make a positive difference to their own lives and the lives of others (see http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/manifesto/ for more details).

The Scottish Liberal Democrats

Under the banner 'Make education for life', The Scottish Liberal Democrats May 2003 Election Manifesto pledged to:

• Recruit 3,000 extra teachers to reduce class sizes
• Abolish the current system of 5-14 national tests, giving teachers and children more time to teach and learn
• Smooth the move from nursery to primary with a full-time transition year at age 5 before starting formal schooling at age 6
• Build and renovate hundreds of schools to create a world-class learning environment
• Give pupils the chance to develop vocational skills from the age of 14 onwards

The manifesto states that Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that education equips people with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the modern world and enables individuals to reach their full potential (see http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk/manifestos/se2003/ for more details).

The Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party May 2003 Election Manifesto makes commitments under a wide range of headings, including the following:

• Scotland's future
  e.g. create a single department of Children & Education, covering all stages of the lifelong educational continuum.
• Nursery education, pre and after school care
  e.g. create a national system of supported childcare by introducing a series of pilot childcare projects.
• Lowering class sizes and raising expectations
  e.g. Starting with children in the most deprived areas, the SNP are committed to rolling out a programme to reduce all Primary 1, 2 and 3 classes to eighteen or less within five years.
  Stability and harmony in our schools
  e.g. An SNP administration will honour the McCrone agreement on teachers' pay and conditions in full and in a way that guarantees the period of stability and co-operation that the agreement was meant to achieve.
• Repair and refurbishment
  e.g. establish a Not for Profit Trust as a means of funding new schools and school refurbishment.

The manifesto states that excellence in educating our children will help build the modern society they want and desire. Scotland pioneered free education and built a reputation for quality; they want to get that reputation back and be the pioneers once again (see http://www.snp.org/html/election/index.php for more details).

The Scottish Socialist Party

The Scottish Socialist Party May 2003 Election Manifesto pledges to provide nutritious, free school meals for every state school pupil in Scotland, and made numerous commitments under the following headings:

• Higher and further education
  e.g. Reinstate student grants as a first step towards ending student poverty.
• Schools
  e.g. Terminate all Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects and return to the principle that education facilities be publicly funded.
• Specialised education
  e.g. Integrate the children of asylum seekers into mainstream education, backed up by specialist language teachers.
• Educational staff
  e.g. Fully fund the McCrone deal on teachers' pay and conditions.

The Manifesto states that Education is a natural activity that starts the day we are born and ends the day we die and that Scottish education tends to be more broadly based and less elitist than in other parts of the UK. The manifesto also states that inequality in education will always exist while we live in a socially divided society, and although the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to turn around social inequality, it does have the power to introduce trail-blazing policies, which could lift Scottish education to the heights of the best in Europe (see http://www.scottishsocialistparty.org/election03/manifesto.html for more details).

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Scotland remains a full part of the United Kingdom and many matters which can more effectively and beneficially be administered on a UK basis, for example foreign policy, defence and economic policy, continue to be governed from the UK Parliament and Executive. However, a significant amount of legislative power has been devolved to the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. The main executive body is the Scottish Executive which has taken over most of the staff and duties of The Scottish Office. The headquarters of the Scottish Executive are in Edinburgh.

UK Government

The UK Government retains responsibility for reserved matters, including:

* the constitution of the United Kingdom;
* foreign policy;
* defence and national security;
* protection of borders and certain matters subject to border controls;
* the UK fiscal, economic and monetary system;
* common markets for goods and services;
* employment legislation;
* social security;
* regulation of certain professions;
* transport safety and legislation;
* various other matters subject to UK or GB regulation or operation, e.g. UK Research Councils, nuclear safety, control and safety of medicines, Ordnance Survey, regulation of broadcasting, the National Lottery, data protection and equal opportunities.

The Scotland Office and the Secretary of State for Scotland

The office of the Secretary of State for Scotland is known as the Scotland Office and is based mainly in Dover House, Whitehall, London. It now forms part of the Department of Constitutional Affairs.

The Secretary of State for Scotland is a member of the UK Cabinet. His or her role is to act as a link between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive and to represent Scottish interests in the Cabinet. The Secretary of State is currently supported by a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and works in close co-operation with the Lord Advocate for Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament

From 1 July 1999 the Scottish Parliament took on legislative responsibility for a wide range of devolved matters, which cover broadly the same ground as was previously covered by The Scottish Office. The main devolved matters are:

* health;
* education;
* housing;
* most aspects of transport;
* local government;
* law and order;
* social work;
* agriculture;
* the environment, forestry and fisheries;
* arts and sport;
* economic assistance and industry.

The Scottish Parliament has 129 Members: 73 constituency Members elected on the first-past-the-post system and 56 regional Members elected on a proportional basis from party lists. The Presiding Officer and two Deputies, elected from amongst Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), ensure the efficient conduct and administration of Scottish Parliamentary business and chair sessions of Parliament.

The Parliament has adopted modern ways of working: it aims to be accessible, open and responsive to the needs of the public; participation by organisations and individuals is encouraged; and views and advice from specialists are sought as appropriate. Committees also play an important part in carrying out Parliamentary business, for example in initiating, scrutinising and amending the Scottish Executive's proposals as well as having wide-ranging, investigative functions. The procedures of Parliament are set out in its Standing Orders (Edition 2, published on 20 January 2000) which were based on the recommendations in the Report of the Consultative Steering Group (CSG) of the Scottish Parliament: Shaping Scotland's Parliament.

Scottish Ministers

The Scottish Executive is headed by the First Minister who is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Presiding Officer after the Parliament has nominated a candidate - normally the leader of the party able to command the majority support of the Parliament. The First Minister, with the approval of the Queen, appoints other Ministers and determines portfolios. The members of the Scottish Executive, who are collectively known as the Scottish Ministers, comprise the First Minister, the other Ministers whom he or she has appointed and the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland. The Scottish Ministers are responsible to the Parliament for the work of the Scottish Executive and their actions are thus ultimately subject to Parliamentary control. Business is debated regularly in plenary sessions of the Scottish Parliament, and the First Minister and his or her colleagues must answer questions on all aspects of their responsibilities, but more detailed work is done in committee.

The Minister for Education and Young People

There are 11 Cabinet Ministers in the Scottish Executive, supported by 8 Depute Ministers. The Minister for Education and Young People is responsible for pre-school and school education in Scotland. The Minister also has responsibility for children's services, including youth work, social work and the relevant inspectorates for these services. The Minister is supported by a Depute Minister. To assist the Minister there is an Education Department which administers national policy on pre-school and school education and a Looked After Children and Youthwork Division which administers policy on adoption, fostering and youth work.

The Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning

Since the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, a number of significant changes have been made by the Scottish Executive in the organisation of the civil service departments. One of the major changes has been to separate pre-school and school education from post-school education, training and industry. Responsibility for the latter now rests with the Depute First Minister, who is also the Minister for Enterprise, Transport, and Lifelong Learning. The Minister is supported by a Depute Minister. The Ministers are assisted by a Department for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning.

The Minister for Social Justice and Communities

The Minister for Social Justice and Communities has overall responsibility for community learning and development policy, although policies relating to young people and adult learning, including adult literacy and numeracy, rest with the Minister for Education and Young people and the Minister for Enterprise , Transport and Lifelong Learning, respectively. Community learning and development is seen as a key component of community regeneration and social inclusion policies.

The Scottish Executive

The Scottish Executive is organised into seven main Departments:

The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (ESERAD)
The Scottish Executive Development Department (SEDD)
The Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED)
The Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department (SEETLLD)
The Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD)
The Scottish Executive Justice Department (SEJD)
The Scottish Executive Finance and Central Services Department (SEFCSD)

In addition, the Executive includes the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Corporate Services, the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal and Legal and Parliamentary Services

Each Department is under the charge of a Secretary, who is responsible to the Scottish Ministers for the work of his/her Department. In the Scottish Executive Health Department the Chief Executive of the National Health Service in Scotland largely performs this function, although there is also a Public Health Policy Unit which is headed by the Chief Medical Officer. The Finance and Central Services Department covers such areas as constitutional policy; Parliamentary liaison; Cabinet secretariat; finance and legal services; external relations and the promotion of Scotland; Parliamentary drafting and legal advice; local government; and the Media and Communications Group. Under the chairmanship of the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, the head of the Scottish Executive, the Heads of Department constitute a Management Group. This group exercises corporate responsibility for the work of the Executive, for policy development and delivery and for the allocation of resources in accordance with Ministerial priorities. The Office of the Permanent Secretary includes the Cabinet Secretariat, Strategy and Delivery Units and the Executive's Analytical Services Group.

Responsibility for policy advice on community learning and development has been transferred from the SEDD to Communities Scotland, the Scottish Executive's agency for housing and regeneration.

The staff of the Scottish Executive work almost entirely in Scotland, although a few are based at the Scottish Executive European Union Office (SEEUO) in Brussels.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

The powers and responsibilities of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman are set out in the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002. Her role is to investigate complaints made by members of the public who believe that they have suffered an injustice or hardship as a consequence of maladministration or service failure on the part of public bodies involved in devolved Scottish affairs. She also examines complaints about refusal of access to official information.

The Ombudsman is independent of Government and is not a civil servant. The appointment is made by the Queen on the recommendation of the Parliament and the office-holder reports annually to the Scottish Parliament. All complaints made are confidential and investigations are private.

When an investigation has been completed, the Ombudsman prepares a detailed report of the findings. The report is sent to the complainant (and, if applicable, their representative), the body subject to the complaint, any other person who is alleged in the complaint to have taken the action complained of and the Scottish Ministers. The Report is also laid before the Parliament.

Regional Administration

The 12 Regional and Island Authorities, which constituted the second layer of government in Scotland until 1 April 1996, handed over their responsibilities to 32 local (district) authorities following a reorganisation of local government in Scotland.

Local Government

As a result of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, from 1 April 1996 the functions of local government became the responsibility of 32 single tier councils. By population, the largest of these is the City of Glasgow, with an estimated population (2001) of 629,501 and the smallest is Orkney Islands, with a population of 19,600. In area, the largest authority is Highland (2,578,379 hectares) and the smallest the City of Dundee (6,515 hectares).

The functions and responsibilities of these authorities cover:

Local Government: Members

The members of the council of each local authority are elected every four years. The most recent election was held in May 2003 and the next is due in May 2007 (the same day as elections to the Scottish Parliament). The councils vary considerably in size both by area and population. Voting takes place by secret ballot at arranged polling stations. Candidates for election as councillors must be aged 21 or over. Legislation is going through Parliament to reduce this age requirement to 18.

As with Members of Parliament, the elected members of the local authorities have a dual role to play - they represent their constituency interests and they participate in the shared work, policy and decisions of the council. Councillors are not paid a salary but receive certain allowances. Legislation currently going through Parliament will replace the existing system of allowances with a new scheme. An Independent Remuneration Committee will make recommendations to Ministers on the new model, which will include provisions for a salary and a pension scheme.

Community Councils

Many areas of Scotland have community councils established under schemes drawn up by local authorities and set up on local demand. These councils are intended to be broadly based organisations through which local communities can make their views known and can act. They have the right to be consulted on planning issues and on local authorities' schemes for decentralisation. Community councils are non-political and their members are unpaid.

Relations among Local Authorities

Local authorities are empowered by Section 20 of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 to appoint joint committees to carry out any of their functions and may also purchase services from other authorities. The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 requires local authorities to work in partnership with other public service agencies in Community Planning.

Relations with Central Government

The Scottish Parliament controls the functions exercised by local authorities through the statutory powers which it confers on them either in General Acts or by local legislation promoted by the local authorities themselves. The Scottish Executive Finance and Central Services Department is responsible for the oversight of constitutional and financial local government matters. Town and country planning, urban regeneration, and housing issues are managed by the Executive's Development Department. The Scottish Executive Education Department is concerned also with social work, the arts, libraries and sport. The Scottish Executive Justice Department has responsibility for civil and criminal law, prisons, police and fire services. Roads and transport issues are covered by the Department of Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning.

The Scottish Executive exerts influence on local government policy and programmes partly by advice and partly by financial means. The various Scottish Executive Departments may consider submissions by local authorities where the First Minister's consent is required, such as for structure plans. In the case of police forces, fire services and schools, there is provision for inspection of local services by the central authority to ensure that adequate standards are maintained. In general, however, each Department of the Scottish Executive provides local authorities with advice and assistance on their functions by issuing Circulars as the need arises.

The First Minister for Scotland and the other Ministers at the Scottish Executive have meetings with individual local authorities or with their representative body, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), on specific and general matters of current interest or concern.

Relations with the Public

Local authorities are encouraged to make the public aware of their activities, functions and sub-committee meetings. They are also expected to allow the public to attend meetings and to inspect minutes, agendas and reports prepared for such meetings, unless that would result in the disclosure of confidential or exempt information as defined in law (Part IIIA and Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985). The public may complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman of injustice caused by maladministration by a local authority. In their dealings with the public local authorities are encouraged to adopt the principles of the Citizen's Charter and Best Value.

The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 and Community Planning

The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 enhanced the duties of local authorities and their community planning partners to engage local communities in planning and service delivery issues. Community Planning is essentially a process to promote and encourage joined-up working and effective partnership between local authorities and other agencies in the public, voluntary and private sectors, and with communities. It is an over-arching framework from which other partnerships and initiatives should flow. It is also recognised as a key mechanism for action on national priorities, such as education, and for linking them better with local priorities.

The Act places a duty on key public bodies, such as Police, Health Boards and Enterprise Companies to "participate" in the process of Community Planning. The Act requires local authorities, as facilitators, to co-operate with community bodies and other public bodies in the Community Planning process. There is a further requirement to produce a report on behalf of the Community Planning Partnership on what has been done in their area. This report should be written for the local community, rather than for the Scottish Executive.

Internal Organisation and Management in Local Government

Provisions in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 allow authorities to delegate almost all decisions to a committee, sub-committee or officer of the authority. In order to modernise this decision-making structure the Leadership Advisory Panel (LAP) was set up to advise councils. It published a report in June 2001 which encouraged councils to review their management of business and working practices, under guiding principles of accountability and accessibility, and offered advice and support. These self-reviews and new structures emerging from them were then assessed against the criteria set out in the LAP report.

Councils are now introducing new ways of doing business which reaffirm and strengthen their important community leadership role. The best structure is the one that works most effectively for that particular area and in that particular council. There are variations in models across councils, but it is possible to group new approaches into three main categories: streamlining, by creating a smaller number of thematic committees, rather than the old departmental ones, to ensure a more cross-cutting approach to policy development; concentration of executive decision-making powers in the hands of a limited number of elected members; and creation of devolved and partially devolved structures to move decision-making from the centre to local area committees.

Although precise structures vary, local authorities tend to operate through a number of separate departments. In many the departments are staffed by officials with a particular professional training. The Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 has removed the previous statutory duty of an authority to set up a committee specifically for education and to appoint a Director of Education. All authorities have appointed an officer to be responsible for education, under their Chief Executive, but that officer may have a title other than Director of Education.

Some local authorities now have an executive structure instead of a traditional committee structure. Decisions on educational matters would normally be made by the executive in these councils, although legislative requirements, such as those concerning the involvement of church representatives in the decision-making process, should not be breached.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA)

The body which represents the local authorities in Scotland is called the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA). It deals with national issues of concern to local authorities and represents the interests of the councils in their consultations with Scottish Executive Departments. In particular, this is the body with which the First Minister consults about financial support to local authorities.

Since the Reformation of the 16th century the established church, the Church of Scotland, has been Protestant and from the end of the 17th century Presbyterian. Its governance is in the hands of four 'courts': the Kirk Session, which comprises the 'minister', as the clergy are known in the Church of Scotland, and the ruling 'elders' in each parish and which is responsible for all decisions at parish level; the Presbytery, which comprises the ministers and one elder from each parish in a defined geographical area; the Synod, which brings together ministers from a group of Presbyteries; and the General Assembly, or annual meeting of the Church, which is attended by all ministers and some elders in rotation. An annually elected 'Moderator', a position of some importance in Scotland, presides over the General Assembly.

The General Assembly very often discusses the major issues of the day, including education, and its views on them are widely reported. It has an education committee, which deals with matters in Scottish education affecting the Church. From the latter half of the 16th century until 1872 the Church of Scotland carried the main responsibility for elementary education. Even after education had become the responsibility of central government, it dominated the system of School Boards through to 1918, when they were replaced by education authorities. The Church of Scotland still has the right to be represented on the education committee of every local authority, if the authority sets up such a committee.

Around 16% of Scots would claim affiliation to the Roman Catholic Church (2001 Census in Scotland). Few, however, can trace their allegiance back as far as pre-Reformation days; those that can do so live in parts of the Highlands and some of the islands off the west coast. Most of the Roman Catholic population is descended from Irish immigrants in the 19th century, coming mainly into the west and south-west of Scotland. Until 1918 the Roman Catholic Church had its own primary and secondary school system. By the Education Act of that year, however, the State took over responsibility for the schools, on the understanding that they would remain denominational. The Roman Catholic Church retains considerable influence over the appointment of staff, the teaching of religious education and the ethos of the schools. Like the Church of Scotland, it has the right of representation on education committees. It has a committee, the Catholic Education Commission (CEC), which concerns itself with matters in Scottish education affecting the Church.

There are various other Christian denominations in Scotland, and several other world faiths (notably Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh) are practised, in the main by ethnic minority groups. With the exception of two Jewish primary schools, one private and one public, and one private Muslim school, there are, however, no schools in Scotland specifically for children belonging to other faiths.

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English is the official language of government, business, education, the law and other professions. It is spoken everywhere in Scotland, albeit alongside Scottish-English (including various forms of modern Scots) in most areas and Gaelic in parts of the Highlands and many of the Western Isles.

Language policy in education is to promote high levels of literacy in English and, in addition, in Gaelic in some parts of the country. It also aims to develop young people's awareness of the Scots language. Language policy in Scotland also gives all young people the entitlement to learn at least one modern foreign language (which may include Gaelic for those whose mother tongue is English).

The UK Government signed the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages on 2 March 2000. The Scots language will be covered by Part II of the Charter, with Gaelic being specified under Part III. The UK Government ratified the Charter on 27 March 2001.

The 2001 Census of Population recorded that 65,674 people in Scotland were able to speak, read or write Gaelic. This is 1.3% of the Scottish population, and represents a 6% decline compared with the 1991 census figures. However, the 2001 census recorded that 92,396 people were able to understand, speak, read or write Gaelic, which is 1.9% of the population. The largest concentrations of Gaelic speakers were found in Na h-Eileanan an Iar (the Western Isles), Highland, and west central Scotland. The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000 requires education authorities to report on their plans for Gaelic provision in their annual Improvement Objectives Report. Gaelic also features in one of the National Priorities in education and can now be found at all levels of education: pre-school, primary, secondary, further and higher education, and as part of teacher training.

Gaelic language and Gaelic-medium education are not confined to the traditional Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland but are also established in the main urban areas. Local authority Gaelic-medium pre-school education centres increased from 3, with 54 children, in 1993-94 to 34, with 413 children, in 2000-2001. Primary schools providing Gaelic-medium education increased from 45, with 1,080 pupils, in 1993-94 to 58, with 1,925 pupils, in 2002-2003. Scotland's first dedicated Gaelic primary school opened in Glasgow in 1999. Gaelic language for learners and native speakers has been taught in some secondary schools for many years and there is increasing Gaelic-medium provision at secondary level. Several further education colleges provide Gaelic language courses, including Sabhal Mor Ostaig (the Gaelic College on Skye) and Lews Castle College in Stornoway (on the island of Lewis). The universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow have Celtic Departments in which Gaelic is studied. The Scottish Executive is spending 14m on support for the language in 2003-04, including 8.5m on Gaelic broadcasting and over 3.5m on Gaelic education.

The Scots language survives in Scotland in the form of dialects spoken in different parts of the country, some of which are closer to Standard English than others. The Scots language has its own rich literary tradition. Curriculum guidance advocates the inclusion of Scots literature in the school curriculum with the aim of teaching a proper awareness and appreciation of the language. The Scottish Arts Council provides financial support to a number of Scots language organisations.

A number of other languages are spoken by groups which have come into the country as migrants at various times. The Italian community in Scotland, which was established in the nineteenth century and still maintains close contacts with Italy, retains its own language. Tuition in Italian sponsored by the Italian Consulate has been provided for a number of years in one or two primary schools. Cantonese is the main language of the Chinese community

(there are now 12 Chinese 'weekend schools' operating in Scotland). Other groups originally from the Indian sub-continent have brought their languages (among them Punjabi, Gujerati, Urdu, Hindi and Bengali) to Scotland. Several education authority schools in the west of Scotland teach Urdu. A French school and a Dutch primary school (both in Aberdeen) provide for the children of families mainly employed in the North Sea oil industry, whilst a Japanese school operates on Saturdays (in Edinburgh) for the children of Japanese parents involved in the many high technology industries in central Scotland.

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The estimated population of Scotland on 30 June 2001 was 5.1 million, accounting for 9% of the population of the United Kingdom. Following a decline over most of the 1980s, small increases were recorded in each year up until 1995. Since then there has been a gradual decline in population until 2001, when a slight increase was seen. 19% of the population in the census year, 2001, was aged 15 or under, compared with just over 20% in 1991 (almost 23% in 1981), but the number of children of school age seems to have stabilised. Over the same period the proportion of those aged 65 and over increased from 15% to 16%.

The population is very unevenly spread, with almost 70% living in the relatively narrow Central Belt closely associated with the two major river estuaries of the Forth and the Clyde. This area includes Scotland's two largest cities, Glasgow (population 578,710) (2001 census) and Edinburgh (population 449,020). Population in other parts of Scotland is very thinly spread. Although the average population density of the districts forming the Central Belt is about 2.8 persons per hectare, the overall figure for Scotland as a whole is 0.65 persons per hectare. For the area administered by Highland Council, which occupies about 33% of the land mass of Scotland, it is 0.08 persons per hectare. Low population levels have important implications for the provision of education and the viability of rural schools.

Scotland, with an area of 7,792,000 hectares, accounts for about a third of the total area of the United Kingdom. The Scottish mainland from the border with England to the north coast is about 440 km in direct line and its maximum breadth is about 240 km. In addition to the mainland there are some 380 islands (790 if all the very smallest islands are included), of which over 100 are inhabited. Some are relatively large in area. Several groups of islands lie at some distance from the Scottish mainland. Shetland, for example, is a fairly large group of islands lying at 60oN, some 320 km from Aberdeen and only about 400 km from Norway. Islands have particular implications for education, especially when populations are small and children have to leave home for secondary education. Although the main industrial area in the Central Belt is fairly heavily populated, the hilly and mountainous nature of most of the country means that in large areas of Scotland people are few and they depend very much on road and air transport and ferries.

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Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Scotland totalled 69.2 billion in 2001, an average level of 13,660 per head. The largest elements in the GDP are manufacturing (21%); public admin, education and health (21%); real estate and business services (18%); and retail and wholesale (11%). Manufacturing in Scotland has declined but it is also undergoing a fundamental structural change with the replacement of traditional heavy industrial sectors by newer light manufacturing activities, most notably in the electrical and instrument engineering sector, which includes electronics. The manufacturing sector in Scotland is strongly oriented towards export and 57% of Scottish exports go to other countries in the European Union. Most of the industrial activity is concentrated in the relatively small area of the Central Belt, although Aberdeen, outside that area, is an important centre of the oil industry. Glasgow and the surrounding area of west central Scotland constitute the main industrial centre. Edinburgh is the capital city and administrative centre, with a major concentration of financial and professional institutions as well as an important manufacturing sector.

Scotland has a history of fairly high levels of unemployment and during the 1980s the unemployment rate (International Labour Organisation definition) rose to 14.9% (1987). Between then and 1990 there was a steady decline to about 9.3% overall. Unemployment has risen and fallen again over recent years. In Spring 2003 it stood at 5.6% (with male unemployment at 6.1% and female unemployment at 5.1%), compared to 5.0 in the United Kingdom as a whole. The overall figures, however, conceal a very wide range of levels of unemployment in different parts of the country.

(Please note that information for 1987 and 1991 is based on the 1991 census, whereas the information for 2003 is based on the 2001 census. This is the only time series currently available for Scotland).

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1.8.1 Statistical Data

1.8.1.1 Population

1.8.1.2 Unemployment

1.8.1.3 Gross National Product (Gross Domestic Product (GDP))