Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

19 Mar 2007 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what representations the Scottish Executive has made, or is making, to the UK Government to the effect that the Scottish Parliament elections should go ahead on 3 May 2007 as well as the local government elections.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Scottish ministers and the ScottishExecutive are in regular contact with the UK Government about a range of issues,including planning for the combined Scottish parliamentary and local governmentelections, which will take place on 3 May. I have received assura…

21 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector homes have been sold under the right to buy scheme since the scheme’s inception.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Between 1979-80 and 2005-06 therewere 421,635 sales of public sector dwellings under the right to buy scheme. Thisexcludes sales under the rent to mortgage scheme and other voluntary sales to sittingtenants. Public sector dwellings include those owned by loca…

21 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector homes have been sold under the rent to mortgage scheme since the scheme’s inception, also broken down by year.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Table 1 lists the number of rentto mortgage sales of public sector dwellings. This includes dwellings owned by localauthorities, Scottish Homes and new towns (when in existence).</p><p>Table 1: Rent to Mortgage Salesof Local Authority, New Town and Scottish H…

30 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of reports that the UK Government will implement legislation requiring Roman Catholic adoption agencies to handle applications from same-sex couples, whether it will implement the terms of the equalities legislation or raise the issue with the UK Government so that matters invol…

Answer · Robert Brown: The Prime Minister’s announcementof 29 January 2007 indicated an intention by the UK Government to bringforward regulations on discrimination in provision of goods and services under powersin section 81 of the Equality Act 2006, which would be applied in the …

30 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to give parent councils the same rights to consultation on proposals for school closures that school boards currently have by substituting “Parent Council” for “School Board” in the Education (Publication and Consultation Etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 1981 as amended.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Yes. Action is in hand to implementthis at the appropriate time.</p>

25 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what stage the development of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland standards for neurological services has reached and when it expects these standards to be announced.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Work on the stock take of neurologicalservices is nearly complete, and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland expects its draftclinical standards for neurological services to be ready for publication this autumn.</p>

25 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest position is on the development of a managed clinical network for motor neurone disease.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has encouragedthe Scottish Motor Neurone Disease Association to develop proposals for a nationalManaged Clinical Network for Motor Neurone Disease, for submission to the NationalServices Advisory Group.</p>

14 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce legislation to replace the existing Forth Road Bridge at a sufficiently early stage to ensure that the current crossing will not be closed or disrupted over the next 20 years.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Forth Replacement CrossingStudy, which is currently underway, was instigated in light of the problems associatedwith the cables on the existing bridge. Legislation for any replacement crossingis being considered as part of the study.</p>

28 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Scottish Parliament’s decision to support amendment of the Act of Settlement 1701, whether the First Minister has any plans to discuss the issue with the Prime Minister.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Act of Settlement is, underthe terms of the Scotland Act 1998, a matter reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament.The Executive has no plans to discuss the issue with Her Majesty’s Government.</p>

27 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it now holds information on the fees levied by local authorities on parents for a child (a) receiving specialist tuition in a musical instrument in school and (b) attending a local authority-run youth orchestra or band and at what levels these are set, broken down by local authori…

Answer · Hugh Henry: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>

27 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, following its commitment in Ambitious, Excellent Schools to “publish a performance report on the National Priorities, by 2006, to assess the performance of each local authority since 2003”, when this report will be published and what other methods it has in place to assess local authorit…

Answer · Hugh Henry: HM Inspectorate ofEducation’s recent publications <i>Improving Scottish Education</i> and <i>ImprovingScottish Education</i>: <i>Effectiveness of Education Authorities</i> fulfilthis Ambitious, Excellent Schools commitment. Copies of both reports areavailable…

27 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of some local authorities handling efficiency savings in such a way that the Devolved School Management (DSM) budget at headteachers’ disposal is reduced; whether it is aware of any other local authority practices that involve funds which are notionally within the DSM …

Answer · Hugh Henry: In setting the local governmentfinance settlements for the three years 2005-08, an efficiency assumption of 0.7per cent per year was factored in. It was agreed that this efficiency assumptionshould not be applied to the education, police or fire allocations f…

1 Nov 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what reports on or relevant to the 2007 spending review it has received from (a) internal sources, (b) Her Majesty¿s Government and (c) external sources and when such reports will be published.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive has published twodocuments on our futures work - the <i>Strategic Audit</i> and the <i>Trends Analysis</i>– and the responses to the <i>Transforming Public Services</i> discussion document.</p><p>In July, the Treasury publishedtheir report on <i…

25 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether reports that some schools still contain large amounts of asbestos are correct and, if so, what urgent remedial measures will be taken.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Information about theincidence of asbestos in schools is not collected centrally. Local authoritiesare responsible for school buildings under their management.</p><p>The Control of Asbestos atWork Regulations 2002 place a duty on those with legal responsibili…

22 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) rural and (b) special schools have closed in each school year since 1999-2000 and how many times it has used its powers under the Education (Publication and Consultation etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 1998, or any other relevant statutory instruments, to refuse applications fro…

Answer · Peter Peacock: I refer the member to thequestion S2W-18439 answered on 13 September 2005 which listed all schoolopenings and closures, both local authority and independent, for the calendaryears 1995 to 2005, albeit categorised into primary, secondary and specialschools. Al…

14 Aug 2006 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the up-to-date estimate of cost is for repairs to the debating chamber roof.

Answer · George Reid: The latest estimate of thecost of the works to repair the chamber roof is around £350,000. Work is on-goingboth to finalise these and associated costs and to pursue the recovery ofcosts.</p>

22 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the diesel rolling stock currently operated by First ScotRail will be suitable for use on the proposed Edinburgh Airport rail link; how much additional rolling stock will be required, and what the cost of such new rolling stock will be to the Executive.

Answer · Tavish Scott: A range of services to andfrom Glasgow and Edinburgh to Aberdeen, Inverness, Fife and Dunblane, inaddition to the route to and from Edinburgh to Glasgow will use the EdinburghAirport Rail Link (EARL) when it becomes operational in late 2011. Whilst allof the …

21 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20004 by Peter Peacock on 8 November 2005, what progress it has made in securing data on how many local authority-employed (a) teachers and (b) additional support assistants have (i) a Bachelor of Education, (ii) a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education …

Answer · Peter Peacock: There was an improvement in thequality of the data in the 2005 census. The Executive continues to work with localauthorities to improve data quality. However, teacher qualification data are collectedin order to provide a general overview to inform national wo…

8 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the approximate cost would be of (a) constructing a new station to serve Edinburgh Airport on the existing Edinburgh to Fife line and (b) constructing a line as a connecting chord between the Edinburgh to Fife line to the north of the airport and the Winchburgh to Dalmen…

Answer · Tavish Scott: As part of the EARL projectconsultation process a number of members of the public put forward a verysimilar proposal to the one suggested. The option was considered and appraisedin accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) process. This…

5 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the McCrone agreement should be reviewed, in light of concerns raised by teachers in respect of increased workload.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The agreement is kept under reviewthrough the work of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT).</p><p>The teachers Agreement has recentlybeen subject to scrutiny by Audit Scotland. A further study by HMIE will report later in 2006.</p><p>We ther…

31 May 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link.

Answer · George Lyon: The EARL Bill has now come throughthe objection period. Forty-seven objections were received including an objectionin detail from BAA. Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE Ltd) the promoters of theBill are now considering their response to the objections</p><…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected (a) set-up and (b) annual running costs will be of the proposed candidate number database system and what the timescale is for effective implementation of the system.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The chosen solution minimisescosts and workload in schools. The set up cost is £40,000; running costs are negligible.The allocation of Scottish Candidate Numbers to all pupils from primary 1 onwardswill be completed by June 2006.</p>

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how parents’ rights will be protected by keeping Scottish candidate numbers secret from them and how parents will be able to gain access to the data stored on their children.

Answer · Peter Peacock: There is no intention tokeep the allocated Scottish Candidate Numbers (SCNs) secret from pupils andparents. This issue has clearly been wrongly reported in some places. Schools arerequired under the terms of the Data Protection Act (DPA) to regularly requestd…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who will be able to read the information on the candidate number database; who will have access to update it; what measures will be taken to prevent authorised or unauthorised access by individuals who might specifically wish to identify vulnerable young people, and whether there will be …

Answer · Peter Peacock: Existing arrangements forschools management and information system (MIS) in respect of security willapply as will Scottish QualificationsAuthority (SQA) arrangements in respectof secondary school pupils presented for examinations.</p><p>Access to data in a sc…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is intended that biometric data will be recorded in the candidate number database and, if not, what alternative methods will be implemented to prevent records being confused or identities being stolen from the proposed candidate number database system.

Answer · Peter Peacock: It is not intended thatbiometric data (such as finger print details, iris scanning) will be recorded. Theonly change to a school’s management and information system database is theaddition of the allocated Scottish Candidate Number (SCN). The new arrangementi…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the proposed candidate number database system will conform with the requirements for data subject access under the Data Protection Act 1998, particularly as the data subjects are not supposed to know their Scottish candidate numbers.

Answer · Peter Peacock: There is no intention tokeep the allocated Scottish Candidate Numbers (SCNs) secret from pupils orparents/carers. This issue has clearly been wrongly reported in some places. Infact it could potentially be very helpful for pupils and their parents/carersto kn…

20 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24032 by Robert Brown on 17 March 2006, by which local authorities the three members of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland are employed and to which local authorities the four independent consultants who are members of the Additional…

Answer · Robert Brown: Further to the questionS2W-24032 answered on 17 March 2006, two members of the Additional Support NeedsTribunals for Scotland are employed by the City of Edinburgh Council and the third member has since retired.</p><p>We do not hold informationon the current …

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23153 by Robert Brown on 3 March 2006, how many applications were received for each post of membership and convenership of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals and, of those applicants, how many (a) were currently, or had been, employed by or contr…

Answer · Robert Brown: One hundred and sixty-eight applications were received for the posts of member of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals, and 80 applicationsfor the posts of convener. A breakdown of the information requested on employment is provided in the following table a…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23153 by Robert Brown on 3 March 2006, what safeguards exist to ensure that the 73% of members of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals who are currently, or have been, employed by or contracted to a local authority in some capacity will not partici…

Answer · Robert Brown: The President has taken stepsto ensure that decisions taken by the Additional Support Needs Tribunals will conformto the rules of natural justice and fair hearing in respect of the allegiances ofmembers. For example, induction training for members included gu…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23153 by Robert Brown on 3 March 2006, in what capacity the 73% of members of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals were, or are currently, employed by or contracted to a local authority.

Answer · Robert Brown: The 73% (11 out of 15) of membersof the Additional Support Needs Tribunals were, or are currently, employed by orcontracted to a local authority in the following capacities.</p><p>Three are currently employedby local authorities, two as educational psychologi…