Parliamentary questions
David Mundell
955 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1O-3907 and S1W-20775 by Mr Jack McConnell and Nicol Stephen on 4 October 2001 and 7 January 2002 respectively, what the total value is of bids received so far for funding to improve school buildings and what level of funding is being made available i…
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The capital value of the bids received in December 2001 is approximately £1.9 billion. Final decisions have still to be taken on the level of revenue support which will be available.
30 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1O-3907 and S1W-20775 by Mr Jack McConnell and Nicol Stephen on 4 October 2001 and 7 January 2002 respectively, whether the bidding process for funding to improve school buildings will give any incentive to local authorities which are reducing the si'…
Answer · Nicol Stephen: All bids are subject to the same assessment criteria. In relation to any school building proposals, authorities should take a strategic view of their needs and take account of pupil number projections and the number and location of school places available.
30 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1O-3907 and S1W-20775 by Mr Jack McConnell and Nicol Stephen on 4 October 2001 and 7 January 2002 respectively, what criteria will be used in determining how funds to improve school buildings will be allocated among the competing bids.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The bid assessment criteria are set out in <I>Scottish Executive Education Department circular 8/2001</I>, copies of which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
30 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1O-3907 and S1W-20775 by Mr Jack McConnell and Nicol Stephen on 4 October 2001 and 7 January 2002 respectively, whether the bids submitted by local authorities for funding to improve school buildings require to be in respect of the whole of the school…
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The nature of the bids is a matter for each authority in the light of their plans for the delivery of education and the management of their school stock. All bids will be assessed against the same criteria. They do not require to be for the whole of the schoo…
30 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met Her Majesty's Government's e-Envoy and what issues were discussed.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the e-Envoy and with officials at all levels in the Office of the e-Envoy. In particular, the Executive is represented on the e-Champions Joint Collaborative Group, chaired by Andrew Pinder, the e-Envoy which …
30 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what contractual requirements are placed on Amey Highways Ltd under the trunk road maintenance contracts to respond to requests from the police to carry out winter maintenance.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Amey is required to work closely with the police and others during the winter season to ensure that all parties are aware of actions being taken. There is no contractual requirement on them to respond to requests from the police in carrying out winter mainten…
28 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for the collection of litter on the A701 trunk road between Dumfries and Moffat.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The A701 trunk road runs from Dumfries to its junction with the A74(M). The A701 from the A74(M) junction to Moffat is a local road network.<P>Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, responsibility for litter clearance from the A701 trunk road rests with…
28 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what will happen to the original #5.5 million funding allocation for Individual Learning Accounts.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: This funding was spread over three years and was to help improve IT skills. From April 2001, I extended the 80% discount being offered through ILAs up to Level 2 courses and I expect that the funding for the first year will be largely taken up by that decisio…
28 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure on research and development in (a) business, (b) government and (c) higher education was in terms of gross domestic product in 2001 as referred to in section 5.5 of its report Knowledge Economy Cross-cutting Initiative.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: 1999 is the latest year for which figures on government and higher education expenditure on research and development have been published. Figures for business expenditure have been published for both 1999 and 2000. In 1999, expenditure on research and develop…
28 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken, or plans to take, to improve aggregate performance on research and development as referred to in its report Knowledge Economy Cross-cutting Initiative.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19144 on 14 November 2001. In addition, as part of the Scottish Economic Statistics Programme, the Executive is continuing to improve its understanding of the knowledge economy, innovation and research an…
28 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise have each taken since the publication of its report Knowledge Economy Cross-Cutting Initiative to encourage the softer business and language skills necessary for Scotland to become a leading centre of e-commerce in Europe.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Following the publication of the Knowledge Economy Report, £6 million was allocated to the enterprise network for this purpose. The specific activities for which the funding is used are an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands E…
28 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action Scottish Enterprise and Highland and Islands Enterprise have each taken, or plan to take, since the publication of its report Knowledge Economy Cross-Cutting Initiative to take advantage of commercial e-learning opportunities.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Scottish Enterprise are, in liaison with Highland and Islands Enterprise and other partners, taking forward a number of activities aimed at taking advantage of commercial e-learning opportunities. Action within the broad area of e-learning includes promotion,…
28 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which industrial sectors it, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, the Scottish Further Education Funding Council and the education sector concentrate their efforts on in attempting to develop the knowledge economy.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The National Clusters Liaison Group, which includes representatives of the Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the funding councils and the education sector, is currently considering this matter.
28 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what venture capital support is available to small technology companies in the current financial year.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: A number of private sector venture capital companies are active in this field. Various public sector supported schemes have also invested in small technology companies in the current financial year. The Executive has been considering whether the needs of such…
25 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many households and businesses are currently connected to the internet, using a broadband connection.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Forty-nine per cent of the Scottish population have access to a broadband connection via cable or DSL. We do not have reliable figures for take-up of broadband services in Scotland. However, the Office of the E-Envoy are working to produce such figures in the…
25 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether rural areas will be at any disadvantage in accessing broadband communications and how it ensures that providers do not limit provision of broadband connection to areas that are cost-effective for them.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has no direct control over the provision of broadband services by telecoms operators. This is a commercial matter for the companies concerned and will largely depend on demand.<P>The Scottish Executive has been working with the enterpri…
25 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support the Highlands and Islands Partnership Programme has secured from the European Regional Development Fund for the infrastructure and development of Private/Public Partnerships which are required to overcome the economic and demand problems of broadband delivery in rural areas a…
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Under the Highlands and Islands Special Transitional Programme 2000-06, ICT support is included under Measure 2.<I>2 Improving Regional Competitiveness Through Developing the Information Society</I>. The measure covers both awareness raising (demand side) act…
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what work it has carried out to ensure broadband access for rural areas as referred to at point 7.9 in its report on the Knowledge Economy Cross Cutting Initiative.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21288 16 January 2002.
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in what way Scottish Enterprise currently promotes e-business as referred to at point 7.7 in its report on the Knowledge Economy Cross Cutting Initiative.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. The information requested is not held centrally. Scottish Enterprise's e-business strategy is set out in the updated version of <I>Connecting Scotland</I>, published in November 2001, which can be accesse…
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many small and medium-si'ed enterprises have used the Scottish Enterprise Business Gateway to seek advice on e-commerce issues since the service began.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. The information requested is not held centrally.
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of companies are currently online as referred to at point 7.5 in its report on the Knowledge Economy Cross Cutting Initiative.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Measuring levels of e-commerce uptake by Scottish businesses is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. The results of the 2001 e-business benchmarking report, which includes figures for connectivity, can be found on:<P><A HREF="http://www.ecommerce-sc…
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for ensuring that young graduates from other parts of the world are encouraged to stay in Scotland after they have graduated as referred to at point 6.12 of its report on the Knowledge Economy Cross Cutting Initiative.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: This responsibility is clearly one which is shared between the Executive, other public bodies such as Scottish Enterprise, and employers. The Executive is also working with the UK Government to publicise changes introduced by the Home Office from October 2001…
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action Scottish Enterprise has taken to take advantage of the substantial economic opportunity represented by the developing global market in educational software as referred to at point 6.9 of its report on the Knowledge Economy Cross Cutting Initiative.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Scottish Development International, which is a joint venture between the Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise offers a broad range of services to companies and organisations in this field to help them enter new markets and to further develop existing ma…
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Information Technology Communications and Electronics implementation group last met.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Information Technology, Communications and Electronics implementation group, which is sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills, last met in July 2001.
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that staff in further and higher education institutions are familiar and comfortable in using and teaching information and communication technologies.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish further and higher education funding councils are responsible for ensuring further and higher education institutions invest appropriately in staff training and development. Both councils have distributed significant funding to institutions for in…
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how Scotland's graduates compare with others around the world when competing to secure research in information and communication technology related to science and technologies as referred to at point 6.3 of its report on the Knowledge Economy Cross Cutting Initiative.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally. I have asked the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and Future Skills Scotland to discuss whether reliable data can be collected on this issue.
24 Jan 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that all students emerging from colleges and universities are familiar with, and have the skills to feel confident about, operating new information and communication technologies as referred to at point 6.3 in its report on the Knowledge Economy Cross …
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive provides guidance to the Scottish further and higher education funding councils on strategic priorities for the further and higher education sectors, including the development of specific student skills. <P>The Scottish Executive is mak…
23 Jan 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on the economy of the Dumfries and Galloway area of premature closure of the Chapelcross Power Station.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: My officials have been in discussion with BNFL, the owners of Chapelcross Power Station, and with Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway about the company's closure plans. These discussions are continuing.
21 Jan 2002 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what steps are being taken to promote the life and works of Robert Burns.
Answer · Jack McConnell: I am personally committed to the promotion of Burns both at home and abroad and I welcome the wide range of events that takes place throughout Scotland to celebrate Robert Burns a literary genius.<P>The Executive is playing its part - supporting last week's C…
16 Jan 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what response it will give to the launch of the South of Scotland Alliance.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive notes the launch of the South of Scotland Alliance and will continue to engage in dialogue with local partners.