Apr. 29 2024
Source Page: I. Universal Credit Programme Board Papers from November and December 2021 and January, February, March and April 2022 [redacted] (58 docs). II. Letter dated 15/04/2024 from Jo Churchill MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding documents for deposit in the House libraries. 3p.Found: o Ministers across Government have been resolute and clear with their messages.
Asked by: Burgess, Ariane (Scottish Green Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken since the publication of the Future Planners Project Report, which highlights the need for an additional 700 new planners over the next 10 to 15 years.
Answered by FitzPatrick, Joe - Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning
The Scottish Government has been working with Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS), the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and other partners to progress the short, medium and longer term recommendations of the Future Planners Project Report since its publication in July 2022, to increase the number of new entrants into planning authorities and other parts of the planning sector. The recommendations cover diverse areas of action including support for funded postgraduate opportunities; extending opportunities for students to gain relevant work experience; supporting universities to maintain the viability of RTPI-accredited planning courses and increasing the number of home students where possible; as well as exploring possibilities to retain more international students in the workforce.
In 2023 HOPS launched a campaign toolkit for use by local authorities, employability services, government departments and other planning associated organisations to give young people an insight into planning as a career option. The pack contains links to promotional videos, social media graphics and a downloadable leaflet for use at careers fairs.
The Scottish Government has also provided funding for ten RTPI bursaries for students undertaking post graduate planning degrees in Scottish planning schools in 2023/24. We intend to continue support for bursaries and will confirm arrangements as soon as possible.
RTPI and the Scottish Government have been promoting the case for a planning or practice-based planning degree and will continue to support delivery of such routes into the profession. I wrote to planning schools in October 2023 to encourage their continued support for higher education in this discipline. I will shortly be meeting colleagues from across the planning sector, including industry, at the University of Glasgow, to discuss potential practical initiatives to support planning education and routes into a career in planning.
Work to develop a planning skills strategy is underway, drawing on experience from the approach taken to developing a strategy for building standards. The new National Planning Improvement Framework will gather data on workforce and skills requirements which will help inform the strategy for Scotland as a whole.
Our Investing in Planning consultation provides a more detailed update on the Future Planners report recommendations and action in relation to skills, recruitment and retention within the planning sector. The consultation seeks views on prioritisation of actions already identified and any other measures with the potential to make a significant impact. The consultation is open until 31 May 2024.
Apr. 29 2024
Source Page: Rwanda: country policy and information notesFound: From the departments of Ministry of Foreign affairs or the PM’s ministry legal dept, not those part
Correspondence Apr. 29 2024
Inquiry: Registers of ScotlandFound: Internal and external assessments and benchmarking combined with the recent findings of a Scottish Government
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the estimated 33 per cent fall in overseas students on the financial viability of UK universities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of its education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.
The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100. The UK has a highly sought after higher education (HE) experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.
However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.
Our universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department works closely with the Office for Students, the independent regulator of the HE sector in England, to understand the evolving landscape including on risks relating to international students.
It also continues to work closely with the Home Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.
Apr. 26 2024
Source Page: GORS Professional BehavioursFound: the behaviours which are used to assess the technical skills of Operational Research (OR) analysts in Government
Apr. 26 2024
Source Page: GORS Professional BehavioursFound: understanding of different data structures, and how to make them usable.Stays abreast of developments in Government
Apr. 26 2024
Source Page: 2020 Valuation - Civil Service Pension SchemeFound: valuations Factor Potential impact Age profile Any change in the age profile of the scheme, e.g. a recruitment
Apr. 26 2024
Source Page: 2020 Valuation - Police Pension Schemes (Scotland)Found: At the Government Actuary’s Department (‘GAD’), we seek to achieve a high standard in all our work.
Apr. 26 2024
Source Page: Minister Whately speech on social careFound: staff in social care – and a third of staff each year change jobs Over the last year international recruitment