Parliamentary questions
Irene McGugan
716 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the additional resources for education announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in March will be allocated in their entirety to schools or whether some of this funding will be retained by local authorities.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Following discussion with CoSLA, my departments wrote on 17 May to all authorities advising them of how the additional resources which have been earmarked for schools will be allocated. It is a condition of payment of this grant to authorities that the resour…
25 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the additional resources for education announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in March will be forwarded to local authorities.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Following discussion with CoSLA, my department wrote on 17 May to all authorities advising them of how these resources which have been earmarked for schools will be allocated. A copy of the letter has been placed in SPICe. Announcements on the balance of reso…
23 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-1596 by Ross Finnie on 4 May 2000, when it anticipates that the Scottish Berry Project might be actioned.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer to my answer to question S1W-7095.
23 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S1O-1596 by Mr Ross Finnie on 4 May 2000, what other avenues of support are being explored in respect of the Scottish Berry Project.
Answer · Ross Finnie: My officials discussed the project with the Scottish Soft Fruit Growers on 23 May. As a result of these discussions SSFG have been invited to reconsider their original proposals and to put forward revised proposals for a pilot study.
16 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended or officially recognised shade of blue for the Saltire is.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The heraldic description of the Saltire is an argent cross on an azure background<I>,</I> although heraldic colours are not strictly defined. There is no recommended or officially recognised shade of blue for the Saltire, the longstanding convention being tha…
11 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to co-ordinate the findings of research projects into rural deprivation indicators and whether it will consider the findings of any such projects.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I announced on 22 May that the Executive is establishing a working group, which will include representatives from local authorities and enterprise bodies, to pull together work done on rural disadvantage at a Scottish level. This will include both research an…
11 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which agencies, organisations and individuals are currently carrying out research projects focussing on rural deprivation indicators, either in Scotland or in the UK as a whole.
Answer · Ross Finnie: We are aware of studies currently being undertaken in England by both the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and the Countryside Agency, and in Wales by the National Assembly for Wales (NAW). I will be publishing shortly the resul…
11 May 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the terms of the National Parks (Scotland) Bill can accommodate the establishment of a marine national park off the east coast of Scotland but outwith the boundary set by the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The terms of the National Parks (Scotland) Bill do not refer to any sea boundary. The boundaries of any individual marine national park would be considered on its merits and defined on a case-by-case basis.
26 Apr 2000 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to take forward the Scottish Berry Project proposals to protect the viability of raspberry growers and promote health benefits.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Berry Project was considered for funding from a number of sources including the "Heart of Scotland" and Starting Well" health demonstration projects that were announced in the White Paper "Towards a Healthier Scotland". The project was not selected in the…
25 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to specify in legislation the proportions and colours of a national flag for Scotland.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has no such intention.
4 Apr 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5348 by Donald Dewar on 27 March 2000, whether the Lord Advocate played any part in making or recommending recent joint judicial appointments.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Like all his predecessors, the First Minister took advice from the Lord Advocate and consulted the Lord President of the Court of Session, before putting recommendations to Her Majesty The Queen.
21 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to outline the sources of funding for local rural partnerships and the length of time for which these commitments will be guaranteed.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Funding of Local Rural Partnerships is met from the Executive's Rural Strategic Support Fund, part of the Scottish Rural Partnership Fund. Grants are limited to the minimum needed for the Partnership to succeed, subject to a maximum of £40,000 in Year 1. Exec…
21 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many rural partnerships are currently operational in Scotland, and in which local authority areas they are based.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Thirty-five Rural Partnerships registered with the Scottish Executive are operational. Thirty-two of these Partnerships are based in a unitary local authority area. The remaining three Partnerships serve more than one local authority area. Details of the form…
15 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister had responsibility for making or recommending recent judicial appointments in consultation with the Lord President.
Answer · Donald Dewar: Yes.
15 Mar 2000 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards implementing the recommendations in the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities' 1998 report Guidance on Preparing and Implementing a Multi-agency Strategy to Tackle Violence Against Women.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of this guidance is a matter for CoSLA.
8 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the next Scottish Household Survey will be undertaken, and when the results will be available.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Household Survey is a continuous survey which started in February 1999 and interviews are being conducted each month. Three quarterly Bulletins have been published to date and the next Bulletin will be published in May 2000. An Annual Report and …
8 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what has been the number of advisers in local authority Education Departments for each year since the reorganisation of local government in 1996.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: There is no common definition between local authorities of the term "adviser". Centrally-held data does not disaggregate numbers of non-teaching staff in local authority education services.
8 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities had a discrete post of Director of Education in each year since the reorganisation of local government in 1996, and how many no longer have a dedicated Director of Education post.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: The information requested is provided in the table below. It is based on information provided by education authorities in each year. Figures for this year are provisional.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><P …
3 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to include a question on the Scots language in the next Household Survey.
Answer · Jack McConnell: There are no current plans to include a question on the Scots language in the Scottish Household Survey (SHS). The SHS questionnaire is revised slightly each year and a trawl for bids will take place in summer 2000 for questions/topics for possible inclusion …
1 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its current views are on genetically modified (GM) organisms, in the light of the recent statement by the Prime Minister that GM crops could be harmful to human health and the environment.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is well aware of the real and understandable public concerns over genetically modified organisms. Throughout, public health and environmental considerations continue to drive policy in this area. We are neither pro- nor anti-GM but pro-…
1 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what are the means by which deprivation and poverty are currently assessed in both urban and rural areas.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Social Justice report <I>Social Justice: A Scotland Where Everyone Matters</I> published in November 1999, sets out the 29 social justice milestones which will be reported upon annually, as the framework for assessing progress in tackling poverty and depr…
1 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the factors were which influenced the recent allocation of deprivation grants and whether it considers that council areas in the west of Scotland benefited more than other areas of Scotland.
Answer · Jack McConnell: In line with our shared priorities, we agreed with CoSLA that the special deprivation payments for 2000-01 should be targeted at those councils facing higher levels of deprivation, as measured by above average numbers of Income Support recipients as a proport…
1 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to introduce indicators of rural deprivation which will allow resources to be effectively targeted at areas of rural disadvantage.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Existing indicators within the grant distribution system measure relative levels of deprivation across all council areas. As I announced to the Scottish Parliament on 8 December, we have agreed with CoSLA that the joint review we are undertaking of the impact…
29 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote and protect the Scots language and what funds it intends to devote for this purpose.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Executive directly supports the <I>Scottish National Dictionary</I>, the <I>Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue</I>, the Scots Language Resource Centre and the Scottish Poetry Library (which promotes poetry in Scots as well as other languages). These …
29 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why there is no mention of Safe Routes to School, Home Zones or road safety in its proposals for the Integrated Transport Bill.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Responsibility for the provision of Safer Routes to School, Home Zones and Road Safety Schemes rests with the local authorities in respect of local roads. The local authorities already have powers under existing legislation to promote and implement schemes in…
29 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why its proposals for the Integrated Transport Bill contain no proposals to encourage walking and cycling.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Responsibility for the provision of walking and cycling infrastructure rests with the local authorities. The local authorities already have powers under existing legislation to promote and implement schemes designed to encourage walking and cycling, and furth…
29 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will commit and what action it is taking to address any problems which are barriers to more children walking or cycling, such as the lack of secure cycle parking, too much traffic, speed of traffic and lack of facilities at danger points.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: In December the Scottish Executive published guidance on <I>Safer Routes to School</I>. Copies of the guidance have been sent to each local authority and every school in Scotland. The purpose of the guidance is to provide a tool kit of measures which can be u…
29 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to achieve its target of doubling cycle use from 1996 to 2002 and again by 2012.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Since coming into office, the Scottish Executive has taken a number of actions related to cycling.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>In December last year I hosted the Scottish Cycling Conference. The aim of this high level conference was to address strategic issue…
3 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts as unsigned, undated and unpublished, the Assignation Statement in respect of the Skye Bridge.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive accepts the validity of the relevant Assignation Statement.<FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica" SIZE=2><P>The relevant statutory framework is set out in Part IIA of Schedule 1 to the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and the Assignation Statement (Pre…
19 Jan 2000 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide clarification to local authorities regarding what is required in respect of taxi operators under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Answer · Frank McAveety: We intend to consult with local authorities, the taxi trade and other interested parties on the content of the proposed taxi regulations resulting from the 1995 Act during the course of this year.