I would like to request information regarding the financial remuneration provided by Qualifications Scotland (and formerly the SQA) to East Lothian Council in relation to teaching staff performing national qualification duties. Specifically, for each of the past four academic years (2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25, please provide:

1. Total annual payments: The total financial sum paid by Qualifications Scotland/SQA to East Lothian Council to reimburse the release costs of secondary school teachers.

2. Breakdown by role: If held, a breakdown of these payments categorised by the nature of the duty performed (e.g., Marking, Verifying, Setting, or Examining).

3. School-level allocation: A breakdown of the total sums paid that were specifically earmarked for, or attributed to, each individual secondary school within East Lothian Council.

4. Payment mechanism: Confirmation of whether these payments were made as a single block grant to the local authority or issued as individual payments responding to specific invoices from schools.

The information is contained within the attached spreadsheets.

Please note that payments are not made as a single block but are paid as schedules are received.

Release Payments East Lothian (79 KB)