Ian Jenkins

Answer · Andy Kerr · 9 Jan 2003

No. Most of the funding for <I>A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century </I>has been distributed as part of the local government settlement, using the formula agreed with COSLA. Each council's allocations for the next three years were announced on 4 December. The distribution of the remaining funding to support the agreement will be announced by the Minister for Education and Young People in due course.

Answer · David Steel · 27 Nov 2002

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body announced on 19 November that the migration to the new building at Holyrood will not take place as planned over the summer recess in 2003. It has been decided, therefore, that there is little point in continuing to develop proposals for a joint opening ceremony to mark both the start of the new parliamentary session and the opening of the new building.<P>The steering group established to develop proposals has been stood down, and the internal appointment of an Opening Ceremonies Manager has been put on hold and we are not proceeding with the procurement of an External Events Co-ordinator.<P>I can confirm that none of the £400,000 budget allocated for the opening ceremony has been spent. The actual cost of any opening ceremony to mark the new building at Holyrood will depend upon decisions taken by the next SPCB, but my expectation is that the cost will be very significantly lower than the budgeted figure, as I indicated in my previous answer.

Answer · Jim Wallace · 10 Oct 2002

Scottish ministers gave a commitment to examine carefully the potential to deliver court services at an alternative venue in Peebles if one could be found which met the needs of the court. <P>In line with that commitment the Scottish Court Service (SCS) has met with officials of Scottish Borders Council to examine the scope for using the council buildings at Rosetta Road, Peebles for both district court and sheriff court business.<P>These discussions are still at an early stage and a number of practical issues need to be resolved. However, with the continued co-operation of Scottish Borders Council, I am satisfied that the potential exists to achieve an outcome, which meets the desire of the local community to retain a court in Peebles.<P>I have therefore asked the SCS to delay issuing a consultation paper until those discussions are concluded. <P>In the meantime, the SCS will make available the consultants' report on the existing Peebles Sheriff Courthouse. The SCS remain of the view that it is not feasible to adapt the existing building to the standards required by modern court practice. I have asked the SCS to pay careful regard to the historical and architectural importance of the current sheriff court building in the context of Peebles High Street in any arrangements which may be considered for its disposal and future use.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm · 13 Jun 2002

Appropriate arrangements are already in place in Scotland, which recognise that general practitioners and other health professionals are best placed to advise and inform patients, and to refer to a specialist in appropriate cases. Though the immediate and long-term effects of acute organophosphate poisoning - which is rare in Scotland - have been well understood for some time, diagnosis can be difficult as the signs and symptoms are non-specific to the cause. Because of this, general practitioners in Scotland were advised by the Chief Medical Officer in July 1999 of the need to be particularly vigilant for this possibility. The Scottish Poisons Information Bureau provides advice to the NHS on treatment.

Answer · Mike Watson · 23 Apr 2002

Decisions by ministers on the allocation of works of art accepted in lieu of inheritance tax are based on the recommendations of a panel of expert advisers. Following their recommendation, we announced on 22 March that the painting was to be allocated to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The Scottish Executive encourages the national institutions to lend items from their collections to local and other museums, providing the correct security and environmental conditions are in place. I will urge the National Galleries of Scotland to look sympathetically at any request for temporary exhibition, from Dundee, given the strong local connections with the artist and the estate.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson · 8 Mar 2002

The information requested is set out in the table in Section 5(i) of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting (CIPFA) (Scottish Branch) <I>Rating Review Actuals of Income and Expenditure</I>, published annually. Copies for the five years from 1996-97 to 2000-01 are available from the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 7544, 7545, 7548, 14654 and 19781).

Answer · Jack McConnell · 31 Jan 2002

The Scottish Executive has no plans to "ban" any particular approach to classroom assessment.<P>The Assessment Action Group, chaired by Nicol Stephen, is considering the most effective ways of providing feedback to pupils. Methods of feedback will be evaluated by the action group before any recommendations are made.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson · 10 Jan 2002

We have written to a number of youth and children's organisations, and to all Directors of Education, inviting them to help us gather the views of young people. We will also be using the "Re:action" Consultation Toolkit for children and young people, which we published in June 2001.