Parliamentary questions

Brian Fitzpatrick

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

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what work is being undertaken, by it or on its behalf, to promote the training of people in information and communications technology as a contribution to strengthening lower-income communities.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Executive is implementing and developing a number of initiatives to promote information and communications technology (ICT) skills in disadvantaged communities. These include:Learndirect Scotland to help and encourage individuals to take direct action …

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what work is being undertaken, by it or on its behalf, to demonstrate to individuals and community groups in lower-income communities the relevance of information and communications technology to the lives and needs of those living in those communities.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: One of the initiatives announced as a part of the Executive's Digital Inclusion Strategy Connecting Scotland's People is specifically targeted at disadvantaged communities. We have launched a £3.5 million initiative to create two pilot "digital communi…

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any figures from the 2000 Scottish Crime Survey have been approved for publication other than those already published in the Social Justice Annual Report Scotland 2000 and in The 2000 Scottish Crime Survey: First Results.

Answer · Iain Gray: Figures from the Scottish Crime Survey, in relation to domestic violence, have been published in the Action Plan-Preventing Violence against Women. Figures in relation to older people have been published in Older People in Scotland: Results f…

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that law enforcement officers in Scotland have specialised training and increased resources to ensure a prompt and effective response to reports of incidents involving children in Internet chat rooms.

Answer · Iain Gray: Training on Internet Crime, including action to tackle "grooming" by paedophiles on the Internet, is already provided by the Police Service and by the Crown Office and both organisations are working together to identify further training needs in this area. Re…

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made or will be making to Her Majesty's Government on the Cyber Crime Convention of the Council of Europe.

Answer · Iain Gray: Representations have been made specifically on the legislative requirements for Scotland. The Scottish Executive and the Crown Office have been consulted at all stages in the drafting of this Convention. This consultation is continuing.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what agencies and organisations participate in the work of the Internet Crime Forum.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Internet Crime Forum (ICF) brings together representatives from government, law enforcement agencies, including the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, and the Internet industry. A list of those ICF members who have authorised disclosure of …

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it had had with Her Majesty's Government and other UK agencies on securing effective communication and co-operation on Internet crime within the UK.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the Home Office on a wide range of Internet crime related issues.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the 5-14 curriculum guidelines for information and communications technology, what steps it is taking to ensure that online safety topics are included within this subject area.

Answer · Jack McConnell: National 5-14 Guidelines for information and communications technology (ICT) and associated Guides for Teachers and Managers emphasise the need for education authorities and schools to ensure that appropriate measures for the safe use of ICT are in place and …

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with the National Hi-tech Crime Unit on its remit regarding cases which threaten the online safety of children.

Answer · Iain Gray: None. However, the Scottish Police Service is in regular contact with the National Hi-tech Crime Unit and Scottish forces have access to a team within the Unit dedicated to tackling computer related child abuse.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the need to protect the identity of young users connecting to the internet through school systems and using school email addresses and what advice or guidance it has issued on the matter.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is aware of the potential risks to young people that can arise from the disclosure of personal information in e-mails and chatrooms. All schools were issued with an information pack "ClickThinking - Personal Safety on the Internet" in 1…

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) when it last estimated the number of people who have access to the internet and what the results were, and (b) how many children are using the internet, broken down by age group.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Results from the Scottish Household Survey, for the first quarter of 2001, show an estimated 31% of people in Scotland aged five years and older had access to the internet for personal use. When disaggregated by age, 27% of 5 to 10-year-olds are estimated to …

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18646 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, how many of the judges listed as sitting in each week in the Outer House were sitting as Commercial Cause judges or were otherwise unavailable to the courts administration to hear ordinary cause civil proof…

Answer · Iain Gray: Information in the form requested is not readily available. At least one judge but not more than three judges are allocated to commercial business in any one week during term.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18645 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, what discussions it has held with officials of the Supreme Courts, including the Keeper of the Rolls, with regard to the waiting periods in calendar weeks for proofs with an estimated duration of 10 days or…

Answer · Iain Gray: Officials of the Supreme Courts including the Keeper of the Rolls were consulted and provided the information given in the answer to question S1W-18645. The programming of business in the Court of Session is the responsibility of the Lord President of the Cou…

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18643 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, what the average waiting period was for (a) a civil appeal and (b) a solemn conviction shown in calendar weeks.

Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is not held centrally and is not readily available.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18642 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, what the date of retirement was for each of the retired judges called on for sittings of the Supreme Courts between 1 January 2001 and 31 August 2001.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The services of five retired judges were called upon during the period 1 January to 31 August 2001. Their retirement dates are shown in the following table:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=269><TR><TD WIDTH="75%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><FONT FA…

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18642 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, what steps it is taking to reduce the calls upon retired judges called for sittings of the Supreme Courts.

Answer · Iain Gray: It is the responsibility of the Lord President to decide when and for how long a retired judge should be used for sittings of the Supreme Courts.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18636 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, what representations it has received since 1999 on the effects of new business before the Outer House of the Court of Session on its judicial resources.

Answer · Iain Gray: None.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18635 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, what steps it plans to take to remedy any deterioration in the progress of criminal appeal work as evidenced in the year up to 31 August 2001.

Answer · Iain Gray: The programming of criminal appeal work is a matter for the Lord Justice General. Ministers will consider carefully any representations which the Lord Justice General might make to them in this regard.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18632 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, how many interviews it has (a) held with candidates for appointment to Senators of the College of Justice since March 2001 or (b) intends to hold.

Answer · Iain Gray: Nine candidates have been interviewed for appointment as Senator of the College of Justice since March 2001.No further interviews for Senator of the College of Justice have been arranged.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer S1W-18631 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, (a) how many appointments to Senators of the College of Justice have been made since March 2001, (b) how many of those appointed were male, (c) how many of those appointed attended public schools, (d) how many of those…

Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is as follows:(a) 3(b) 3(c) 3(d) 3(e) This information was not collected from candidates.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer S1W-18631 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, what discussions it has held with women members of the Scottish Bar and other members of the Faculty of Advocates on encouraging appointments to the Supreme Courts of advocates from non-traditional backgrounds.

Answer · Iain Gray: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19202. The Scottish Executive is committed to encouraging applications for judicial appointments from groups which are under-represented on the judicial bench.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18631 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 October 2001, what specific encouragement it has given to women and others from non-traditional backgrounds in respect of appointment to Senators of the College of Justice.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is committed to making the judicial appointments process a more transparent and fair system for all who are interested in becoming Judges or Sheriffs. The appointment process which took place during the summer was the first in which Cou…

18 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to assist teachers in incorporating information and communications technology into regular classroom practices.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The National Grid for Learning (NGfL) Progress Report, published by the Executive in August 2001 at <A HREF="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/education/nglr-00.asp">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/education/nglr-00.asp</A>, sets out the achievements in…

17 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what forms of assistance are provided by it or by other bodies on its behalf to schools and colleges seeking to offer tuition in technical skills such as computer repair, networking, web design, graphic art and computer programming.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Financial resources are provided by the Scottish Executive to schools through education authorities, and to further education (FE) colleges via the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. The Executive places a high priority on ensuring that both school a…

17 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since September 1999 in strengthening small business development by (a) supporting managerial training and (b) creating more opportunities to increase equity for small- and medium-si'ed businesses.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Management and Enterprise Council has received support from the Scottish Executive to map the current provision of management development training in Scotland as an aid to employers and individuals, including small- and medium-sized businesses.<P…

17 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to publish guidance in plain English for small- and medium-si'ed businesses on compliance with regulations issued by it or by other bodies on its behalf.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive tries to ensure that all guidance, including guidance on compliance with regulations, is in plain English. For example, the Good Business Practice Guidance on writing forms and guidance notes, Good Practice Guidance on Consultation and …

17 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since September 1999 in the commercialisation of basic research.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive is strongly committed to improving the extent of commercialisation of research, as detailed in the:Report of the Knowledge Economy Taskforce, published in April 1999: (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents-w9/knec-00…

17 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since September 1999 in improving access to Executive procurement opportunities for small- and medium-si'ed businesses.

Answer · Angus MacKay: The Executive has introduced a number of measures aimed at improving access to procurement opportunities. A website, www.scotland.gov.uk/procurement, was launched in November 1999. The site provides information on the types of goods and services the Executive…

15 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider any schemes that would allow graduate nurses to pay back any increased funding for the completion of their doctoral studies by working in under-served areas of the NHS in Scotland.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: While we appreciate the benefits that postgraduate level study can bring, the primary aim of nursing education funding is to provide an adequate supply of registered nurses for NHSScotland. However, individual Trusts have discretion to support graduate nurses…

15 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to increasing the funding available to graduate nurses for the completion of doctoral studies.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The funding of doctoral level studies in health science subjects is the responsibility of the Medical Research Council, which allocates funding for studentships to higher education institutions throughout the UK on an annual basis.