Mr Brian Monteith

2 Apr 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer whether computer-simulated tests on the effect of wind around the new Parliament building can determine (a) whether it will result in any whistling and (b) what wind speeds will be generated and whether there are any plans to use wind tunnel testing in order to detect any potential problem…

Answer · David Steel: The computer simulated wind tests on the final design of the Holyrood building were undertaken to determine the effect of windflow around the buildings. Even such sophisticated tests cannot determine whether or not whistling will occur. The elimination of whi…

28 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Historic Scotland has had any input into the proposed road and development outside Caroline Park House, Granton, Edinburgh.

Answer · Elaine Murray: I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to answer. His response is as follows:<P>Planning authorities are statutorily required to consult Scottish ministers before determining applications for planning permission for development which …

27 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it proposes to introduce legislation to amend the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 in order to establish an appeals process for pupils refused a placing request on the grounds that any remaining places in the school are reserved for families who move into the school catc…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Where a placing request is refused on the grounds that places are to be reserved in the specified school for families who move into the catchment area after the beginning of the school year, parents may use the existing appeals process under section 28C of th…

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the suicide rate was among (a) men and (b) women prisoners in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Rates of suicide for males and females, financial years 1997-2001, per thousand prisoners<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=444><T…

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Forestry Commission is undertaking any measures to retain the integrity, brand identity and tourism potential of the Queen Eli'abeth Forest Park given the creation of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Forestry Commission is indeed taking such measures. It has agreed with the Interim National Park Authority that the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park will retain its own unique identity within the National Park. The commission is also taking this opportunity to…

22 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the full costs involved in (a) publishing, (b) printing and (c) distributing (i) National Care Standards: School Care Accommodation Services, (ii) National Care Standards: Care Homes for Children and Young People and (iii) National Care Standards: Early Education a…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The total cost of publishing, printing and distributing each document was as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=502><TR><TD WIDTH="85%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><I><P>National Care Standards: School Care Accommodation Services</I></TD><TD W…

21 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Auditor General for Scotland will publish the results of the inquiry into the management of NHS waiting lists and whether the inquiry will include the reopened waiting lists for clinical psychology and dietetics detailed in the report Review of Learning Disability Services in For…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Audit Scotland hopes to publish its report in May. It will cover the management of waiting lists in all 28 trusts in Scotland.

21 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the reopened waiting lists for clinical psychology and dietetics detailed in the report Review of Learning Disability Services in Forth Valley by the Scottish Health Advisory Service in December 2001, what steps are being taken in order to guarantee that a waiting list pla…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Instructions have been issued to NHSScotland, reiterating that it is unacceptable to refuse to accept a referral to an appropriate clinical professional for clinical consultation or treatment.

21 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the information gathered through the Scottish Exchange for Education Data will be used solely for statistical purposes or whether information identifiable to individuals will be held and, if the latter, what mechanisms will be put in place in order to ensure individual confidenti…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive will use data collected through the Scottish Exchange of Educational Data (ScotXed) project for statistical and research purposes, to inform the development, implementation and monitoring of policy. The Scottish Executive will not use a…

21 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether information on children outwith the state school system will be included in the Scottish Exchange for Education Data.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive Education Department is currently in discussion with the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), concerning the benefits to independent schools from participation in the Scottish Exchange for Educational Data (SCOTXED) project. …

19 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the circular documents or any other mailings intended for distribution to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools that it has issued in each of the last three years and how many pages each such mailing contained.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The detailed information requested is not held by the Scottish Executive.

19 Mar 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Education and Young People will next meet representatives of the teaching unions and what issues will be discussed.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have met representatives from the Educational Institute of Scotland and Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association within the last three weeks to discuss a variety of issues. I have no further plans to meet representatives of the teaching unions before the en…

14 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in each NHS hospital in Forth Valley contracted hospital-acquired infections in each of the past three years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

13 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of the total number of teachers registered to teach in primary schools in each of the past ten years were (a) male and (b) female.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Executive. It is a matter for the General Teaching Council for Scotland. We have been informed that the information is not readily available from its records.

13 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of the total number of primary school teachers employed in each of the past ten years were (a) male and (b) female.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The available information on the number and percentage of the total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) primary school teachers employed in each of the years from 1992 to 2000 who were (a) male and (b) female is given in the following table:<TABLE BORDER CEL…

12 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to comments made by the Visitor Services Manager of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Interim Committee in The Courier on 11 March 2002, what (a) research has been done on or (b) estimates have been made of how many additional visitors from England, Wales and the rest of Euro…

Answer · Allan Wilson: Whilst the Interim Committee is a participant in a project to develop common baseline information about visitor surveys, I am not aware of any precise estimates of additional visitors to the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, nor of specific researc…

8 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23597 by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 March 2002, how much money prescription charges have raised for the NHS in each of the last five years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is set out in the following table:<P>Revenue from Prescriptions in Scotland 1995-96 to 2000-01<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=158><TR><TD WIDTH="64%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Financial Year</TD><TD WIDTH="36%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>…

8 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-4741 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 28 February 2002, which obsolete regulations affecting business it has revoked.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Review Regulatory Impact Assessment or "Regulatory MOT", introduced in February 2001, requires that all regulations which impact significantly upon business are subject to a rigorous review within 10 years of their introduction. This is not a short-term m…

8 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Ministerial Code applies to those appointed as ministerial parliamentary aides.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The only provisions in the Scottish Ministerial Code, which apply directly to ministerial parliamentary aides, are those in paragraphs 4.6 - 4.13 of the code, which set out their role and arrangements for their appointment. Paragraph 4.12 of the code makes it…

8 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which spending allocations to the former Forth Valley Health Board in each of the past two years have been based on the Arbuthnott formula for distributing health funding, including any additional or one-off items of expenditure.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Plans for implementation of the Arbuthnott formula were announced in September 2000. An additional £12 million was make available nationally in September 2000, to make progress in implementing the recommendations in the Arbuthnott Report. Forth Valley Health …

8 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23171 by Mike Watson on 5 March 2002, whether Historic Scotland has set any targets for increasing the proportion of its budget represented by income.

Answer · Elaine Murray: Historic Scotland does not set its income targets, as a proportion of its total budget. Its income targets reflect what is achievable in any given sphere of commercial activity. It has published key performance targets, relating to market share and retail spe…

6 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the use of Public/Private Partnership schemes to help finance the redevelopment and refurbishment of City of Edinburgh Council schools is a form of privatisation.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Public/Private Partnership schemes like the City of Edinburgh Council schools project are not a form of privatisation. They are long-term contractual arrangements for the provision of assets and related services. In such schemes the public sector specifies th…

1 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SE5424/2002 of 28 February 2002, what funding it will provide to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06 and (d) 2006-07.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The level of funding to be allocated to the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park in future years will be determined as part of the spending review undertaken by the Scottish Executive. The period covered in the forthcoming review runs from 2003-04 unti…

1 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will appoint members of the board of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and when elections will take place for the elected positions on the board.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The draft Designation Order, lodged in Parliament on 24 February, sets 27 June 2002 as the date of poll for direct elections to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority. Applications have already been sought from people interested in being ap…

28 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what role Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education played in each Scottish Executive Education Department conference in 2001 and what expert advice it provided to each conference.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: In 2001, HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) attended three conferences on National Priorities in Education, which were organised by Scottish Executive Education Department's New Educational Development Division. At the most recent conference HMIE provided ad…

27 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it requires childminders to have documented policies on (a) equal opportunities, (b) admissions procedures, (c) complaints procedures, (d) access to any records kept and (e) confidentiality.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Children Act 1989 requires local authorities to impose a duty on childminders to keep records about the children in their care. It is currently for the local authority to decide on the need for any further documentation. The new Scottish Commission for th…

27 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which bodies regulate or vet the procedures of childminders.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Childminders are currently regulated by local authorities under the Children Act 1989. As from 1 April 2002, the new Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care will assume responsibility for the regulation and inspection of childminders under the Regulati…

27 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice, guidance or guidelines it provides to childminders.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Under the Children Act 1989, local authorities are responsible for the regulation of childminders and it is for them to offer any advice to providers. Guidance for local authorities on the regulation and review of childminding was issued by the Scottish Offic…

27 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it provides any financial or other support to the Scottish Childminding Association.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) is receiving core funding from the Scottish Executive, this year and for the next three years, to assist in the delivery of the Childcare Strategy to provide accessible affordable quality children's services. The S…

27 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be any additional cost to the taxpayer following the appointment of eight Ministerial Parliamentary Aides and what budget has been set aside to accommodate any such costs.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Ministerial Parliamentary Aides are unpaid. If they make any visits within the United Kingdom relating to their duties as a Ministerial Parliamentary Aide, they would be entitled to normal Civil Service travel and subsistence allowances. It is not envisaged t…