Donald Gorrie

16 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many domestic premises between Muirhead and the Haggs Interchange will be demolished as a result of the online upgrade of the A80.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The number of domestic properties that will have to be demolished will be confirmed when the design is fully developed and draft roads orders published.

12 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of the contractors who expressed an interest in bidding for groundworks contracts in relation to the construction of the new Auchinkilns interchange on the A80 have withdrawn their interest and what the reasons for any withdrawals were.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Barr Limited and Mowlem plc withdrew from the opportunity to bid for the construction of the A80 Auchenkilns Interchange. In each case the reason given was conflict with other business opportunities.

9 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many psychiatric specialist posts are unfilled, or filled by short-term or locum contract, broken down by grade and specialism for each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of optimum staffing levels per grade, in each NHS board.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information required is substantial and I will write to the member with a full response and place a copy in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

9 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address any shortage of psychiatric specialist clinicians and nurses in Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive is working closely with NHS Scotland and professional bodies to build capacity within NHSScotland across all specialties, including psychiatry. <P>The Scottish Executive has committed to 375 more junior doctors by 2004 and 600 more consultants b…

9 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance or instructions it has issued to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to address the levels of pollution being generated by the landfill site operated by Shanks McEwan at Greengairs near Airdrie.

Answer · Ross Finnie: None. This is an operational matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, carried out as a matter of course in discharging its duty to regulate landfill. The operator is shortly expected to apply for a new permit to comply with the Landfill (Scotlan…

4 Jun 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government regarding the economic impact of employment restrictions on asylum seekers in Scotland.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Regular tri-partite meetings are held with the Minister of State for Citizenship and Immigration and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office, to discuss the implications of asylum and immigration policy for Scotland. A wide range of …

3 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Nicholson Committee's report on licensing laws will be published.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-193 on 3 June 2003. 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.uk/webap…

2 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in view of its commitment in A Partnership for a Better Scotland to encourage the integration of refugees into local communities, it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government that the children of asylum seekers held at Dungavel House immigration removal centre should …

Answer · Margaret Curran: Immigration and asylum issues, including the educational provision for children at Dungavel, are reserved matters.

30 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether residential properties used by local authorities to locate offices, to provide services or to house individuals in their care can be the subject of anti-social behaviour orders and what the range of penalties is for failure to comply with such orders.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) were introduced by section 19 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. They can be used to address anti-social behaviour by individuals wherever it occurs, so long as the anti-social conduct is not against persons of the same h…

28 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what interim steps it is taking to ensure that families whose children are entitled to free school meals and who have switched to the new Child Tax Credit from income support retain their children's entitlement to free school meals until legislation on this matter comes into force in Janu…

Answer · Euan Robson: Pending legislative changes currently being considered by the Parliament, administrative arrangements are in place to ensure that families whose children are entitled to free school meals under existing legislation are not disadvantaged if they move from Inco…

22 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many student loans debts have been written off and what the total cash value was of the deleted debt in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Figures are not available separately for years prior to 1999 and the figure given for that year includes some cases written off in previous years.<P>I am advised by the Student Loans Company that the breakdown requested is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING…

22 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances the student loan debt of a student would be written off.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Under the mortgage-style student loan system introduced in 1990, loans are repaid over a fixed period of five or seven years and will be written off when the borrower reaches 60 years old (or 50 if they received their last loan before they were 40 and the loa…

8 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent annual figures are for successful prosecutions under section 76 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 on selling alcoholic liquor to a drunken person and the penalties imposed, broken down by sheriffdom.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: No such prosecutions were brought under section 76 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 on selling alcoholic liquor to a drunken person during the year 2002-03. A total of nine reports of such offences were received from the police by procurators fiscal acros…

14 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to fund modern apprenticeships to the same level that they are funded in England.

Answer · Iain Gray: The level of funding contributions for modern apprenticeships is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The Scottish Executive recently allocated an additional £25 million over three years to the enterprise network…

14 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to fund managing agents on an equal basis in respect of all students entering modern apprenticeships, regardless of their age.

Answer · Iain Gray: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

13 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34058 by Cathy Jamieson on 26 February 2003, when the review of the guidance on local authority plans for services for children under section 19 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, issued in October 2001, will take place; which department will carry…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The review of guidance on children's services plans will commence in April 2003 and be concluded later in 2003. The Scottish Executive Education Department will lead on the review but a range of other departments will also have an interest.

13 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the details of reported health and safety incidents affecting the public in each of the last four years in each NHS trust, broken down by category of reported incident.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Details on health and safety incidents affecting the public in each of the last four years in each NHS trust, broken down by category of reported incident are not centrally available.

13 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34065 by Cathy Jamieson on 26 February 2003, whether it will detail the members of the National Special Educational Needs Advisory Forum and their designations.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Membership details are listed in the Scottish Executive National Special Educational Needs Advisory Forum website at <A HREF="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/senaf">www.scotland.gov.uk/senaf</A>.

11 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage and fund colleges to offer business management courses to people with a skill who wish to set up their own business.

Answer · Iain Gray: As the largest provider of lifelong learning in Scotland, the further education sector has a vital role in helping to deliver many of the Executive's policy priorities, including those to re-establish Scotland's entrepreneurial drive and to increase the numbe…

10 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for the second stage of the review of initial teacher education and who will be commissioned to carry it out.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: An appropriate remit, which addresses all the key issues, is currently being developed for the review. This development work includes a scoping review conducted by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education, which was announced by the Minister for Education and …

6 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many grants it has allocated under its Youth Crime Initiative.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: We are making available £11.9 million over four years through the Youth Crime Prevention Fund. Thirty-four voluntary sector projects will be funded, widening the range of crime prevention activities tackling youth crime increasing the support available to vic…

5 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will discuss with the Health and Safety Executive whether any regulations governing school students learning technical skills in school or during work experience should be revised.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: In its response last week to <I>Determined to Succeed - a Review of Enterprise in</I> <I>Education,</I> the Scottish Executive agreed to commission from Learning and Teaching Scotland, improved guidance and support materials for work experience. Among the iss…

5 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend regulations in order to enable schools to negotiate with employers for appropriate school students to have part of their education learning a trade at the employers' premises.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Many pupils in Scottish schools already take part in vocational training at employers' premises. It is our intention to greatly increase the number of such placements, through the major expansion of our Enterprise in Education programme. Indeed, the Executive…

5 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will assist small- and medium-si'ed businesses to meet the costs of providing modern apprenticeships.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive already does so through the block grant-in-aid allocation to Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

5 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the package of teachers' pay and conditions based on the McCrone Committee recommendations will enable schools to provide the necessary management for their work experience schemes.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: All the functions and duties required of the teaching profession are encompassed in the agreement <I>A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century</I>. The agreement does not affect the existing arrangements for the management of work experience for pupils.

5 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide increased and ring-fenced funding to schools for their technical departments.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive currently has no such plans.

5 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will examine ways of funding nursing students that will enable them to train or retrain without needing to take on a second job.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Up until 1992, student nurses received a salary. Following a major review of nurse training in 1992, it was agreed that student nurses and midwives should no longer be regarded as employees but that they should have full student status like all other health p…

5 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fund NHS boards in a way that encourages them to employ more in-house nurses and fewer agency nurses.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We have committed record investment in health spending, rising from £4.9 billion in 1999-2000 to £8.6 billion in 2005-06. This is sufficient to allow the employment of more in-house nurses and fewer agency nurses.

5 Mar 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet English, Welsh and Scottish Railway and what issues will be discussed.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: My officials meet representatives of the rail industry in Scotland including EWS on a regular basis, to discuss a wide range of issues. The date of their next meeting with EWS has not yet been set.

4 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fishing vessels have been decommissioned in each year since decommissioning began and what the total tonnage and power is of these vessels.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The required information is set out in the table. Information is not available for any decommissioning schemes run prior to 1993.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=609><TR><TD WIDTH="12%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Scheme<P>Year</TD><TD WIDTH="24%" VALIGN="…