Donald Gorrie

3 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether exam passes by school pupils taught in college-school partnerships will, in published statistical tables, be credited to the school involved.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does not currently credit a school with the attainment of pupils presented by another establishment. A working group, involving the Scottish Executive and the SQA, has recently been set up to look into improving ways of recording the at…

19 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to help any voluntary organisations, such as Glasgow and West of Scotland Society for the Blind, that have experienced a reduction in income from funders due to the recent fall in the value of investment income.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive has no plans to provide additional funding across the board to voluntary organisations disadvantaged by reductions in investment income. <P>However, the current Strategic Funding Review aims to identify the current scale and pattern of …

14 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33365 by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 February 2003, what the NHS board and profession is of each staff member called up in anticipation of military action in Iraq, as requested in that question.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Providing the information sought, at the level of specific NHS boards, might enable individual members of staff to be identified. I am, therefore, unable to provide the information in the form requested.

14 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish plans for the distribution of funds from the new landfill tax credit scheme following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's pre-budget report 2002 that states that the Executive will be responsible for the funds from April 2003.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I announced the Executive's plans to establish an interim fund to support sustainable waste management (category c and cc) projects currently funded by landfill tax credits on 3 February 2003.<P>The Executive expects to receive a Barnett share of the £100 mil…

14 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase parental representation on its Special Educational Needs Advisory Forum.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The three-year remit for the current membership of the National Special Educational Needs Advisory Forum comes to an end in March 2003. We intend to review the work of the forum and its purpose, in the light of the proposals outlined in the draft Education (A…

14 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the guidelines under section 19 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 will state that basic training and professional development for teachers should cover bereavement.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The 2nd Stage of the Review of Initial Teacher Education is due to be commissioned after the forthcoming parliamentary elections and to report around the end of 2003. A range of issues, including bereavement training, will be considered and the review will ma…

14 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include children affected by bereavement as well as children affected by matrimonial proceedings in the guidelines under section 19 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Guidance on local authority plans for services for children (the subject matter of section 19 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) issued in October 2001. It is intended to review this guidance in the light of experience with the plans drawn up in 2002 and th…

12 Feb 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle prejudice and crime against asylum seekers.

Answer · Margaret Curran: We are taking forward a range of initiatives to tackle racial prejudice, wherever it occurs. This includes:<P>over £2.9 million in 2003-04 to implement the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum Action Plan announced by me on 19 February;<P>a £750,000 funding pac…

7 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish its response to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Review of Lottery Funding: A consultation paper on Lottery distribution policy.

Answer · Elaine Murray: The consultation paper on lottery distribution policy was published in July 2002 by ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Scottish Executive, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The consultation closed …

30 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that hospitals provide genuine opportunities to negotiate flexible working hours.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Guidance on Family Friendly Policies was prepared in partnership with the service, trade unions and the professions and was published in January 2000. This guidance includes a section on flexible working hours and it is intended to review the guidance later t…

28 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken, or plans to take, towards the disposal of the former remand centre at Longriggend, Greengairs, North Lanarkshire.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The SPS are in negotiation with a potential purchaser of the former remand institution at Longriggend.

23 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to bring forward proposals for juvenile safety orders as piloted by Strathclyde Police in Hamilton during 1999 and 2000.

Answer · Hugh Henry: None. Strathclyde Police did not pilot any juvenile safety orders in Hamilton. On 23 October 1997, Strathclyde Police in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council, introduced a Child Safety Initiative within three areas of Hamilton, returning children home w…

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is planning to help care homes that will face paying their water charges in full as a result of the Court of Session decision on Scottish Water v Clydecare Limited.

Answer · Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-33481 on 11 February 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.u…

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address any impact on service provision in the NHS of the call-up of reservists in anticipation of military action against Iraq.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Scotland has contingency plans in place to minimise the effect of staff shortages in hospitals, however they are caused. It is expected that they will be able to cope with this requirement as part of normal operational adjustments for staff absences, with…

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS staff members have been called up in anticipation of military action against Iraq, broken down by NHS board area and profession.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As at 24 January, 24 members of staff, covering a variety of specialties, have been called up across Scotland. This is out of a total of more than 138,000 staff (115,000 Whole-Time Equivalent).

7 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown by local authority area of the figures given in its statistics release, Home Care Services, Scotland 2002.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: These statistics are too lengthy to include in a reply. I shall write to the member as soon as possible with these detailed statistics and arrange for a copy to be made available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

16 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish its response to the Scottish Charity Law Review Commission report.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have today published my response to the report and copies have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 25562).

2 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements there are, or are planned, to provide parenting classes as a measure to deal with offending by children.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: While parents and other relevant persons are required to attend children's hearings, compulsory measures of supervision can only currently be imposed on the child. Parents may voluntarily access support services or play an active part in the child's programme…

18 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the composition is of the re-established Scottish Compact Review Group and what organisations the group's members represent.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The composition of the Scottish Compact Review Group is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=519><TR><TD WIDTH="28%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Jen Anderson</TD><TD WIDTH="72%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Scottish Environment Link</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="28%" …

18 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many seminars on the working of the Scottish Compact have been conducted by the Voluntary Issues Unit since May 1999 and how many of its staff attended these.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Voluntary Issues Unit, in liaison with the voluntary sector, is continuing to run a series of seminars on the Scottish Compact for Scottish Executive staff. Seminars have been held with the Departments for Development, Education, Health, Finance and Centr…

18 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how often the Scottish Executive/Voluntary Sector Forum has met since June 2001 and when the annual review of the Scottish Compact for 2001-02 will be published.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive/Voluntary Sector Forum met in June and October 2001 and in April and December 2002.<P>The joint review of the Scottish Compact in 2000-01 recommended that a monitoring framework should be developed based on agreed indicators for the Sco…

14 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will extend to other funding schemes the condition in the Changing Children's Services programme that consolidated proposals for funding should be approved by the relevant council or councils for voluntary service.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Grant conditions vary according to funding scheme but where there is a clear role for councils for voluntary service their views are sought.

13 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which members of the boards of non-departmental public bodies have been dismissed by ministers since 1997.

Answer · Andy Kerr: No non-executive board member of any non-departmental public body for which Scottish ministers have responsibility has been dismissed since 1997.

12 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will require local authorities, as part of match-funding schemes, to show how local voluntary organisations have been involved.

Answer · Margaret Curran: It is for local authorities to determine how they engage with the voluntary sector. However, the Executive would always encourage local authorities and other public bodies, wherever appropriate, to involve the sector in the development and delivery of their p…

12 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make abuse of public office an offence.

Answer · Andy Kerr: None. The Ethical Standards in Public Life Etc (Scotland) Act 2000 puts in place an ethical framework for members of devolved public bodies and councillors. The act established the Standards Commission for Scotland which is an independent body responsible for…

12 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has provided to help (a) local authorities and (b) voluntary organisations meet the National Care Standards set in accordance with the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Responsibility for meeting the National Care Standards is a matter for individual providers in discussion and agreement with the Care Commission.<P>The principal source of income to enable providers to meet regulatory standards is the fees they receive. The S…

11 Nov 2002 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Executive's policy is on fingerprinting of children in schools.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I believe that this question relates to a relatively new library system that is being used in two Scottish local authorities and other schools elsewhere in the UK.<P>The system uses fingerprint recognition technology to identify pupils without taking or stori…

8 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that youth crime teams are set up in every local authority.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: There is a multi-agency youth justice team in every local authority.

8 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide core funding to the Safeguarding Communities, Reducing Offending in Scotland (SACRO) organisation for its work with young people, given that it provides funding for SACRO's work with adults.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: On 18 October, I announced the creation of a National Crime Prevention Fund. All national voluntary sector agencies that deliver youth justice services, including SACRO, have been invited to apply to this fund.

8 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give grants to voluntary organisations providing restorative justice schemes.

Answer · Richard Simpson: The Scottish Executive currently funds, either directly or through local authorities, a significant number of schemes provided by voluntary organisations, which apply restorative justice principles. These apply both in respect of the under-16 age group and ad…