Parliamentary questions

Hugh O'Donnell

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

15 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) under the heading of equalities in each of the last three years and how this was used.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Scottish ministers pay an annual grant to the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) in recognition of its role in promoting efficiency and effectiveness within the police service in Scotland and in co-ordinating of police policy matters at …

15 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to support organisations working across all strands of the equalities agenda, broken down by (a) organisation and (b) strand, in each of the last three years

Answer · Alex Neil: The detailed information requested has been collated, and a copy has been placed in the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib. number 51705).

16 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority pays to be part of the Glow Scotland network and to whom this money is paid.

Answer · Michael Russell: The 32 local authorities in Scotland do not pay to access Glow.

16 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who owns the intellectual property rights to the software that runs the Glow Scotland network.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish ministers retain IP ownership of any software specifically produced by the contractor for Glow during delivery of the managed service. This does not include any software that is either provided by a third party or has not been specially written f…

9 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many murders have been recorded in Strathclyde in each six-month period in each year since 2007, broken down by police division.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The following table contains the number of victims currently recorded as victims of murder in the Strathclyde police force area. Victims Currently1 Recorded Victims of Murder, Strathclyde Police Force Area, Broken Down by Local…

4 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it receives from Learning and Teaching Scotland for the administration of Glow Scotland.

Answer · Keith Brown: In the financial year 2009-10, Learning and Teaching Scotland received £798,836 from the Scottish Government for the management and administration of Glow.

4 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the tendered contract for Glow Scotland ends.

Answer · Keith Brown: The contract with Research Machines plc for the delivery of Glow ends on 15 September 2012.

4 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who holds the copyright to Glow Scotland.

Answer · Keith Brown: Glow is registered as a trademark in the name of the Scottish ministers.

25 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many community councils have had their membership of the Association of Scottish Community Councils rescinded by the association in each year since its inception.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.

25 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many community councils are members of the Association of Scottish Community Councils.

Answer · John Swinney: Information provided to us by the Association of Scottish Community Councils show that as at 31 March 2010 they had 710 member Community Councils.

18 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs were for the production and distribution of the A Leading Change DVD, which is being sent to every secondary school in the country.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Leading Change DVD was sent to every secondary school as part of the government''s commitment to share the learning from the Schools of Ambition Programme. The total costs of the DVD are not yet finalised but are expected to be around £32,000.…

25 Mar 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is supporting language teaching for primary school teachers.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is supporting language teaching in both primary and secondary schools through a variety of means, including annual funding to Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and British Council …

23 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31763 by Michael Russell on 8 March 2010, how adherence to the regulations on abatement, to which retired teachers who return to work are subject, is monitored and by whom.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Regulations of the Scottish Teachers Superannuation Scheme (STSS) state that a teacher who is in receipt of a STSS pension must advise Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) in writing if they become re-employed. This is the extract from the letter issued…

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce any actions that it will take following its review of discretionary childcare funding at further and higher education institutions.

Answer · Michael Russell: It is the intention that the review of funding arrangements for childcare in further and higher education will be concluded by late summer with any relevant actions to be taken announced shortly after, for implementation in academic year 2011-12.

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the results of its review of discretionary childcare funding for students at further and higher education institutions.

Answer · Michael Russell: It is the intention that the review of funding arrangements for childcare in further and higher education will be concluded by late summer with any relevant findings or outcomes published shortly thereafter.

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whom it is consulting in its review of discretionary childcare funding for students at further and higher education institutions.

Answer · Michael Russell: In order to best inform the review of funding arrangements for childcare in further and higher education we are consulting with a wide range of stakeholders. These include, but are not limited to: Scotland''s Colleges Universities Scotland…

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in its review of discretionary childcare funding for students at further and higher education institutions.

Answer · Michael Russell: The review of funding arrangements for childcare in further and higher education is making good progress, in line with our plans. A questionnaire was issued to the principals and funding officers at all colleges and universities across Scotland. The responses…

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students from Scottish institutions took part in the Erasmus programme in each of the last four years.

Answer · Michael Russell: The numbers as provided by British Council (the UK National Agency for Erasmus) are as follows: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td nowrap valign=bottom > Year </td> <td nowrap valign=bot…

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers from Scottish schools took part in the Comenius programme in each of the last four years.

Answer · Michael Russell: The EU Comenius Programme has five strands directly involving teachers: School Partnerships: pupils, teachers and other staff collaborating with partner schools and colleges in Europe Regio Partnerships: local authorities across Europe wor…

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is encouraging and promoting a higher uptake of the (a) Comenius and (b) Erasmus programmes.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is determined to ensure that all young people have opportunities to develop a knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland''s place in it, a thread which runs through Curriculum for Excellence for all young people at all stage…

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking regarding language skills following the publication of the EU green paper, Promoting the learning mobility of young people.

Answer · Michael Russell: We continue to promote the importance of modern language skills through Curriculum for Excellence, the new 3-18 curriculum in Scotland, and on into lifelong learning. The Experiences and Outcomes for Modern Languages, published on 2 April 2009, reinfo…

12 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many retired teachers working as supply teachers earned more from a combination of pension and supply teaching payments than from pre-retirement in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Russell : None that we are aware of. A retired teacher who returns to work is subject to the regulations on abatement which are designed to ensure that no-one can receive more from pension and earnings than from their pre-retirement earnings.

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who paid for the race equality conference held at the Beardmore Hotel in Clydebank on 15 December 2009 and what the cost was.

Answer · Alex Neil: In line with the commitment made in our Race Equality Statement, the Scottish Government hosted the Race Equality Conference, the cost of the conference was £18,029.30. "Time