Susan Deacon

12 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who the members are of the expert group on prostitution, tolerance 'ones and related issues.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I hope to be able to make an announcement soon on the membership of the expert group on street prostitution.

12 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the work of the expert group on prostitution tolerance 'ones and related issues is now under way and when the group's first report will be available.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I hope to be able to make an announcement soon on the expert group on street prostitution.

4 Jun 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle the rise in sexually-transmitted infections among men.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Current initiatives include the major TV campaign, launched on 4 June by NHS Health Scotland, to raise awareness of the risks of sexually transmitted infections; the development of a National Sexual Health Strategy, which will encompass measures to tackle the…

22 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in increasing the provision of other services in post office premises, with a view to keeping local post offices open and contributing to the local community.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Post offices, postal services and Royal Mail Group Plc are reserved matters. Post Office Ltd is continually examining the opportunities to expand business and enhance the income streams of the post office network. The Scottish Executive's £2 million fund to D…

22 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received from the Royal Mail Group plc or Her Majesty's Government on how many post offices in Scotland have closed to date under the network reinvention programme and, of these, how many were in (a) rural, (b) urban and (c) deprived urban areas

Answer · Allan Wilson: Post offices, postal services and Royal Mail Group Plc are reserved matters. The Urban Network Reinvention Programme is operated by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Scottish Executive has no locus in that programme.

22 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when details of the #1.5 million allocated to support post offices in deprived urban areas will be available.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34750 on 19 March 2003. 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/w…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which agencies are primarily responsible for addressing the needs of pre-school children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: A range of agencies could contribute to addressing the needs of pre-school children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, including the NHS and local authority social work departments.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which agencies are currently involved in developing an integrated approach to improving services for parents of pre-school children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The importance of better integrated services for children and their parents, including those affected by autistic spectrum disorder, has been emphasised in a range of publications including the report <I>For Scotland's Children: better integrated services for…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the initial findings of the autism consultative group in Edinburgh indicated and what mechanisms are in place for incorporating any recommendations from the group into future planning of services for pre-school children with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This is a matter for those agencies, such as the Lothian NHS Board and Edinburgh City Council, which are responsible for services related to autistic spectrum disorders.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what allocations have been made to the autism consultative group in Edinburgh for 2003-04.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Services related to autistic spectrum disorders within Edinburgh, and the distribution of resources to them, are matters for the Lothian NHS Board, Edinburgh City Council and other local agencies.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a procedure to allow for carrying over to the next financial year any underspend from allocations through the Changing Children's Services Fund.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Changing Children's Services Fund resources have been distributed to local authorities and their partners for the financial year 2002-03. Where it has not been possible to spend those resources fully in that financial year, the Scottish Executive has on appli…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to the autism consultative group in Edinburgh for 2002-03 and how much of this allocation will have been spent by the end of the financial year.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Services related to autistic spectrum disorders within Edinburgh, and the distribution of resources to them, are matters for the Lothian NHS Board, Edinburgh City Council and other local agencies.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the autism consultative group in Edinburgh will be ready to report on its conclusions.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Services related to autistic spectrum disorders within Edinburgh, and consultation upon them, are matters for the Lothian NHS Board, Edinburgh City Council and other local agencies.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the content was of its submission to Her Majesty's Government's fifth periodic report to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and where this has been published.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The UK Government's fifth periodic report to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women has not yet been published. The UK Government intends to publish the report in early May.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the recommendations of Women and Transport: Guidance and Checklist are being carried out at local authority level.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: <I>Women and Transport: Guidance and Checklist</I> was issued to local authorities, Strathclyde Passenger Transport and transport providers in Scotland in July 2002. How the guidance is put into practice is not monitored centrally.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the recommendations of Women and Transport: Guidance and Checklist will be reflected in the specifications of the new passenger rail franchise.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The specification for the next Scottish passenger rail franchise is being developed at present and will be based on the Directions and Guidance (D&amp;G), which were issued to the Strategic Rail Authority by Scottish ministers in June 2002. The priorities set…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring systems are in place for assessing progress made by all transport providers within each local authority area in respect of recommendations contained in Women and Transport: Guidance and Checklist.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: <I>Women and Transport: Guidance and Checklist</I> was issued to local authorities, Strathclyde Passenger Transport and transport providers in Scotland in July 2002. How the guidance is put into practice is not monitored centrally.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms will be introduced to ensure that all children with complex educational needs including those attending independent schools, are assessed and supported appropriately.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill introduces new duties on education authorities to identify and address the additional support needs of pupils. There is also a duty to keep under consideration the adequacy of provision in …

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring mechanisms will be in place to ensure that the terms of the Draft Education Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Bill are implemented consistently across all local authorities.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Guidance will be issued to all education authorities, setting minimum standards for identifying and meeting the needs of pupils. H.M. Inspectorate of Education, through its inspection programme, will inspect the provision made under the legislation for childr…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of those who responded to the National Debate on Education were parents or organisations that included parent representatives.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: In response to the National Debate on Education, hundreds of events were held across Scotland ranging from small group discussions to large conferences. About one quarter of debate responses indicated that parents were present at an event or discussion, inclu…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are being taken to extend the provision of "one-stop shop" delivery of legal information and advice services, building on the experience of existing services such as citi'ens advice bureaux.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Following the <I>Review of Legal Information and Advice Provision in Scotland</I>, which reported in November 2001, the Executive is taking forward a programme of practical development work to lay the foundations for a community legal service for Scotland. Th…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in increasing partnership working in the delivery of legal information and advice services.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Local partnership within a national strategic framework should be a key theme of the development of a community legal service for Scotland. That is why the Deputy Minister for Justice announced on 21 March that the Executive, in close collaboration with the S…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether restrictions on the sale and use of pornography are considered to be integral to advancing the strategy on tackling violence against women.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Our publication <I>Preventing Violence Against Women: Action Across the Scottish Executive</I> acknowledges that there may be a link between the use and misuse of pornography and violence against women. The research evidence in this area is, however, inconclu…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it expects Registers of Scotland to achieve in 2003-04.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have set the Registers of Scotland the following key targets for 2003-04:<P>To achieve a return of 15% on net capital employed over the three-year period ending 31 March 2004.<P>To reduce the standard production cost index by 2% by 31 March 2004 from its ba…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards establishing a parkway station in Musselburgh, East Lothian.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The delivery of enhancements to the East Coast Main Line, including the proposed construction of a new parkway station at Musselburgh is a matter for the Strategic Rail Authority.

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring systems are in place to ensure equal access to any funding initiatives to all sections of the community, including black and other ethnic minority communities.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Budget Equality Statement contained in the <I>Equality Annual Report</I> (February 2003) provides details on how the mainstreaming of equality is having a positive, practical impact on the spending programmes of Executive departments. The commitm…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to ensure regular and frequent consultation over policy issues with members of black and other ethnic minority communities.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Executive has been developing a range of consultation mechanisms with minority ethnic communities in line with commitments given in our Equality Strategy and our Race Equality Scheme as reported in <I>Making Progress: Equality Annual Report</I>, published…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the (a) City of Edinburgh Council, (b) East Lothian Council and (c) Edinburgh East and Musselburgh parliamentary constituency area have participated in modern apprenticeship schemes in each year since 1999, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) race and (iii) disability.

Answer · Iain Gray: The numbers of Modern Apprentices (MAs) in training as at end March for each of the years 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 (to date) are:<P>City of Edinburgh Council: 541, 654, 1,213, 1,463<P>East Lothian Council: 188, 264, 387, 409<P>Edinburgh East an…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the (a) City of Edinburgh and (b) East Lothian council area have gone into jobs through the New Deal, broken down by (i) race, (ii) gender and (iii) disability.

Answer · Iain Gray: Figures on the number of jobs obtained through each of the New Deals in Edinburgh and East Lothian are only available for the New Deal for Young People, the New Deal 25 Plus and the New Deal for Lone Parents. <P>Combining the latest data for each of these pro…

17 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people living in the (a) City of Edinburgh and (b) East Lothian council area have received (i) education maintenance allowances, (ii) young students bursaries and (iii) young students outside Scotland bursaries in each year since 2001, broken down by (1) gender, (2) race an…

Answer · Iain Gray: Currently, there are no young people in City of Edinburgh or East Lothian receiving Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs). EMAs are being piloted in four local authorities - East Ayrshire, Dundee, Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire. National rollout of EMAs wi…