Parliamentary questions
Ken Macintosh
1,334 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what stakeholder consultation it has undertaken in the school, community and tertiary education sectors in preparing the second stage strategy for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Education and what form this consultation has taken.
Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27987 on 2 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…
5 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in preparing the second stage strategy for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Education, taking the first action plan for the first half of the decade to the end of the decade in 2014.
Answer · Keith Brown: The second action plan for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development will be launched in 2010. Preparation for this is well underway with stakeholder engagement taking place in a variety of ways, including: </p> <p >The UN Decade Act…
2 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27179 by John Swinney on 23 September 2009, whether it plans to revise the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997 so that deceased tenants and their executors may enjoy the same rights or protections as deceased owners.
Answer · John Swinney: As deceased tenants and their executors, and deceased owners and their executors should already have exemption under the 1997 Order, we currently have no plans to revise the Order.</p> <p >However, if the member is aware that the 1997 Order is not working as…
2 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27179 by John Swinney on 23 September 2009, whether it considers that deceased tenants and their executors should be treated in the same way as deceased owners in relation to council tax exemption.
Answer · John Swinney: The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997 sets out the circumstances when a dwelling is exempt from council tax. The exemption provided for deceased owners and their executors is intended to apply equally to deceased tenants and their executors…
2 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27179 by John Swinney on 23 September 2009, whether it is aware that, under the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997, deceased tenants and their executors do not enjoy the same rights or protections as deceased owners.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27973 on 21 October 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…
2 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27179 by John Swinney on 23 September 2009, whether it is aware that, under the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997, deceased tenants and their executors are not treated in the same way as deceased owners.
Answer · John Swinney: The government''s intention in the 1997 Order is that deceased tenants and their executors, and deceased owners and their executors, should both have exemption if they meet the relevant criteria. We are not aware that this is not the case. If the member can p…
29 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to fund a new Barrhead High School.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27824 on 26 October 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…
29 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to rebuild Barrhead High School.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The provision and maintenance of school buildings is one of an education authority''s statutory duties. Investment plans and priorities for individual schools in East Renfrewshire are a matter for the council.</p>
29 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on which of the criteria outlined by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in her letter of 28 September 2009 to the Convener of the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee announcing the first phase of secondary schools in the Scottish Government’s new Scho…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3O-8148 on 8 October 2009 which is available on the Parliament''s website:</p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1008-02.htm#Col20427">http://www.…
29 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason Barrhead High School has not been included in the first phase of secondary schools in the Scottish Government’s new School Estate Strategy, Building Better Schools: Investing in Scotland’s Future.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3O-8148 on 8 October 2009 which is available on the Parliament''s website:</p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1008-02.htm#Col20427">http://www.…
23 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to understand what is behind the slight but steady increase in the rate of stillbirths in babies who are near the point of delivery.
Answer · Shona Robison: The rates of singleton stillbirths at term have fallen overall in the past 20 years, from 2.4/1,000 births in the mid 1980s to 2.0/1,000 births in recent years. Work to improve and modernize the classification of stillbirths is underway and may lead to a bett…
23 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to ensure that parents do not experience the death of a healthy baby in the days immediately following birth.
Answer · Shona Robison: Neonatal deaths have steadily fallen in the past 30 years, largely due to improving neonatal care and despite the same factors associated with stillbirths being prevalent, as well as a gradual rise in preterm deliveries and multiple births, both of which are …
23 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been carried out to understand why Scotland’s intrapartum stillbirth rates have remained unchanged for the last 20 years.
Answer · Shona Robison: Numbers of intra-partum stillbirths are extremely small and tend to fluctuate. The overall trend in the last 20 years has been slightly downwards and a recent analysis of Scottish data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has confirmed…
23 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts are being made to prevent more than 300 families every year experiencing the death of a baby.
Answer · Shona Robison: Improved teaching of emergency obstetric care for doctors and midwives now takes place throughout Scotland. Work to improve and modernize the classification of stillbirths is underway, and may help to give a better picture of the underlying causes of stillbir…
23 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been carried out to understand why rates of stillbirth in Scotland have remained unchanged for the last 20 years.
Answer · Shona Robison: The recently published <i >Scottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report </i>(SPIMMR), <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3109.html" title="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3109.html">http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3109.html</a>, shows that …
23 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has commissioned to understand why stillbirth rates in Scotland are among the highest in Europe.
Answer · Shona Robison: Countries across Europe apply several different sets of criteria for the registration of stillbirths which makes reliable comparisons difficult. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, in conjunction with Information Services Division, is developing further work fr…
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to recommendation 6 of the Teacher Employment Working Group, whether it has reviewed the operation of the teacher winding down scheme.
Answer · Keith Brown: In 2008, the Scottish Government commissioned The Government Actuary''s Department (GAD) to review the operation of the Winding Down Scheme. The Scottish Government is currently considering GAD''s report and will respond to the recommendations in due course.<…
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to recommendation 6 of the Teacher Employment Working Group, whether it has reviewed the means by which local authorities may be able to release teachers for early retirement.
Answer · Keith Brown: We are reviewing the means by which local authorities may be able to release teachers approaching retirement age and this involves work with the Scottish Public Pensions Agency which is ongoing.</p>
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to recommendation 3 of the Teacher Employment Working Group, whether it has established whether the changing economic climate is altering the retirement intentions of teachers.
Answer · Keith Brown: Information on teachers'' retirement intentions was sought from local authorities in December 2008. The issue also formed part of the discussions ministers had with local authorities as part of their spring and summer tours. We are awaiting the results of the…
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in implementing the recommendations of the Teacher Employment Working Group that reported in October 2008.
Answer · Keith Brown: Good progress is being made. Of the 12 recommendations of the Teacher Employment Working Group, recommendations 7, 8, 10 and 11 have been implemented and the other eight are being actively progressed with relevant stakeholders.</b></p>
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of teachers on permanent contracts.
Answer · Keith Brown: The form of contract under which teachers are employed is a matter for individual local authorities.</p>
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking at a national level to address the growing mismatch between the number of newly qualified teachers and the number of teaching posts.
Answer · Keith Brown: We are taking forward the recommendations of the Teacher Employment Working Group. When the results of the 2008 teacher census became available the Scottish Government immediately recommended to the Scottish Funding Council that intakes for initial teacher ed…
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to prevent local authorities from seeking to make savings though the targeting of newly qualified teachers with fewer accumulated employment rights from doing so.
Answer · Keith Brown: The recruitment and deployment of supply teachers are matters for local authority employers to determine.</p> <p >Two of the recommendations of the Teacher Employment Working Group report published last year referred to post probationers and supply work. Th…
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of concerns that some local authorities seeking to make savings are targeting newly qualified teachers with fewer accumulated employment rights.
Answer · Keith Brown: The recruitment and deployment of supply teachers are matters for local authority employers to determine.</p>
15 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate concerns that some local authorities may be terminating the contracts of temporary teachers before they have worked a full year in order to prevent them accumulating consequent employment rights.
Answer · Keith Brown: Recruitment and deployment of supply teachers are matters for local authority employers to determine. Local authorities have their own locally agreed procedures and the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers has developed a Code of Practice on the Use of…
11 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation or regulations apply to local authorities in pursuing council tax payment from the estate of a deceased tenant who had been solely liable for council tax on their rented property.
Answer · John Swinney: The relevant legislation is The Local Government Finance Act 1992 and The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997.</p>
11 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any council tax exemption applies to tenants who die before their lease expires.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27179 on 22 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Ap…
10 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the council tax exemption relating to deceased owners as laid out in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Order 1997 applies to deceased tenants.
Answer · John Swinney: Deceased tenants are exempted by the 1997 Order, subject to the criteria set out in that Order.</p>
10 Sep 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA on local authority budgets for 2010-11.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has met with COSLA throughout the summer to discuss a wide range of issues, including local authority budgets for 2010-11.</p>
9 Sep 2009 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government remains committed to achieving the SNP manifesto pledge of a maximum class size of 18 for primaries one to three within the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Alex Salmond: <i > This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:</i></p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0917-01.htm">http://www.scot…