Parliamentary questions

Andrew Wilson

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

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its consultation paper, Scotland: the Learning Nation - Helping Students, whether the overall debt of students that it supports is the same or less than in 2000 following implementation of the graduate endowment scheme and what the reasons are for its position on this matt…

Answer · Iain Gray: The overall debt of students will be affected by a number of factors including the extent to which the available student loan is taken up by individual students, the extent to which they obtain borrowings from commercial sources and the extent to which the mi…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place in order to ensure that all funds collected under the graduate endowment scheme are hypothecated for the purpose of funding future student support.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Executive will follow section 2 of The Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001. Income arising from the graduate endowment will be accounted for in the Executive's resource accounts and applied for the purposes of student su…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much child care support was available for full-time students in higher and further education in (a) financial and (b) academic years (i) 2001-02 and (ii) 2002-03.

Answer · Iain Gray: Lone Parent students in higher education who incur formal child care costs were entitled to a grant up to £1,000 in 2001-02, in addition to their standard living cost support. This has been increased to up to £1,025 for each eligible student in 2002-03 in lin…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) which higher education institutions have their own child care facilities on campus and what central funding it has provided specifically to each such institution in respect of such facilities.

Answer · Iain Gray: Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and decisions on the provision of facilities are a matter for them. The information requested is not held centrally.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what average award was received from the young students' bursary fund in (i) financial and (ii) academic years 2001-02.

Answer · Iain Gray: Young Students Bursary Awards are made to young, full-time students undertaking a properly validated higher education course. They are, therefore, made on an academic year and not a financial year basis. The average award for academic year 2001-02 was £1,366.…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) applicants for and (b) recipients of young students' bursary support there were in (i) financial and (ii) academic years 2001-02.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Young Students' Bursary is provided as an entitlement based on the level of parental income. Eligibility for the bursary is assessed as part of the overall assessment of eligibility for student support. It is not applied for as a separate allowance. Yo…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided for the mature students' bursary fund during (a) academic and (b) financial years (i) 2001-02 and (ii) 2002-03, broken down by higher education institution.

Answer · Iain Gray: Institutions receive their allocation of the Mature Students' Bursary Fund in a single instalment at the beginning of the academic year; the amounts are, therefore, the same for both the financial and academic years.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 W…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the eligibility criteria are for mature students' bursary support.

Answer · Iain Gray: Mature Students' Bursaries are awards made on a discretionary basis by higher education institutions. The Scottish Executive provides general guidance on the eligibility criteria for the bursaries to the institutions. The bursaries are primarily intended to h…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) applicants for and (b) recipients of mature students' bursary support there were in (i) financial and (ii) academic years 2001-02.

Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not yet available. The guidance provided to institutions requests that they provide information to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland on the awards made from their Mature Students' Bursary Fund allocations by 30 September each…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will first receive payments under the graduate endowment scheme.

Answer · Iain Gray: The first payments under the graduate endowment scheme will be received in April 2005.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27005 by Mike Watson on 22 July 2002, why young Scottish-domiciled students from low income families pursuing studies in other parts of the UK are not entitled to support from the young students' bursary fund because of not being liable to pay gradua…

Answer · Iain Gray: The Graduate Endowment is an integral part of the new student support arrangements introduced for Scottish domiciled students studying full-time higher education courses in Scotland from 2001-02 including bursaries for young students from low income families.…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average level of award received from the Mature Students' Bursary Fund was in 2001-02.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail all specific mechanisms that will be used for collecting monies under the graduate endowment scheme.

Answer · Iain Gray: Regulation 8 of The Graduate Endowment (Scotland) Regulations 2001 specifies that liable graduates may either pay the full amount of the endowment on the due date or take out a student loan under the existing income contingent loan scheme. Details of the coll…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether students that take a one year break from their higher education course are eligible to apply for a young students' bursary in 2002-03 while continuing students on the same course are not and, if so, what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Answer · Iain Gray: The new student support arrangements, including eligibility for the Young Students' Bursary and liability for the Graduate Endowment, apply to Scottish domiciled students who started full-time higher education courses at a Scottish institution from 2001-02. <…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why mature students are exempt from paying the graduate endowment.

Answer · Iain Gray: As we explained in the consultation paper Scotland the Learning Nation - Helping Students, a number of groups of students, including mature students are exempt from graduate endowment liability in order to encourage lifelong learning and ensure social …

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed response to the questions raised in the letter to it of 12 September 2002 from Dr Wendy Moffat of Cumbernauld regarding the potential health effects of motorway location on the adjacent population.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The contents of the letter received from Dr Wendy Moffat have been considered and a response was issued on 3 October.

18 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is conducting any inquiries in respect of any monies provided to Napier University for nursing training and associated courses being redirected to capital building projects; what the scope and timescale of any such inquiries are; what amounts in cash terms have been so redirect…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We have no plans to conduct any inquiry into the use of the funds Napier University receives under the terms of the contract for the provision of nurse education. The nurse education contract is a major priority for the university and it is funded entirely se…

18 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answer to question S1W-28950 by Lewis Macdonald on 18 September 2002, who the four eminent academics were that formed the external advisory panel on the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies and what specialist knowledge or professional practice each has in the field of …

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Four members of the external advisory panel were appointed in May 2000. They are:Phil Goodwin, Professor of Transport Policy, ESRC Transport Studies Unit at University College London. Peter Mackie, Professor of Transport Studies, Institute for Transport…

16 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what directions and guidance it has given to the Strategic Rail Authority on compensation packages to (a) passengers, (b) train operating companies (TOCs) and (c) Railtrack for the disruption caused by a line closure; what the process is to gain any such compensation, and whether passenge…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: There are mechanisms in place under the terms of the current franchise to enable passengers to receive compensation from train operating companies who cancel train services. Where the cancellation is due to action taken by Railtrack, the train operating compa…

16 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to introduce legislation preventing the storage or placement of flammable or otherwise dangerous materials adjacent to railway lines or sidings, detailing when it will exercise any such power and the reasons behind its position on this matter.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Employers are obliged to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in the running of their premises. Health and safety legislation includes requirements to protect the public outwith the premises as …

16 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why NHS patients diagnosed with mesothelioma are being referred to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester for treatment; whether any sufferers are being referred to, and treated at, other hospitals outside Scotland; how long this practice has been established, and how many patients have been ref…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information about referrals to named hospitals outside Scotland is not held centrally.Information is available of the total numbers of people referred for treatment to hospitals in England:Referrals to Hospitals in England for all Malignancies Excluding…

16 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any specialist treatment units for mesothelioma and, if so, where they are located; how long any such units have been in operation, and what additional funding any such unit has received in each of the last five years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28521 on 13 September 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.…

16 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent specifically on research into mesothelioma in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of the total amount spent on cancer research in each year.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health services and patient care with the NHS in Scotland. The CSO portfolio includes more than 57 cancer-related proj…

11 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 will list all contingent liabilities it has entered into, detailing the amount of each liability and indicating whether these liabilities are shown on its financial balance sheets or budgets and, i…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The audited annual consolidated resource accounts of the Scottish Executive provie details on quantifiable contingent liabilities. The accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2001 were laid before the Scottish Parliament by the Scottish ministers in Fe…

5 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many undergraduate courses relating to professional disciplines offered by universities are not accredited or recognised by the relevant professional body, broken down by (a) institution, (b) course and (c) professional body, and what action it is taking in order to ensure that applic…

Answer · Iain Gray: This information is not held centrally.

4 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the consultation process regarding future development of the A80 has cost to date, giving (a) a full breakdown of how such costs were incurred and (b) expected overall expenditure on completion of the process.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Consultation was a continuing thread throughout the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies, for each of the A80, A8 and M74 corridors, and involved a steering group, a consultative forum and focus groups. In addition, the Scottish Executive has taken adv…

4 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the basis is for the calculation of rateable values for businesses, broken down by type of business and detailing the reasons for any variation in the basis of the calculation.

Answer · Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28904 on 18 September 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…

4 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average rateable value for businesses is, broken down by the smallest sectoral and geographic level available.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The following table gives average rateable value in April 2000 by type of subject for each local authority area in Scotland. This is the latest information available to the Executive on rateable values of subjects classified on a consistent sectoral basis, br…

4 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out into the underlying reasons for any variation in average rateable values for businesses.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The valuation of non-domestic property for rating purposes is the responsibility of the Scottish Assessors. Assessors act independently of both central and local government reaching decisions in accordance with statute and case law.

3 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional financial assistance it will make available to either North Lanarkshire Council or the local communities of Abronhill and Westfield in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency in order to help to address continued problems associated with flooding to land near residential …

Answer · Allan Wilson: The single allocation North Lanarkshire Council receives for its non-housing capital programme includes, among other things, provision for flood prevention measures to mitigate flooding of non-agricultural land. More generally, and separately, the Executive h…