Parliamentary questions
Linda Fabiani
2,507 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken, or is taking, to meet the recommendations of the Lisbon/Bologna seminar of April 2002 on the harmonisation of higher education.
Answer · Iain Gray: The UK Government signed up in 1997 to the Council of Europe/UNESCO Lisbon Convention on promoting transparency in mutual recognition of academic qualifications. The conference in April 2002 was held to mark five years since that convention was drawn up and t…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure there is no adverse impact on universities should the current round of General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations on trade in services agree to a complete liberalisation of tertiary education.
Answer · Iain Gray: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29657 on 2 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement it has in the tuning of the Dublin descriptors on higher education following the Amsterdam/Bologna seminar of May 2002.
Answer · Iain Gray: The Tuning project is a two-year project led by the Universities of Deusto and Groningen and sponsored by the European Commission. The work has been taken forward by academics from universities throughout Europe and there has been no direct ministerial involv…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what input it will have to the meeting of European Union ministers in Berlin in 2003 to discuss harmonisation of higher education; whether any minister will lead a delegation there; what evidence it intends to submit to the meeting, and what research it has done to assist in gathering ev…
Answer · Iain Gray: The Berlin conference will take place in September 2003 and the agenda has not yet been set. Discussions between the UK Government and the devolved administrations on which ministers will attend for the UK will take place nearer the time.
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what effects the European Union's Sorbonne/Bologna process will have on tertiary education.
Answer · Iain Gray: The Bologna Process was initiated by a small group of European Education Ministers in Paris in 1998 and taken forward by a larger group of ministers in Bologna in 1999 and is not a formal EU process. It is an inter-ministerial process of agreed action between…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands to be the definition of "liberalisation" under the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services as it will affect tertiary education.
Answer · Iain Gray: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29657 on 2 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands to be the definition of "liberalisation" under the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services as it will affect secondary education.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29654 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands to be the definition of "liberalisation" under the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services as it will affect primary education.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29654 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands to be the definition of "liberalisation" under the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services as it will affect nursery education.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29654 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations on trade in services will limit its ability to bring forward legislation affecting education.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29654 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made about the education system in advance of the current General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations on trade in services and whether it consulted (a) Universities Scotland, (b) the National Union of Students and (c) the Association of University Teac…
Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on the GATS as it relates to education services. Universities Scotland, the National Union of Students and the Association of University Teachers have all been consulted by the Executive and …
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services will have for tertiary education.
Answer · Iain Gray: The regulation of international trade is a reserved matter. However, the Executive continues to be in regular contact with the Department of Trade and Industry and other UK Government Departments on trade issues and how these may impact on the Executive's res…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services will have for secondary education.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29654 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services will have for primary education.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29654 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services will have for nursery education.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The regulation of international trade is a reserved matter. However, the Executive continues to be in regular contact with the Department of Trade and Industry and other UK Government Departments on trade issues and how these may impact on the Executive's res…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-5476 by Mr Andy Kerr on 5 September 2002, whether it has undertaken any other assessments of Scottish National Party policies.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Officials routinely consider proposals relating to economic development policy from a variety of external bodies and commentators, including those from other political parties.
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the social justice annual report 2002 and how the milestones, indicators and baselines will vary from the 2001 report.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The social justice annual report 2002 will be published by the end of the year. There will be no changes to the milestones and baselines. There will be some additions to some of the indicators, for example new gender analysis, which will be detailed in the te…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Civil Service Commissioners were involved in its decision to employ 40 policy analysts.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Civil Service Commissioners were not involved.
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how often it has received recommendations from the Civil Service Commissioners in each year since May 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has received no recommendations from the Civil Service Commissioners in any year since May 1999.
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how often it has been reported to the Civil Service Commissioners in each year since May 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has not been reported to the Civil Service Commissioners in any year since May 1999.
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many occupational psychologists it employs.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive core departments employ no permanent staff as occupational psychologists. Occupational psychologists are used by the Scottish Executive on a contract basis.
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the result of the last Civil Service Commissioners' audit of its recruitment system was.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28016 on 27 August 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/s…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its selection boards have been chaired by the Civil Service Commissioners in each year since May 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Civil Service Commissioners chair recruitment boards at Senior Civil Service level. I refer the member to the answer given to question SIW-28005 on 27 August 2002<B>. </B>All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website…
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times it has deviated from the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code in each year since May 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has not deviated from the Civil Service Commissioners' recruitment code in any year since May 1999.
20 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the General Agreement on Trade in Services is a key motivating factor in increasing the use of private finance initiative and public private partnership projects in public services.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The General Agreement on Trade in Services is not a key motivating factor in increasing the use of private finance initiative and public private partnership projects in public services.
17 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28007 by Mr Andy Kerr on 27 August 2002, what monitoring is carried out of the information on the percentage of candidates for senior civil service posts in the (a) Scottish Office and (b) Scottish Administration that were (i) women, (ii) from ethnic…
Answer · Andy Kerr: Prior to this year each competition, while in progress, was monitored in relation to applications from women, ethnic minorities and disabled people. A database has now been established which has held this information centrally since April 2002.
17 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the neighbourhood wardens, announced in its press release SESJ055/2002, will become a network and whether the network will be nationwide.
Answer · Margaret Curran: We intend that neighbourhood wardens operate across Scotland but the shape of the schemes will vary depending on the needs and priorities of individual communities.
17 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the measures announced in its press release SESJ055/2002 will combat prejudice.
Answer · Margaret Curran: These measures will tackle poverty, inequality, and unemployment in many of the most deprived communities in Scotland. <P>Whilst the reasons behind prejudiced behaviours and attitudes are complex and diverse, we know that they all too often manifest themselve…
17 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation will be introduced to govern the neighbourhood wardens announced in its press release SESJ055/2002.
Answer · Margaret Curran: New legislation is not required to govern neighbourhood wardens.
17 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27871 by Malcolm Chisholm on 21 August 2002, who the ambulance frontline staff are within the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Paramedics, technicians and non-emergency assistants are defined as frontline staff.