Irene McGugan

18 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been received about the introduction of the Scottish Exchange of Educational Data and whether any pupils and parents have refused to provide the requested information.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) has received a small number of representations regarding the Scottish Exchange of Educational Data (ScotXed) project. Most of these representations have been queries from parents asking for clarification on i…

18 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what specific purposes the personalised information collected in the Scottish Exchange of Educational Data will be used.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Partners of the Scottish Exchange of Educational Data (ScotXed) project, will use information held on individuals for purposes of administration, self-evaluation and, in the case of the Scottish Qualifications Authority, the processing of examination data. <P…

18 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Exchange of Educational Data requires the inclusion of individual pupils' names and addresses and, if so, what the reason is for this position.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The ScotXed (Scottish Exchange of Educational Data) project is a partnership of the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) with local authorities, schools, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), HM Inspectorate of Education and Learning and Teac…

18 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all individuals and organisations that were consulted before the introduction of the Scottish Exchange of Educational Data and how the consultation was publicised.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The strategic planning for the ScotXed project is undertaken by the School Education Information Advisory Group (SEIAG), which has endorsed plans for the 2002 Scottish School Census and beyond. The SEIAG membership includes representatives of: the Association…

10 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend the terms of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 so that children accessing residential respite care for longer than 24 hours do not have to be categorised as looked after children.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Where a child stays away from home for purposes of respite, he or she is being provided with accommodation and the local authority has additional duties towards him or her as a child being looked after by them. This is designed to protect children who might o…

10 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what process is in place to record unmet needs identified during carers' assessments since the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force.

Answer · Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26616.

10 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many carers have received an independent assessment of their needs since the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The measures in the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 to support carers come into force in September. The Executive will issue detailed guidance to the statutory and voluntary sectors on the implementation of the act, which will cover independent …

10 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms have been put in place since the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force to ensure that information on services and support is made available to carers.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The measures in the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 to support carers come into force in September. The Executive will issue detailed guidance to the statutory and voluntary sectors on the implementation of the act, which will address issues suc…

10 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are required to be accountable for their use of funding allocated to new services and support for carers; if so, in what way and, if not, what the reason is for this position.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The Executive allocates resources to local authorities to provide a full spectrum of community care services, including support for carers and the people they look after. Additional resources were allocated to local authorities from 2000-01 onwards to impleme…

10 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the amount of respite care available in each local authority area is measured, assessed and monitored.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Local authorities are responsible for planning and delivering local services, including the provision of respite care or short breaks, based on available resources and local needs and priorities. Authorities report on their delivery of services in annual Comm…

10 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding mechanism is in place to ensure that carers' services, including respite services, developed and funded through the carers' strategy allocation in 2000, will be able to continue beyond April 2003.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Decisions on the future allocation of resources for all Executive priorities, including health and social care services, are currently the subject of a comprehensive spending review. No decisions have been made as yet but the Scottish Executive has made clear…

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24726 by Cathy Jamieson on 1 May 2002, whether it is intended that projects within the Changing Children's Services programme will be (a) linked to or (b) part of Children's Services Plans.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Proposals funded through the Changing Children's Services Fund are intended to help local authorities and their partners reshape children's services to provide better integrated support and to meet the needs identified in Children's Services Plans.

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24726 by Cathy Jamieson on 1 May 2002, how each bid to the Changing Children's Services Fund will be monitored for adherence to set criteria.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Monitoring reports on use of Changing Children's Services Fund resources will form an integral part of annual updates on Children's Services Plans.

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24726 by Cathy Jamieson on 1 May 2002, what the total percentage share of funding is in each local authority proposal to the Changing Children's Services Fund for (a) statutory, (b) voluntary and (c) partnership projects.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26460.

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24726 by Cathy Jamieson on 1 May 2002, how many projects were included in the proposals from each local authority in respect of the Changing Children's Services Fund and how many such projects relate (a) exclusively to statutory sector provision, (b)…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The overall aim of the Changing Children's Services Fund is to encourage better integration of all resources available for Children's Services across the statutory and voluntary sectors. Proposals are therefore expected to demonstrate evidence of genuine part…

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will develop a national youth strategy.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive is committed to raising the profile of youth issues and increasing the involvement of young people in policy issues that affect them. We are working with YouthLink Scotland to map youth provision throughout the country. We will also be seeking v…

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of each local authority's budget was allocated to youth work in each of the last ten years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff in each local authority area were employed in youth work in each of the last ten years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the recommendation of the Ministerial Action Group on Languages which called for the consolidation and extension of language learning in primary schools and the further diversification of languages at all levels of secondary education.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive response to the report, copies of which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. 16335), accepts the recommendations made by the action group.

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to downgrade and phase out the teaching of the German language in schools.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26442.

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to phase in policies over the next six to eight years for French to be the only language taught in primary schools and S1 and S2 and for primary teacher trainees only to be taught the French language in colleges.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: No. Teacher education institutions must ensure that student primary teachers with the interest and aptitude are trained to teach modern languages in the primary school. The number and variety of languages offered is dependent on the resources available to the…

22 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding sport will receive as a result of the increase in National Insurance contributions announced in the UK Budget 2002.

Answer · Andy Kerr: We will take the impact of recent employer National Insurance contributions changes into account in making allocations in the current spending review, the results of which will be announced in September.

21 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many school days were lost by pupils absent due to (a) sickness and (b) respiratory illness in each of the last five years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive collects statistical returns on levels of authorised and unauthorised absence in Scotland's schools from local authorities. However, the more specific information requested is not held centrally.

21 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11266 by Nicol Stephen on 11 December 2000, whether, in the context of the on-going review of adoption and fostering, any consideration is being given to amending regulation 12 of the Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: As indicated in answer to question S1W-25630 on 20 May 2002, the precise remit of phase two of the review has yet to be decided, but it is intended that it will cover a range of legal and policy issues in relation to fostering.

20 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22746 by Nicol Stephen on 19 February 2002, what the outcome was of its enquiries into the progress made by the NHS boards and education authorities in respect of the guidance on the administration of medicines in schools.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: My officials wrote to Directors of Education on 14 March asking them to complete and return a questionnaire indicating the progress which has been made within their respective areas on the implementation of the guidance on the administration of medicines in s…

20 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the article in The Sunday Herald of 5 May 2002, when the first "berry tsar" will be appointed, what input it will have into the appointment of this person and what the exact remit of the post will be.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has recently agreed to fund the Berry Scotland Project for two years to cover the appointment of a Scientific Co-ordinator. The post will be filled by open competition and has been advertised. Scottish Executive officials participated i…

15 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the specific definition is of "order" describing a statutory instrument, as used in the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and, in particular, in sections 5 and 9.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: There is no specific definition of the word "order" as applied in sections 5 and 9 of the act. Any interpretation of the term is a matter for the Scottish courts.

15 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24918 by Lewis Macdonald on 7 May 2002, whether Scottish ministers are "prescribing" when fulfilling any statutory obligation to "specify" a maximum toll given that "to prescribe" can be interpreted as meaning "to specify".

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Article 4 of The Invergarry - Kyle of Lochalsh Trunk Road (A87) Extension (Skye Bridge Crossing) Toll Order (Variation) Order 1999 states that the maximum toll for each description of traffic is the figure "specified" in the schedule to the order. Any further…

15 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 extends to Scotland.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Yes.

15 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what use it and the Crown Office have made of the opinion of 16 December 1999 given by Lord Sutherland in Smith and others when considering issues relating to the Skye Bridge crossing; whether this opinion has been reported and, if so, when and, if not, what the reasons were for this posi…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Both the Scottish Executive and the Crown Office have made reference to the Opinion of Lord Sutherland and other relevant case law in responding to parliamentary questions and correspondence on the subject of the Skye Bridge, and in preparing for subsequent c…