Parliamentary questions
Fergus Ewing
2,894 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with regard to statutory procedures in relation to the A95 Gaich to Graggan scheme, when it is expected that the proposed scheme can be constructed and what public consultation on the scheme will be undertaken at a local level.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: All work, which included statutory procedures for this particular scheme, ceased in September 1998. The Scottish Executive has no current proposals to progress this scheme. The local community would be consulted if this scheme were to be progressed.
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the review of an earlier study on the replacement of the Advie Bridge on the A95 will be completed this year, when it is anticipated that the design and construction of a scheme to replace the bridge can proceed to implementation and when any such scheme will be completed.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Following completion of the review of earlier studies, it was decided that upgrading of the existing bridge represented the most practicable and cost-effective solution. This work is being undertaken in two phases; the first, to strengthen the bridge to meet …
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has specific proposals with regard to provision of additional lay-bys on the A95, what consultation there will be in respect of the location and si'e of any such lay-bys and over what timescale any such additional lay-bys will be completed.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has no specific proposals to construct additional lay-bys on the A95 trunk road within the current financial year.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">However, subject to competing priorities, the Scottish Executive will commission Mouchel Scotland Ltd t…
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when Mouchel (Scotland) Ltd were first instructed to produce a feasibility report on the A95 to identify options or recommendations and provide estimated costs for the improvement of the junction of the A95 and B9153; whether the feasibility report has yet been completed; if not, when it …
Answer · Sarah Boyack: Mouchel Scotland Ltd were instructed to produce a feasibility report for the A95/B9153 Kinveachy junction on 31 March 2000. The initial feasibility report was submitted to the Scottish Executive for consideration on 18 May 2000. A supplementary report was the…
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost is of the works to the A95 trunk road through Cromdale to improve drainage footways, kerbing, road lighting and the road alignment at the bridge, together with traffic calming and village gateways scheduled for the next three years, what consultation has been or will b…
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has invested approximately £149,000 as part of Phase 1 of the improvement works on the A95 trunk road within Cromdale. These works were completed in 1999. Phase 2 of the improvement works will provide additional footways and new street …
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to increase the number of Gaelic teachers by 140 over a seven year period and what has been the outcome of any such steps to date.
Answer · Alasdair Morrison: The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) is responsible for setting student intake levels to courses of initial teacher education (ITE). Each year the Executive provides guidance to SHEFC on ITE, setting out our strategic objectives for teacher e…
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many primary and secondary teachers (a) of Gaelic and (b) through the medium of Gaelic there are in each local authority area and how many additional teachers will be required in each category in each local authority area over the next 10 years.
Answer · Alasdair Morrison: In September 1998 there were an estimated 195 full-time equivalent secondary school teachers who regarded Gaelic as their main subject qualification. Primary school teachers are not categorised by subject.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Leirsinn survey, <I>The Availab…
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people attended education institutions for the purposes of obtaining a qualification as teachers of Gaelic or through the medium of Gaelic at primary and secondary level in each of the last five years and whether there is currently a shortage of fully qualified Gaelic teachers.
Answer · Alasdair Morrison: The numbers graduating from the Teacher Education Institutions who have received some training for Gaelic-medium education in primary schools and the numbers trained to be specialist Gaelic teachers in secondary schools are estimated as follows:<TABLE BORDER …
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the additional funds being made available for training as part of the tourism budget will be available to persons wishing to pursue courses at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, in particular Gaelic classes.
Answer · Henry McLeish: No. This funding is to promote the take-up of 1,000 Modern Apprenticeships and 5,000 Individual Learning Accounts in the industry. MAs and ILAs are delivered primarily in the workplace.
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage any of its staff who wish to attend courses at Sabhal Mor Ostaig to do so and whether it will fund the cost of such attendance where such attendance is of assistance or benefit to such staff in the performance of their duties.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive recognises that lifelong learning, including higher and further education, can play an important part in developing the knowledge, skills and competencies of staff and will assist members of staff, within available resources, to underta…
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Sabhal Mor Ostaig will be registered as a training provider for the purpose of Individual Learning Accounts.
Answer · Henry McLeish: It is for each learning provider to make their own decision about whether to register as a provider for the purpose of Individual Learning Accounts.
14 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether courses at Sabhal Mor Ostaig will be available to those wishing to take out Individual Learning Accounts.
Answer · Henry McLeish: If Sabhal Mor Ostaig is a registered Individual Learning Account (ILA) provider then any courses provided which fall within the widely drawn definition of eligible learning announced on 10 May will be available to ILA members.
11 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed by Historic Scotland in each of the last five years and what is the projection of the number of employees in each of the next five years.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The number of staff in post (full-time equivalent) in Historic Scotland in each of the last five years was:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CE…
11 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8647 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 24 July 2000, whether it will detail the criteria employed in awarding the amounts of additional financial resources for schools in each local authority and how those criteria were applied.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: Details of the basis on which these resources were allocated are set out in Scottish Executive Education Department Circular 1/2000, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).
11 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7079 by Peter Peacock on 24 July 2000, whether the information given on total expenditure per pupil by each local authority can be broken down into net current expenditure per pupil in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools, in 1998-99.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The information requested is shown in the table below. Authorities provide for special educational needs in different ways and there is likely to be some variation between authorities in how they record numbers of pupils and expenditure in the returns made to…
3 Aug 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the weighted student unit of measurement (SUMS) delivered per member of teaching staff is in each further education college for each year since incorporation.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is given in the following table, subject to the fact that the numbers of part-time teaching staff have been converted, for comparative purposes, to Full-Time Equivalents.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Scottish Further Education Colleges (Incorpo…
11 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will promote the use of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) in the Highlands and Islands and, if so, (a) how it will do this; (b) what assistance it will provide to meet the cost of converting motor vehicles to use LPG; (c) what it estimates the average cost of conversion per vehicle to…
Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive promotes the use of alternative fuels through its funding of the Energy Savings Trust's "Powershift" cleaner vehicle fuels programme and is currently reviewing funding for Powershift with particular reference to motorists in the Highlan…
11 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many motorists from other countries are prosecuted each year for carrying large amounts of spare fuel in unsafe containers; who is responsible for carrying out checks to detect and deter this practice; and, if police forces or local authorities are responsible, how many such checks ar…
Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally. While the police may become involved, it is primarily the duty of Customs & Excise, the Health & Safety Executive and local authority trading standards officers to enforce, within their respective juris…
11 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8220 by Henry McLeish on 7 July 2000, why it has not yet placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a copy of the proposed Assisted Area map showing the possible changes to it currently being considered by the European Commission; whether i…
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Assisted Areas map is a reserved matter for the UK Government.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Possible changes to the proposed Assisted Areas map (published on 10 April 2000) have been discussed with the European Commission since the close of the consultation period o…
10 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, alone or in conjunction with British Telecommunications plc or other telecommunications companies, to ensure that businesses have the resources and Internet access needed to compete and succeed in the world economy, given that internet productivity is increasing f…
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in contact with telecommunications companies on their plans for the provision of broadband technology. We will assess what steps need to be taken when these discussions are complete.
10 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking in conjunction with British Telecommunications plc or other telecommunications companies to ensure that business Internet users in the Highlands are not at a competitive disadvantage to other users because of any lack of telecommunications infrastructure or poor qu…
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in discussion with telecommunications companies over their roll out plans for broadband services. We are considering with Highlands and Islands Enterprise what steps need to be taken to ensure business Internet users in the Highlands…
10 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that increased and high quality access to the Internet in rural areas is not hindered by the demand for such services remaining low because of high costs and the costs of such services remaining high because of low demand.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the regulation of service charges by telecommunications companies. We are in discussions with telecoms companies which are designed to encourage operators to enter rural areas.
10 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a digital divide exists between urban and rural areas; if so, what initiatives it has launched to close this gap, and whether any such plans include efforts to reduce charges for connection to national networks in rural areas.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive has already announced in the Rural Scotland Strategy paper that we are working to ensure that a digital divide should not exist in Scotland. The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the regulation of service charges impose…
7 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre the document or documents which set out the remit given to Deloitte & Touche for its study into the issues and options surrounding the development of a Transport Authority for the Highlands and Islands and outline whether…
Answer · Sarah Boyack: A copy of the tender specification for the Highlands and Islands Transport Authority Study has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The primary purpose of the study is to examine the case for establishing such an Authority. While the ten…
7 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any correlation between the number of tourists visiting rural Scotland and fuel prices; if so, how many fewer tourists visit rural Scotland as a result of each one pence rise in the price of petrol and, if it does not hold this information, whether it will commission a re…
Answer · Henry McLeish: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-8565.
7 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5345 by Sarah Boyack on 29 March 2000, when a formal decision on the Lingerbay Quarry planning application will be announced.
Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to my answer of 12 July to question S1W-8666.
5 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the issue of privilege in relation to remarks made in the conduct of criminal trials, in particular following the delivery of a verdict by a Sheriff or Judge in the High Court Judiciary, where such remarks were made in respect of the credibility of a person who had …
Answer · Jim Wallace: There are no plans to take any action in relation to this area of judicial independence.
3 Jul 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8006 by Henry McLeish on 29 June 2000, to provide a detailed breakdown of the #2.06 million spent on the University of the Highlands and Islands Project's Executive Office.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The breakdown is given in the table below:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=630><TR><TD WIDTH="84%" VALIGN="TOP"> </TD><TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="RIGHT">£000's</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="84%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Staff costs </TD><TD WI…
29 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the database being compiled by Learndirect Scotland will be completed prior to the introduction of individual learning accounts.
Answer · Henry McLeish: The national learndirect scotland database will be available prior to the full introduction of learn direct scotland and individual learning accounts this autumn. Thereafter the database will be refined and developed on a continuous basis to en…
29 Jun 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the anticipated cost is of the marketing campaign for Learndirect Scotland.
Answer · Henry McLeish: While definitive figures are not available at this stage, it is anticipated that some £1.5 million will be available for the comprehensive marketing campaign learndirect scotland has planned for 2000-01.