Parliamentary questions

Karen Gillon

705 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

26 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the results of the three-year target-setting exercise for education authorities, Raising Standards - Setting Targets.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The results of the three-year target-setting exercise are published today in Raising Standards - Setting Targets: Setting targets in Scottish schools. National and Education Authority Information 2001. Copies have been placed in the Parliament's Refere…

19 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to introduce an annual audit of statutory services.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The current Local Government in Scotland Bill includes provisions for a new statutory framework for improvement of local authority services. This will include a revised audit duty and a requirement for local authorities to report publicly on their performance…

4 Nov 2002 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Executive has to improve the transition between primary and secondary school.

Answer · Jack McConnell: While there have been significant improvements in the working relationship between primary and secondary schools over recent years, we need to go further.We want to see flexibility and choice developed at a local level to give each child the chance to fulf…

22 Oct 2002 · Written Question

Answer · Iain Gray: Using data from Scottish extracts of the Office of National Statistics Inter Departmental Business Register, there were:(a) two hundred and eighty-five enterprises which located into Clydesdale constituency between November 1999 and November 2000;(b) th…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) public and (b) private specialist schools there are for children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: At the September 2001 School Census, there were 197 publicly funded and 33 independent schools in Scotland for children with a range of special educational needs, including those arising from dyslexia. There are no specialist schools in Scotland providing …

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children that have been excluded from school in each of the last three years have had learning difficulties such as dyslexia and whether there is any requirement to have children tested for dyslexia before excluding them from school.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally. However, the number of times that pupils with a Record of Needs were excluded from school in each of the last three years is provided in the table. Information is not collected specifically on pupils with a learning dif…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of children identified as having learning difficulties has reduced or increased over the last three years and whether the number of such children is projected to increase or decrease over the next three years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive, through its annual school census, collects information on the main learning difficulty of all pupils attending special schools and those pupils with a Record of Needs who attend publicly funded or independent mainstream schools. Figure…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children in (a) public and (b) private education have currently been identified as having learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

8 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce its conclusion on the review of the school provisions of the Schools (Scotland) Code.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Schools (Scotland) Code 1956 has been a feature of Scottish Education for over 40 years. Little of the original code remains and over the years its provisions have been amended, repealed and replaced. In more recent years the code has not kept up with cha…

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has now been made in taking forward the Larkhall to Milngavie rail extension.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive remains in contact with all interested parties, including the Strategic Rail Authority, Railtrack and Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT).Recent progress includes agreement in principle by the Rail Regulator to a solution to issues…

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support the economic regeneration of the Larkhall area.

Answer · Iain Gray: Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire is taking action in line with the direction and priorities set out in the Executive's A Smart, Successful Scotland. This sets out the foundation for sustained improvement in economic performance in Scotland. It focuses …

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support will be available to children following the review of the Record of Needs system.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-5619 which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:<A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa">http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in relation to the review of the Record of Needs system.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: After publishing the Executive's proposals in Assessing our children's needs: The Way Forward? (Bib. Number 19469), further consultation seminars and focus groups were held with service providers and users of the Record of Needs system. A draft bill is…

20 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have a Record of Needs that is currently open and operational.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: According to the September 2001 school census, there were 16,137 pupils with a Record of Needs attending publicly funded schools. At the same date there were 558 pupils with a Record of Needs attending independent schools. From the January 2002 pre-school cen…

18 Sep 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it plans to introduce to support young people with special educational needs.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: A review has been undertaken of the assessment and recording process for pupils with special educational needs and, after consultation, proposals for change were published in Assessing our children's educational needs: The Way Forward?. Copies are avai…

4 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to improve the speed of processing of disclosure checks performed by the Scottish Criminal Records Office.

Answer · Jim Wallace: On 3 September, Disclosure Scotland introduced new software which allows the immediate transfer of conviction information to the disclosure certificate. This change eliminated the need for manual inputting which took up to an hour per disclosure. Disclosure S…

4 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently waiting for a disclosure check to be performed by the Scottish Criminal Record Office.

Answer · Jim Wallace: At 6 September, Disclosure Scotland had 2,703 applications in processing, which included 355 from the Central Registered Body Scotland for volunteers. At that date, Disclosure Scotland had issued 25,701 disclosures.Applications to Disclosure Scotland conti…

4 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce the number of attacks on fire fighters.

Answer · Richard Simpson: During the Business Debate secured by the member on 4 September, I outlined a range of measures being pursued to address the problem of attacks on personnel of all three emergency services. I also agreed to review the recommendations of an earlier working par…

5 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most up-to-date figures are regarding the number of specialist teachers of deaf children currently employed in each education authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21809 on 28 January 2002, which provides the most up-to-date information.

5 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what standards it expects to be applied in teacher training colleges' recruitment processes that would encourage those with special needs and, in particular, deaf people to apply for places on teacher training courses.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Recruitment processes are a matter for higher education institutions (HEIs) themselves. In deciding on individual recruitment strategies, HEIs are able to work with local authorities to identify any localised skills shortages which may exist, and to seek to r…