As set out in the joint statement with the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, the SNSAs, in common with virtually all aspects of the Scottish curriculum and its delivery, are not provided for in legislation. This means that they cannot be seen as compulsory, but also that there cannot be a legal right for parents to withdraw their children from the assessments, or indeed any other part of the school curriculum (with the exception of some parts of religious observance and instruction). In practice however, if parents or carers have any particular concerns about their child’s participation in the SNSAs, they should discuss this with their school with a view to reaching agreement on whether the child will undertake the assessments, as they would for any other aspect of learning, teaching or assessment.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the 1+2 language learning policy. We have invested an additional £27.2 million since 2013 to assist local authorities with the implementation of this policy.

There are more young people than ever before learning languages in Scottish schools as a result of this. Whilst we have seen significant improvements in language learning in primary schools, it is also encouraging to see in this year’s SQA results that this is the fourth year that language Higher entries have exceeded 7,500 overall.

Schools are providing language learning opportunities to pupils in many flexible and innovative ways, including non-certificated courses, clubs and master classes and we welcome the broad diversity of offer that this creates for pupils. The 1+2 language policy supports this in both primary and secondary contexts; however, decisions on which languages to offer in which schools remains with each individual school and local authority, allowing local circumstances to be taken into account.

Additionally, there is a healthy interest in the skills-based Modern Languages for Life and Work Award. These complement the available Modern Language National Qualifications and provide additional ways for young people’s language learning at school to be recognised.

During the Senior Phase (from S4 to S6), young people will look to acquire a range of qualifications and awards over that 3 year period. The freedom and flexibility that schools have in the design of their senior phase is entirely in keeping with the Scottish Government’s empowering schools agenda. The precise number and range of qualifications on offer, as well as when they are taken, will be a decision for schools to take in consultation with learners and parents. The guiding principle is that qualifications are taken at the appropriate stage for the individual young person over the three years of the senior phase, with the aim of allowing learners to achieve the highest possible level of attainment.

In analysing attainment in national qualifications, the focus should, therefore, be on the range of qualifications and awards that young people leave school with. So, whilst we may see fewer entries for qualifications at lower levels, the proportion of young people leaving school with qualifications at these levels has increased in recent years. For example, the proportion of leavers with at least one pass at SCQF level 5 or better has increased from 77.1% in 2009-10 to 86.1% in 2016-17.

In keeping with the focus on supporting young people to achieve the highest possible level of qualification, there are more Highers entries and passes under the current Senior Phase model than under the pre-Curriculum for Excellence arrangements. For example, the proportion of leavers with at least one pass at SCQF level 6 or better has increased from 50.4% in 2009-10 to 61.2% in 2016-17.

At the same time, we are also seeing young people attaining a broader range of qualifications and awards. Over 50,000 skills-based qualifications, awards and certificates have been achieved this year, more than double the figure attained in 2012.

National 4 and National 5 are robust qualifications that accurately reflect the achievement of learners at the appropriate SCQF level. No changes to the structure of National 4 or National 5 are being considered at this time.

This is the first year in which young people have not undertaken mandatory unit assessments at National 5. The decision to remove unit assessments followed representations from the education system to reduce workload for teachers and young people alike, freeing teachers to teach. These changes were discussed and agreed by the Assessment and National Qualifications Group and Curriculum for Excellence Management Board.

The Curriculum and Assessment Board has been taking forward the review of National 4. It has concluded that rather than change the qualification itself, the collective efforts of all involved in the education system should focus on enhancing National 4’s status as a credible pathway through the Senior Phase.

The Scottish Government has no plans to discontinue the Scottish Baccalaureate.

The Scottish Baccalaureate is a valued component of the qualifications framework, providing a route to qualification for some of our most able learners.

As at 17 July 2018, the STEM bursary scheme has received 94 applications.

The Scottish Government and its agencies and partners are fully committed to ensuring that e-commerce is incorporated into their wider digital support across all sectors.

Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of e-commerce, many courses at colleges and universities will contribute to the skills pool supporting e-commerce. However, the Scottish Government does not hold information on each individual course which has e-commerce embedded within it.

The UK estimates are sourced primarily from the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) E-commerce Survey of UK Businesses which can
 be found at: 
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandintern
etindustry/bulletins/ecommerceandictactivity/2016 . The estimates are derived from data collected from businesses under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947,
which provides businesses with assurances that the information they
 provide is kept strictly confidential therefore it would not be possible for
 the ONS to provide information that would identify individual businesses.

For information about the use of e-commerce amongst Scottish
businesses, you may refer to the Digital Economy Business Survey 2017,
 published by the Scottish Government in March 2018. The survey report
and accompanying data tables can be found at:http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/03
/4361/downloads .

We were in contact with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator in the development of the ‘NHS Endowment Report and Recommendations on Governance and Best Practice’ guidance that was issued to NHS Boards on 6 January 2014.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16062 on 3 May 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Scottish Government agencies and partners are currently delivering a number of initiatives that engage with businesses on a range of digital issues, including e-commerce.

The Business Gateway (BG) DigitalBoost programme provides e-commerce advice within a portfolio of digital support including workshops, 1-2-1 advice and digital health checks. In the past 12 months BG has delivered 70 workshops on
‎ e-commerce attended by 442 SME delegates. BG also offers a series of ‘free to use’ DigitalBoost online guides and the e-commerce guide within that portfolio has been downloaded 690 times in the last 18 months.

The Scottish Enterprise Digital Transformation Team work with high growth businesses on key strategic areas of digital activity which help companies to implement international e-commerce strategies and have assisted over 600 companies this past year as well as providing a number of online ecommerce insight articles on their website.

Scottish Enterprise Tourism Team have run numerous workshops to industry on
‎ e-commerce – via Digital Tourism Scotland – featuring e-commerce as a theme.

Scottish Development International have also developed a range of international
‎ e-commerce workshops on a range of subjects, to help businesses to start exporting.

While we have no current plans to produce a specific, discrete e-commerce strategy, the Scottish Government and its agencies and partners are fully committed to ensuring that e-commerce is incorporated into their wider digital support across all sectors.