Dr Sylvia Jackson

10 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many traffic accidents in 1999 involved children on their way to or from school.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Information is not available centrally about the total number of traffic accidents involving children, injured and uninjured, on their way to or from school. Figures are, however, available showing the number of school pupils aged four to 16 years who were in…

7 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the Scottish Homes development programme for the forthcoming year and how this programme will contribute to addressing the difficulties of developing socially rented housing in pressured rural areas of Scotland.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Homes development programme in 2000-01 is being announced today. Some £206 million will be disbursed and it is expected that this will deliver 6,000 new and improved homes. This is in line with the Executive's commitment in <I>Programme for Gover…

6 Mar 2000 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how social housing in rural areas will be supported.

Answer · Donald Dewar: Ms Wendy Alexander yesterday announced the Scottish Homes development programme for 2000-01 which included an allocation of £45 million for housing in rural Scotland, an increase of over £4 million from the current year. This would allow for almost 1,570 new …

18 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support local authorities receive from sportscotland to promote sport in their individual areas.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: At a strategic/policy level, <B>sport</B>scotland provides advice and guidance to local authorities on the preparation of local plans for sport. <B>sport</B>scotland re-inforces this strategic contact with local authorities through its active participation in…

18 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details, broken down by local authority area, of the number of sports co-ordinators employed in local authority schools including a breakdown by primary and secondary sector.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The information requested is detailed in the table below (position as at 29 February 2000):<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=410><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Authority</TD><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="J…

18 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is promoting a holistic approach at the local level to encouraging sporting activities in disadvantaged areas.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive supports the challenge of <I>Sport 21</I> which calls on local authorities to take the lead in developing Local Plans for Sport that draw on the resources of all relevant services including education, planning, social work, economic dev…

18 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail its policy in relation to promoting sport in disadvantaged areas.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive supports the view set out in <I>Sport 21</I>, <B>sport</B>scotland's national strategy for sport, that greater effort is needed to promote and develop sport in Scotland's disadvantaged communities to ensure that opportunities to partici…

18 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, following the report Credit to the Force published on 24 November 1998 by HMCI of Constabulary for Scotland and the Accounts Commission, what progress it is making in reviewing the finance framework for policing.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The report made 20 recommendations, five of which were directed at the Scottish Executive. The remaining recommendations were directed at chief constables, joint police boards and local authorities. Separate working groups have been set up to take forward two…

16 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what role it believes grandparents should have in the upbringing of their grandchildren.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: This Executive is committed to supporting families to ensure that children receive the best possible start in life. We recognise the important role which grandparents play in many families but also that modern families are very diverse. We consider that arran…

16 Feb 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support mechanisms it presently has in place to support carers within our communities.

Answer · Iain Gray: Support for carers is for local authorities as part of their responsibility for community care. The Scottish Executive has allocated almost £800 million grant-aided expenditure to local authorities for community care this financial year. Within that, £5 milli…

9 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will explain the underlying criteria used to derive the 2000-01 grant-aided expenditure figures for the police.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The methodology used to distribute grant-aided expenditure to police authorities in 2000-2001 was based largely on figures submitted to the Scottish Executive by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. The methodology took into account force nee…

8 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will extend the work of careers services by encouraging more links between higher education and secondary school pupils in order to give a more informed choice about subjects and future jobs, as well as increasing pupil aspirations.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Currently, Career Service Companies already carry out work of this type by offering advice and guidance on higher education during individual interviews with pupils, and group interviews.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Links are encouraged by the organisation of special e…

1 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote self-help groups in supporting dysphasic adults.

Answer · Iain Gray: Adults with dysphasia have access to health and community care services. The promotion and provision of support services, including self-help groups, for adults with dysphasia is a matter for health boards and local authorities to determine in the light of lo…

18 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would consider redrafting its guidance on the Carers Act and, if not, whether it would consider amending existing legislation to entitle carers under the age of 16 years to request an assessment of their needs.

Answer · Iain Gray: In response to a question yesterday, I made available to Parliament the Scottish Executive's Carers' Strategy for Scotland, a package of measures aimed at supporting the many informal carers in our communities who look after friends or relatives who are frail…

17 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the extension of "woodschools" within rural environments, both to promote craft skills development and rural economic development generally.

Answer · John Home Robertson: The Woodschool in the Borders, which I visited recently, is a good example of how craft skills can be used to enhance the rural economy by adding value to Scottish timber. We aim to encourage such initiatives, particularly those using locally grown timber. Th…

17 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its views are on the concern expressed by both the Rural Stirling Housing Association and the Scottish Federation of Housing Association that the proposals to introduce the "right to buy" for housing association tenants would lead to a reduction in the housing stock available in rura…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: We fully accept the need to ensure that housing for rent is available in rural communities and will take this into account in the development of our housing policies.

17 Nov 1999 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would consider redrafting its guidance on the Carers Act and, if not, whether it would consider amending existing legislation to entitle carers under the age of 16 years to request an assessment of their needs.

Answer · Iain Gray: In response to a question yesterday, I made available to Parliament the Scottish Executive's Carers' Strategy for Scotland, a package of measures aimed at supporting the many informal carers in our communities who look after friends or relatives who are frail…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it intends to give Better Government for Older People's campaign for the implementation of uniform concessionary fares on the railways.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: At present, under the existing legislation - section 93 of the Transport Act 1985 - it is solely for local authorities to determine their concessionary travel arrangements for pensioners. The Scottish Executive is carefully considering appropriate ways in whi…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will release a list of respondents to the Scottish Law Commission's 1991 Discussion Paper on the Abolition of Feudal Tenure, and the nature of those responses.

Answer · Jim Wallace: A list of those who submitted written comments on the Scottish Law Commission Discussion Paper on Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Scot Law Com DP No 93) is appended as Appendix B to the Commission's final Report (Scot Law Com No 168). Disclosure of the nature of …

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why it stated that the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill has no effect on sustainable development, as stated in the Bill's policy memorandum.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Bill is a technical reform which makes new provision for the legal basis on which the majority of land and property, including buildings, in Scotland is owned. Issues of management and use of land, which have imp…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the public interest in land will be protected after the abolition of the Crown as feudal superior, as proposed in the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Abolition of Feudal Tenure Bill will not affect current public law mechanisms for protecting the public interest in land. In particular the planning system will be unaffected. In addition the Bill expressly saves the right of the Crown Estate Commissioner…

30 Sep 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure closer integration between agricultural and forestry incentives, in order to promote diversification within agriculture and further the commitment to sustainable rural development.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive is already working with Regional Plan Teams to draw up new rural development programmes for Scotland under the Agenda 2000 Rural Development Regulation.<P>The Regulation includes farm diversification, forestry and a range of other on and off far…

29 Sep 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm that there will be no forced redundancies in the nine Remploy factory sites in Scotland due to the long term proposal of Remploy to provide more opportunity for people working in their factories to move into open employment.

Answer · Henry McLeish: I can confirm that there is no intention that redundancies in Scotland will take place as a result of Remploy's aim to help their disabled employees progress into open employment.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Remploy has recently announced a new strategy to create more …

29 Sep 1999 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure closer integration between agricultural and forestry incentives, in order to promote diversification within agriculture and further the commitment to sustainable rural development.

Answer · Ross Finnie: "The Executive is already working with Regional Plan Teams to draw up new rural development programmes for Scotland under the Agenda 2000 Rural Development Regulation.<P>The Regulation includes farm diversification, forestry and a range of other on and off fa…

24 Jun 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether in the light of the decision about developing a National Swimming Training and Research Centre in Scotland, it intends to make a statement about the future development of this key aspect of sports provision.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer the Member to the answer S1W-00240 given to Dr Richard Simpson, on 19 July 1999.