Fergus Ewing

19 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to questions S1W-8957, S1W-8958 and S1W-8959 by Susan Deacon on 21 August 2000, why it does not collect at a central level information on (a) the number of osteoporosis sufferers receiving treatment to monitor further bone loss, (b) programmes to reduce the incidenc…

Answer · Susan Deacon: The answer to your own question S1W-6102 explained why the Executive did not collect information centrally on a wide variety of conditions, including osteoporosis, and the position set out in that answer has not changed. While Scottish Needs Assessment Progra…

18 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates the Scottish Executive/Scottish Qualifications Authority liaison group has met since its inception and whether minutes of its meetings will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: During the lifetime of this Parliament, the Scottish Executive/Scottish Qualifications Liaison Group met on 10 November 1999, 8 February 2000 and 10 May 2000. The minutes of these meetings have been passed to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee and the…

15 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-emergency ambulance journeys were cancelled in each health board area between: (a) 31 July 2000 and 4 August 2000; (b) 7 August 2000 and 11 August 2000; (c) 14 August 2000 and 18 August 2000; (d) 21 August 2000 and 25 August 2000; (e) 28 August 2000 and 1 September 2000; (f) …

Answer · Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

15 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were cancelled in each health board area between: (a) 31 July 2000 and 4 August 2000; (b) 7 August 2000 and 11 August 2000; (c) 14 August 2000 and 18 August 2000; (d) 21 August 2000 and 25 August 2000; (e) 28 August 2000 and 1 September 2000; (f) 4 September 2000 and 8…

Answer · Susan Deacon: Information on the total number of operations cancelled by the NHS in Scotland is not available centrally.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Details of cancellations of planned admissions to hospitals are collected centrally and are published annually in <I>Scottish Health S…

15 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans and resources it has put in place to allow (a) local authorities, (b) health boards, (c) police forces, (d) fire brigades, (e) the Scottish Ambulance Service and (f) other government agencies to convert their vehicles to use liquid petroleum gas, in particular those organisatio…

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Spending decisions are for the agencies concerned.

15 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to establish Scotland as the prime location for the translation of English-language, North American new economy business models such as ebay or Monster.com for the country markets of the EU.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The expanding e-commerce sector is one which is expressing a strong interest in Scotland as a business location.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Locate in Scotland and its partners see these projects as representing substantial opportunities for inward investment and are e…

15 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recommendations by the Scottish Council for Development in Industry to Scottish Trade International that the latter set up special groups to consider the e-market place and the Eastern European market place has been accepted.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Scottish Trade International is already actively addressing e-business in close consultation with Scottish Enterprise's e-commerce team and has undertaken a number of activities in the Eastern European market place. These will also be key areas in the new int…

15 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, further to its publication The Way Forward: Framework for Economic Development in Scotland, it will develop a structured plan for national partners on communications infrastructure to ensure that investments in the public and private sectors are complementary.

Answer · Henry McLeish: I refer Mr Ewing to the answer I gave in response to oral question S1O-2316 on 28 September.

14 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether end-producer testing will be introduced as the sole precondition for allowing scallops to enter the market.

Answer · Susan Deacon: There are no plans to introduce end-product testing as the sole precondition for allowing scallops to enter the market.

14 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Food Standards Agency has provided any examples of processing companies who were ordered to recall scallops which were tested following processing.

Answer · Susan Deacon: There have been no recalls of scallops by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) due to samples failing end product testing. In the event that a commercially processed product fails end-product testing, it is the responsibility of the producer to ensure that product…

14 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the impact of taxation on fuel on the haulage industry in Scotland and, if so, what response it received.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including that of the impact of taxation of fuel on the haulage industry in Scotland. Discussions between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government are held on t…

13 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which makes and models of motor vehicle are eligible for a grant for conversion to use liquid petroleum gas under the Energy Savings Trust's Powershift programme and, of these, which qualify for a grant of (a) 75%, (b) 60% and (c) 40% of conversion costs.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: There are over 1,000 combinations of vehicle makes/models/conversions available for conversion to LPG, CNG and LNG. The amount of grant depends on the emission reduction produced by the conversion and vehicle model combination. Details can be accessed on the …

13 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the addresses of all establishments which are authorised or otherwise permitted to carry out conversion work for motor vehicles to use liquid petroleum gas under the Energy Savings Trust's Powershift programme.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: A list of converters can be found on the Powershift website at <A HREF="http://www.est-powershift.org.uk/">www.est-powershift.org.uk/</A>.

13 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-9005 and S1O-2178 by Sarah Boyack and Alasdair Morrison on 31 August 2000 and 7 September 2000 respectively, why the number of grants made under the Energy Savings Trust's Powershift programme since 1997 for conversion of motor vehicles to use liqu…

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The figure of 96 quoted in reply to question S1W-9005 related to the number of grants for conversion of motor vehicles to LPG since 1997, whereas the figure of 390 in question S1O-2178 relates to the number of vehicles converted in that period. The first answ…

13 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its proposals to the European Commission in relation to the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme take account of the issue of remoteness and, if not, whether it will amend the proposals accordingly.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive's LFA Scheme is based on the classification of individual farms. That classification takes account of soil fertility, climate, topography, altitude and location. My priority is to secure early European Commission agreement to the scheme…

12 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations were made by officials to Ministers regarding this year's exam results, whether any of these were (a) rejected outright, (b) not acted upon within one month of the date of the recommendation and (c) subject to deferred action, and whether it will place a copy of all r…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: It is not the practice of the Scottish Executive to make available advice from officials to Ministers.

12 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Children and Education on 6 September 2000 and in particular his reference to reports from schools and colleges about problems with electronic transfer of information to the Scottish Qualifications Authority in March, (a) whether i…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer Fergus Ewing to the answer I gave to question S1W-9737 on 28 September. It is not the practice of the Scottish Executive to make available advice from officials to Ministers.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by subject of the appeals expected in relation to this year's exam results.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: This information is not yet available, but I will ask the Chairman of the Scottish Qualifications Authority to reply to the member when the figures are available.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date or dates it was informed of (a) potential and (b) actual difficulties in recruiting sufficient exam markers.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Executive became aware of potential difficulties with the recruitment of markers at the Scottish Executive/Scottish Qualifications Authority Liaison meeting on 10 May. Actual difficulties were identified as a result of a letter from SQA to centres on 31 M…

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the costs of administering the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Order 2000 are to be met by local authorities; whether the charges are to be passed on entirely to applicants for licenses of houses in multiple occupation; whether the…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Under the provisions of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, local authorities shall seek to ensure that the<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=4> total amount of licence fees receivable is sufficient to meet the costs of operating the licensing systems established …

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publicise the precise remit of each inquiry or review referred to in the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Children and Education on 6 September 2000 on the exam results which it has initiated and whether it has carried out any consultation as to the extent of such…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The terms of reference for the independent review being carried out by Deloitte and Touche have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Consultation on the remit for this inquiry was not possible in the time available. The precise terms of …

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what remuneration is paid to those who mark appeals against exam results and what that remuneration is expressed as an hourly rate.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The payment of markers is an operational issue for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. I have asked the Chairman to reply to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in SPICe.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether HM Inspectorate of Schools was alerted to any potential difficulties with the administration of the marking of this year's exam results, and, if so, when.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: HM Inspectorate of Schools has no locus in the administration of marking. However, Education Department officials including HMI became aware in June that SQA were short of markers in some subjects.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish (a) the minute or other document of 10 May from the Scottish Qualifications Authority and (b) the subsequent Scottish Qualifications Authority paper to a committee meeting referred to in the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Children and Education on 6 Sept…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Copies of these documents have been submitted to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre details of the recommendations made by the senior member of its IT Directorate following his meeting with the Scottish Qualifications Authority; when this meeting took place, and what steps the Executive took to ensure th…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: A senior official within the Scottish Executive Communications and Information Services Division met with the Scottish Qualifications Authority on 28 March. Details of the meeting and further action by the Executive have been provided to the Education, Cultur…

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Education, Culture and Sport and Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committees, in conducting their inquiries into the exam results issue and the Scottish Qualifications Authority, will be given access to Scottish Executive Cabinet minutes, memoranda and all other relevant cabin…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-9735.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, regarding the meeting between the Minister for Children and Education and the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) on 25 July 2000, whether it will provide full details of the personal assurances given to the Minister that missing data was being add…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Details of the meeting on 25 July will be supplied to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what amount of increased resources was offered at the meeting between the Minister for Children and Education and the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority on 25 July 2000 or whether the offer were unrestricted, and whether the offer was conditional and, if…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I asked the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority to tell me what additional resources they needed. I placed no restriction on the amount which I would be prepared to consider making available, and no conditions were attached.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Children and Education on 6 September 2000 and in particular his reference to contact with schools and colleges regarding the Scottish Qualifications Authority being behind schedule in collecting internal assessment data, on what d…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: As I said in my statement of 6 September, I became aware in March of problems reported by schools and colleges with the electronic transfer of information to SQA. These problems related mainly to the transmission of course and unit entries for candidates. Dif…

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek to invoke the exceptions under the Freedom of Information Code of Conduct to withhold from the Education, Culture and Sport and Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committees access to any of the documents relevant to their inquiries into the exam results and in particul…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-9735.