Questions · Jim Mather

10 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any applications or notifications have been made to the European Commission regarding the granting of state aid in Scotland under the Framework on State Aid to Shipbuilding (2003/C 317/06) and, if so, what these applications or notifications were for, which Scottish shipyards have…

Answer · Jim Wallace: Since 2003, there have been no Scottish notifications made to the European Commission under the Framework on State aid to Shipbuilding.

9 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15849 by Mr Tom McCabe on 5 May 2005, why Poland was selected for promotion of the Fresh Talent initiative; whether there are plans to conduct similar promotional activities in other European countries and, if so, in which countries and when the prom…

Answer · Tom McCabe: We selected Poland as an early target for our Fresh Talent promotional activity as it was the largest of the EU Accession States, and from the evidence available, had a large and skilled pool of workers who might be interested in coming to work in Scotland.</…

9 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15846 by Mr Tom McCabe on 5 May 2005, how many enquiries regarding the Fresh Talent initiative have been received from the United States of America (USA) and how many applications from the USA are expected in 2005.

Answer · Tom McCabe: To date, the Relocation Advisory Service has received over 470 enquiries from the United States of America. We have no estimates or targets for the number of applications expected from American students to the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme.

9 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15849 by Mr Tom McCabe on 5 May 2005, how many enquiries regarding the Fresh Talent initiative have been received from Poland and how many applications from Poland are expected in 2005.

Answer · Tom McCabe: To date, the Relocation Advisory Service has received over 1,000 enquiries from Poland. As Poland is a member of the European Union, individuals do not need to apply for a work permit to take up employment in the United Kingdom. They are therefore not eligibl…

9 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which countries are considered to be likely to provide the most applicants to the Fresh Talent initiative and which countries it is targeting in relation to the initiative.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme will allow non European economic area students graduating from a Scottish university or college with a HND, degree, Masters or PhD to stay on and work for up to two years without requiring a work permit. While we a…

9 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote employment opportunities in Scotland and the Fresh Talent initiative at events around the world, broken down by country and type of activity.

Answer · Tom McCabe: We have undertaken a number of activities to promote the Fresh Talent initiative at events overseas. These are as follows. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Name of Country</td> <td> Date</td> …

4 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to promote the forthcoming EU Seventh Framework Programme to businesses, universities and colleges across Scotland

Answer · Jim Wallace: The European Commission’s proposals have yet to be approved by the member states and we are therefore not yet at the stage of promoting them to the various stakeholders. The Executive has consulted stakeholders on the proposals and has provided input t…

4 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which events it will be directly represented at as part of the United Kingdom's presidency of the European Union.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Several hundred events and meetings will take place throughout the UK and in Brussels and Luxembourg during the United Kingdom’s Presidency of the European Union. The Scottish Executive will be directly represented at the 30 confirmed events taking place in S…

4 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive at which events Scottish ministers will be present as part of the United Kingdom's presidency of the European Union.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The following table provides details of the events taking place in Scotland during the UK Presidency of the European Union, which Scottish ministers currently plan to attend. Final decisions on Scottish ministerial attendance at other events taking place duri…

4 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will appoint a national Lisbon co-ordinator under the revised Lisbon strategy in line with European Commission guidance and, if so, when it will do so and who the co-ordinator will be.

Answer · Jim Wallace: In line with European Commission guidelines any national co-ordinator will be appointed at Member State level, which is a matter for the UK Government. Scotland will not formally appoint a national Lisbon co-ordinator. We shall shortly consider ministe…

4 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations it will consult in the preparation of a national reform programme, or in contributing to the UK national reform programme, under the European Commission's revised Lisbon strategy.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive consults regularly with key stakeholders through various forums, ensuring that all views are represented. Many of the reforms necessary to meet the Lisbon objectives have already been through a consultation process in Scotland and the UK as part…

4 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to contribute to the UK Government's national reform programme under the European Commission's revised Lisbon strategy and, if so, what form this contribution will take and whether it will be made public.

Answer · Jim Wallace: In accordance with existing practice, the Executive will contribute to any UK consultation exercise relating to the revised Lisbon strategy and national reform programme.

4 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will produce and publish a national reform programme under the European Commission's revised Lisbon strategy independently of the UK Government.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive will not produce or publish a separate national reform programme relating to the revised Lisbon strategy. The UK position on economic reform is consistent with that of the Executive. The refocus of the Lisbon Strategy towards gro…

28 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16063 by Mr Tom McCabe on 27 April 2005, what the position is in respect of students who complete their studies prior to the launch of the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme in summer 2005 and whether these students will be able to remain in Sc…

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme will be launched in summer 2005 and students who successfully complete a Higher National Diploma (HND), undergraduate degree or postgraduate degree up to 12 months prior to launch will be eligible to apply under th…

28 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16063 by Mr Tom McCabe on 27 April 2005, on what date individuals will be able to apply for visas under the Fresh Talent initiative.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme will be launched in summer 2005 and students will be able to apply immediately the scheme in launched.

28 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its commitment in its financial services strategy, Success, to "develop a scorecard approach" to monitor competitiveness against international benchmarks, who will audit the scores.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Financial Services Advisory Board will monitor and audit Scotland’s relative performance. Wherever possible, material will be drawn from the public domain so that anyone with an interest will be able to assess its quality.

28 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its commitment in its financial services strategy, Success, to "develop a scorecard approach" to monitor competitiveness against international benchmarks, who will carry out the scoring exercise.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The work will be carried out by members of the Financial Services Advisory Board and its implementation group, drawing in external expertise where necessary.

28 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its commitment in its financial services strategy, Success, to "develop a scorecard approach" to monitor competitiveness against international benchmarks, when this scorecard will be developed, produced and published.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The scorecard approach will be developed over the course of this year and will be published once an approach has been agreed with the Financial Services Advisory Board.

28 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its commitment in its financial services strategy, Success, to "develop a scorecard approach" to monitor competitiveness against international benchmarks, what will be measured under this approach.

Answer · Jim Wallace: It is critical for the future success of this global industry in Scotland, both that the industry remains competitive and that Scotland remains a competitive place in which to do business. Accordingly, the aim of the scorecard approach is to develop a range o…

27 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the issues raised in the European Commission's Green Paper, Confronting Demographic Change: a new solidarity between the nations.

Answer · Tom McCabe: We are currently considering the issues raised in the green paper, and will be feeding our comments into the UK Governments response.

26 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it has applied the European Commission's Action Plan on Better Regulation; how many regulatory impact assessments have been conducted by the Executive; how many proposed regulations have been amended or withdrawn as a result of regulatory impact assessments conducted by the Executive…

Answer · Jim Wallace: Under the devolution settlement in the UK, matters of EU policy are reserved to the UK Government. However, the Scottish Executive fully supports the UK Government’s response to the European Commission’s Action Plan on Better Regulation and has worked closely…

26 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has responded to the European Commission's Green Paper, Confronting Demographic Change: a new solidarity between the nations; if not, whether it intends to respond to the green paper, whether it will do so independently or through the UK Government and whether it will publish a…

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive’s comments on the European Commission’s Green Paper, Confronting Demographic Change: a new solidarity between the nations will be fed into the UK Government’s response. The European Commission’s normal practice is to publish any documents…