Duncan McNeil

10 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to widen opportunities to learn about business in schools, with particular reference to areas of high unemployment.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Education for Work and Enterprise agenda, promoted by the Scottish Executive, supports a wide range of enterprise education activities aimed at developing links between schools and the world of work. A research project has recently commenced, which will e…

10 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on the Better Government for Older People programme in Scotland.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have been impressed by the range of initiatives and the achievements of older people and their partner organisations involved in the Better Government for Older People programme in Scotland. I look forward to receiving the report of the programme in June.

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board receives from central government.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Area Tourist Boards do not receive funding directly from central Government. Funding is provided by the Scottish Tourist Board on the basis of a formula that has been agreed with the ATBs. STB is providing £293,000 to Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist …

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the level of financial support given to Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board by local authorities within the Board's area is related in any way to the level of confidence by local authorities in the Board.

Answer · Henry McLeish: It is for authorities themselves to determine the importance they attach to the promotion of tourism in their area and thus the level of grant they make to Area Tourist Boards. The rationale behind their decisions is a matter for the authorities themselves.

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns about the level of financial support given to Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board by local authorities within the Board's area.

Answer · Henry McLeish: I would hope that local authorities would show the same commitment to tourism as has the Scottish Executive. However, funding decisions are for authorities themselves. The total amount of local authority funding for Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Bo…

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board area will contribute to the Board's funds in the current financial year and how much will they pay.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The information is as follows:<P><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Local Authority</FONT></TD><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica"><P ALIGN…

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board will receive in the current financial year from local authorities within its area.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The total amount is £2,124,300.

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities within Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board area contributed to the funding of the Board in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, and (d) 1999-2000, and how much they paid.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The information is as follows:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="9%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">(a)</TD><TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">1996-97</TD><TD WIDTH="37%" VALIGN="TOP">&nbsp;</TD…

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board received from local authorities within its area in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99 and (d) 1999-2000.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The information is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">1996-97</TD><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">£1,806,027</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JU…

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns about the decision made by Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board to close the Tourist Information Office in Greenock.

Answer · Henry McLeish: This is an operational matter for Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board, which is best placed to determine the information services needed in the area.

23 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of changes in the level of student support for Scottish domiciled students in academic year 2000-01.

Answer · Henry McLeish: I am today placing in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre details of the main rates of loans and grants, including various supplementary grants, which will be available to eligible undergraduate and postgraduate students in full-time higher education i…

17 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many employers have been prosecuted for employing children in industrial undertakings in the last 12 months, and in total in the last five years.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Figures for employers who have been prosecuted for employing children in industrial undertakings in the last 12 months are not yet available. Between 1994 and 1998 there were no cases recorded. The regulation of the employment of children over 13 is prescribe…

17 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have education officers with specific responsibility for child employment.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: This information is not held centrally. The regulation of the employment of children over 13 is prescribed in local authorities' own bylaws. Sixteen local authorities have revised bylaws in place following Scottish Executive guidance issued in May 1998, 10 ha…

17 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children who are employed in Scotland are registered with their local authority.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: This information is not held centrally. The registration of children in employment and the subsequent issue of work permits are prescribed in local authorities' own bylaws. Sixteen local authorities have revised bylaws in place following Scottish Executive gu…

16 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many court appearances are necessary, on average, to reach a financial judgement in a civil case and what effect this has on costs to, and the workload of, the Scottish Courts Service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested is not available. Civil cases seeking a financial judgement can be raised in a variety of ways and the number of court appearances, and that impact on workload and cost to the Scottish Court Service will vary greatly depending on the…

16 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to expedite civil proceedings in Scottish courts, in particular child welfare cases.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Rules of Court provide for a Child Welfare Hearing to be held not sooner than 21 days after the lodging of an intention to defend in a relevant action. At the hearing the rules require the Sheriff to secure the expeditious resolution of disputes in relation t…

16 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure that judgements in civil cases are enforced.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Enforcement of civil court decrees is the responsibility of the creditor in whose favour the decree is granted. Creditors have opened to them a variety of measures of enforcement, dependent on the type of decree. These include arrestment of wages, bank arrest…

20 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are being made to finalise spending plans for the current financial year.

Answer · Jack McConnell: I have today laid before Parliament a draft Order in Council - The Scotland Act 1998 (Transitory and Transitional Provisions) (Appropriations) Amendment Order 2000. Once approved, this will set out the Executive's final spending plans. I am also making availa…

14 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it believes the impact of increasing the use of modern technology, such as video, audio tape or digital media, in recording proceedings in Scottish Courts would be on the accuracy of the reports.

Answer · Jim Wallace: A programme to introduce audio tapes for recording proceedings in the Supreme and the Sheriff Courts was completed in 1997. A comprehensive review of these arrangements was completed in July 1999 which made a number of recommendations to improve overall perfo…

14 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to increase the use of modern technology in the Scottish Courts Service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Court Service has a key strategic aim of using modern technology to improve the service it delivers and assist the work of the courts. In the last year it has completed the installation of a computer network linking all the Sheriff and Supreme Co…

9 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to calculate the impact on the business of official bodies, such as courts and tribunals, of recent floods in Inverclyde.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Executive has received no reports of flooding adversely affecting the business of the courts or information on other bodies such as tribunals. Therefore, no steps have been taken to assess the impact of the recent flooding.

9 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to calculate the expense incurred by the police, fire and ambulance services as a result of the recent flooding in Inverclyde.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: No steps have been taken to assess the expense to police and fire services of the recent flooding. Such a calculation can be made only by the relevant police and fire authorities.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>The Ambulance Service have confirmed that there wer…

9 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to assess the impact recent flooding in Inverclyde has had on local businesses and schools.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: No steps have been taken by the Scottish Executive to assess the impact of recent flooding on local businesses. Any such assessment would be a matter for the local authority under its emergency procedures or economic development role.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2…

9 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has requested a report from West of Scotland Water outlining how it plans to provide a permanent solution to the recurring problem of flooding in Inverclyde.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Executive has not requested a report from the West of Scotland Water Authority (WOSWA). WOSWA is actively investigating the causes of recent flooding from the sewerage system at Port Glasgow in co-operation with the Inverclyde Council who are the Flood Pr…

9 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has requested a report from Inverclyde Council on the impact of the recent flooding in the area.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Under the Flood Prevention and Land Drainage (Scotland) Act 1997 Councils are required to publish a biennial report stating the measures they consider they require to take to prevent or mitigate flooding of non-agricultural land in their area.<P ALIGN="JUSTIF…

1 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any modifications to the UK proposals for Objective 2 coverage in Scotland.

Answer · Jack McConnell: In line with my undertaking during the debate on 28 October I have now agreed minor amendments to the proposals in order to more accurately meet the criteria of the EU&nbsp;Regulation. A list of these changes is given below. Otherwise the proposals remain as …

17 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to legislate on intrusive investigative techniques.

Answer · Jim Wallace: We shall introduce legislation to regulate the use of intrusive investigative techniques, by the police, and certain other public authorities operating in Scotland.<P>A consultation paper outlining our proposals will be issued in due course.

4 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many annual general meetings of the governing bodies of Registered Social Landlords were inquorate, in the last year for which information is available.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally.

4 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the average number of people on a Registered Social Landlord's governing body.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The average (mean) number of people serving on governing bodies of Registered Social Landlords in Scotland is 12.

4 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Registered Social Landlords have a governing body with 50% or more tenant members, how many have less than 50% tenant membership, and how many have no tenant membership.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: At 31 March 1999, 98 Registered Social Landlords had more than 50% of tenants on their governing body; 65 had under 50% of tenants on their governing body, and 29 had no tenant membership on their governing body. Information was not available in respect of 5 …