Parliamentary questions

Hugh Henry

645 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

30 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the schools for which closure was called in by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning since May 2007, broken down by local authority area

Answer · Keith Brown: The legislative power for Scottish Ministers to call in school closure decisions has existed since 5 April 2010, with the enactment of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. Since enactment, Scottish ministers have called in three local …

30 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the schools that have been closed, including nursery schools, since May 2007

Answer · Keith Brown: The decision to close a publicly funded school is entirely a matter for the relevant local authority within the legislative framework. Information is routinely published on changes to the school estate which local authorities have chosen to make.…

27 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial help, in whatever form, has been given to expand the availability of secure accommodation since 2003.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government committed to completing the previous administration''s redevelopment programme and has provided over £20 million to the secure estate since 2002. This, along with financial spend from the secure estate, increased the number and geograp…

27 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many recommendations for secure accommodation by a children’s panel have been rejected, overturned, or commuted by the chief social work officer since June 2010, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not collect this information.

6 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether every prisoner would be considered for compassionate release in the event of a diagnosis of a terminal illness.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: I can confirm that all convicted prisoners irrespective of sentence length, or when they were sentenced, are eligible to be considered fo…

1 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to the boiler scrappage scheme have been made, broken down by Scottish parliamentary constituency.

Answer · Jim Mather: A total of 4,602 successful applications were made to the Energy Saving Scotland boiler scrappage scheme. However, the online application system captured information on an applicants local authority area only. To break it down by parliamentary constituency wo…

24 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what legal rights a parent has to send his or her child to a mainstream rather than a special school.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Section 15 of the Standards in Scotland''s Schools etc. Act 2000 states that children should be educated in mainstream schools except in certain circumstances, namely: where such a placement would not be suited to the ability or aptitude of the chil…

20 May 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned research into back pain in adolescents.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has not commissioned research into back pain in adolescents. The Chief Scientist Office does not normally commission research but supports research projects initiated by the research community in Scotland. No applications into back pai…

19 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are restrictions regarding the size of local authority vans that can be parked in residential areas outside the homes of local authority employees.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: There are no specific restrictions. However, local authorities have powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to promote Traffic Regulation Orders which can be introduced for a variety of reasons including the allocation of road space for specific pur…

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what makes and models of car were available for use by Government Car Service drivers on 11 March 2010.

Answer · John Swinney: The following vehicles were used within the Government Car Service in Scotland in March 2010: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=72 valign=top > Make </td> <td width=166 valign=top…

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what makes and models of car were available for use by Government Car Service drivers on 16 May 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: The following vehicles were used within the Government Car Service in Scotland in May 2007: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td width=68 valign=top > Make </td> <td width=156 valign=top > <p align=c…

3 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any member of the Scottish Executive met Colombia’s UK Ambassador, Mauricio Rodriguez Munera, on his recent visit to Scotland and, if so, what issues were discussed.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I met with His Excellency, Mauricio Rodriguez Munera, at Portobello High School in Edinburgh where we viewed the exemplary work of s1 and s5 pupils using the Colombian Government''s Shared Responsibility model. The Ambassador and I discussed the devastating i…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland is a civil servant.

Answer · John Swinney: Dr Harry Burns, the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, was appointed following a senior civil service open recruitment competition, chaired by a Civil Service Commissioner. Dr Burns is seconded into the senior civil service and is bound by the Civil Service …

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, between 9 May and 2 July 2007, advice on class sizes in primary one to primary three was given to special advisers but not ministers .

Answer · Michael Russell: There is no record of any such advice being given to special advisers but not ministers.

4 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on which dates between 9 May and 2 July 2007 meetings were held with ministers at which advice on primary one to three class sizes was given.

Answer · Michael Russell: Ministers meet officials and other stakeholders on a regular basis and receive advice on a wide range of issues. That was the case during this period and remains the case.

4 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on which dates between 9 May and 2 July 2007 written advice was issued to ministers on primary one to three class sizes.

Answer · Michael Russell: Ministers receive written advice on a wide range of issues on a regular basis. That was the case during this period and remains the case.

4 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which ministers were issued advice on primary one to three class sizes circulated between 9 May and 2 July 2007.

Answer · Michael Russell: Ministers receive advice on a wide range of issues every day. That was the case during this period and remains the case.

3 Dec 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive, further to its freedom of information reply of 12 February 2008 regarding a meeting with the deans of faculties of education, which ministers were offered the advice on class sizes that “the scale of the commitment does not allow it to be delivered in the lifetime of a…

Answer · Michael Russell: As Mr Henry knows from the response to his freedom of information request of 27 February 2008 it is considered that the minute of the meeting with universities does not describe the advice given to ministers with sufficient accuracy to provide the information…

2 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary to question S3F-1930 by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 October 2009 (Official Report c. 20201), whether it will list the further 100 school projects that will be finished by the end of the current parliamentary session.

Answer · Keith Brown: In addition to the 152 school rebuilding or refurbishment projects completed between May 2007 and December 2008, as listed in response to S3W-27951 on 30 October 2009, a further 84 projects were completed by August 2009. We expect that the cumulative total wi…

2 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary to question S3F-1930 by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 October 2009 (Official Report c. 20201), whether it will list the 150 school projects that have been completed since the current administration took office.

Answer · Keith Brown: The 152 school rebuilding or refurbishment projects which were completed between May 2007 and December 2008 are as follows: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td nowrap valign=top > Local Authority</…

16 Sep 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive To ask the Scotiish Executive what the minimum number of required teaching hours will be per month for each early years establishment serviced by a peripatetic teacher.

Answer · Adam Ingram : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0924-01.htm">http://www.scott…

2 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many recipients of financial assistance under the preference waiver payment scheme were placed in a local authority area adjoining the area from which they made their applications for assistance.

Answer · Keith Brown: This information is not held centrally. The personal circumstances of probationer teachers, including their home addresses, are not taken into account during the allocation process.

2 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many recipients of financial assistance under the preference waiver payment scheme were placed in the local authority area from which they made their application for assistance.

2 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many probationary teachers in the (a) primary and (b) secondary sector placed with local authorities received financial assistance under the preference waiver payment scheme in 2008-09, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Keith Brown: There were a total of 239 preference waiver probationers working with local authorities for the 2008-09 Teacher Induction Scheme (105 primary and 134 secondary). The table shows the number of probationers, by authority and sector, receiving preferenc…

2 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many probationary teachers in the (a) primary and (b) secondary sector applied for the preference waiver payment scheme in 2008-09, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Keith Brown: There were 125 applicants for the 2008-09 preference waiver payment scheme in the primary sector and 182 in the secondary sector. Information is not held centrally about the local authority area in which each applicant lives. By definition, probation…

23 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-21825 by Keith Brown on 27 March 2009, whether it will list the schools commissioned by ministers since May 2007.

Answer · Keith Brown: It is local authorities and not Scottish ministers who commission school projects. The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

17 Jun 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review its procedures on school closures.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0625-01.htm">http://www.scot…

1 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what grants or other financial assistance Hewlett Packard/Compaq has received in each of the 10 years to 31 March 2009.

Answer · Jim Mather: In 1994, Compaq accepted a Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) offer of £5.3 million for an expansion project involving capital expenditure of over £24 million. This led to the creation of 547 new jobs. In 1996, £1.7 million was offered for further expansion …

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has sent emails or letters to the American authorities pressing for the restoration of a visa-issuing service in Edinburgh and, if so, on what dates.

Answer · Michael Russell: The issue of the US Consulate in Edinburgh not issuing visas has been raised by ministers and officials in a number of meetings with the US Consul in Edinburgh and the US Embassy in London. The US Government advise that the decision to review which posts will…

19 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the report in The Herald on 19 May 2009 on nursery teachers, what it meant by “Occasional or ad-hoc support from a teacher”.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Occasional or ad-hoc support from a teacher means support from a teacher on a non regular basis.