Parliamentary questions
Kenneth Gibson
2,008 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
28 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was consulted by Her Majesty's Government, prior to the recent international climate negotiations at The Hague, regarding the impact on Scotland of any proposed introduction across the United Kingdom of British Energy Saving Time.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive has not been consulted on any such proposals.
28 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many written questions have received a reply before the question has been published in the Business Bulletin, as happened with question S1W-11507.
Answer · Tom McCabe: Publication of questions in the Business Bulletin is a matter for the Parliament.
24 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a system of proportional representation will be utilised in the next local governmental elections, given that these elections will now be postponed to 2003.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The Executive is committed to making progress on electoral reform and the issue is currently being considered by the Ministerial Working Group set up to look at the recommendation of the renewing Local Democracy Working Group.
24 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why it announced a delay in the 2002 local government elections through an answer to question S1W-11507, before the question had been published in the Business Bulletin and after decision time on the day of a by-election, rather than by a Ministerial statement or following a parliamentary…
Answer · Peter Peacock: Informing Parliament of the Executive's proposals by means of a parliamentary question is a recognised and accepted process. The issue of the term and timing of local government elections is one on which we have already consulted in the response to McIntosh. …
24 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have not changed their policies on helping young homeless people since the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 introduced a duty on Scottish local authorities to accommodate homeless 16 and 17 year olds.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: We have no evidence to suggest that local authorities are failing to carry out their statutory duties to assist homeless young people. We have commissioned research from York University into how authorities discharge their responsibilities for throughcare and…
24 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that the per capita resources dedicated to learning disability services, including community services, are raised to at least the level of expenditure in England and Wales.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to S1W-11247 on 29 November 2000.
24 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to record centrally, in order to ensure the availability of reliable data on disabled children, all assessments of needs of children affected by disability carried out under section 23 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
24 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the #22.5 million funding to improve adult literacy and numeracy announced on 25 September 2000 will be spent.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Decisions on the use of these resources will be informed by the report of the Adult Literacy 2000 Team, which is expected shortly.
24 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it will do to ensure that the new Scottish Household Survey provides information about groups which are vulnerable to poverty including women, lone parents, people with disabilities and ethnic minorities.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: Introduced in 1999, the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is the largest sample survey ever undertaken in Scotland and currently collects information which can be disaggregated by sex, household type (including lone parents), ethnic origin and whether responden…
23 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make St Andrew's day a national holiday.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive has no such plans.
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to produce detailed information about the number of adults and children with learning disabilities.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Learning Disability Review Report, launched on 11 May, estimated that there are around 120,000 people with learning disabilities in Scotland, but acknowledged that detailed information about them, and the services they receive, was inadequate.<P ALIGN="JU…
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with regard to the one stop approach for vulnerable teenagers.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: A working group, comprising representatives of local authorities, relevant public agencies and voluntary bodies representing the interests of young people leaving local authority care, is considering carefully the best way to achieve a "one stop" se…
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce bullying in schools.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and should be addressed quickly and firmly whenever it arises. The Scottish Executive has issued a range of guidance to assist schools and local authorities to tackle it effectively. We are funding the national Anti-Bullyi…
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts the conclusion in Excluded Young People: Report of the Strategy Action Team that "if any major steps are to be made in addressing youth exclusion in Glasgow, there will need to be a major increase in funding available to agencies and organisations working in the city" a…
Answer · Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive agrees that we need to do more to ensure that excluded young people have the opportunity to make a successful transition to adulthood.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">We recognise the particular problems of poverty and disadvantage in Glasgow and are…
16 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will reverse the continued decline of Glasgow's manufacturing base.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-2599 on 30 November.
15 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8267 by Susan Deacon on 10 July 2000, whether it has received from Her Majesty's Government a copy of the recently agreed protocol on under-age sales and, if so, whether it intends to review its position on the use of children in test purchases of to…
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is aware of the Enforcement Protocol which has been launched in England and Wales, and is working with CoSLA and Scottish Trading Standards towards the development of a Scottish Tobacco Enforcement Protocol for use by local authorities …
15 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8264 by Susan Deacon on 25 July 2000, what plans it has to ban tobacco advertising following the European Court of Justice's recent annulment of the Directive 98/43/EC on tobacco advertising, and whether any new legislation in this area will address …
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive remains committed to introducing a ban on tobacco advertising. The decision by the European Court of Justice means that we can no longer proceed, as proposed, to effect a ban through the introduction of Scottish Regulations under the Eu…
15 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to undertake a mass media campaign, along the lines of the Department of Health's "Don't Give Up Giving Up" campaign, offering practical tips to smokers on giving up.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is taking forward a range of measures to reduce the levels of smoking. These include the HEBS "Think About It" advertising campaign for young people and several "Top Tips" adverts launched last February which focus o…
15 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to ensure that the provision of Zyban on prescription is fully integrated into existing smoking cessation services.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive recognises that Zyban has shown to be most effective if used in combination with motivational support and, as such, complements existing smoking cessation services. The Executive is looking at the availability of smoking cessation servi…
15 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether smoking cessation services have been introduced in every health board area and how many people have received free nicotine replacement therapy as a result.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Following the launch of <I>Smoking Kills</I> in December 1998, £3 million was allocated to health boards for smoking cessation services and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to be targeted at areas of social deprivation.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Smoking cessation h…
14 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why the target set in Scottish Enterprise's Business Birth Rate Strategy in 1993 for Scotland to at least equal the UK average in the number of new businesses created each year per head of population by the end of the 1990s has not been achieved and what steps it will take to address this…
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The objective set by Scottish Enterprise for the Business Birth Rate Strategy was very ambitious. In early 2000 Scottish Enterprise conducted a review to consider why the target had not been achieved. This is available on their website. Their review concluded…
14 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why Scotland accounts for only 3.9% of UK service sector exports, as reported in the Scottish Council for Development and Industry's May/June 2000 Indicator, and what steps it is taking to address this situation.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: It is difficult to make detailed comparisons between SCDI service sector export figures and those collected by the Office for National Statistics on a UK basis, and there is also the considerable influence of the City of London to consider. However, it is gen…
14 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure there is no shortage of supply teachers in any core teaching subject.
Answer · Jack McConnell: I have today sent the Convenor of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee a report on the supply of teachers. A response to your specific question can be found at paragraphs 39-45 of the report.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Copies of the report have been pl…
14 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address any shortfall in teachers of English.
Answer · Jack McConnell: I have today sent the Convenor of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee a report on the supply of teachers. A response to your specific question can be found at paragraphs 26-38 of the report.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Copies of the report have been pl…
14 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce the level of unemployment in Scotland to UK levels or below.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: A comprehensive range of policy measures is in place to reduce unemployment in Scotland, including the establishing of Local Economic Forums, the New Futures Fund and a Review of the Training for Work Programme all of which aim to ensure that unemployed peopl…
14 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the higher business rate poundage in Scotland as compared to England has had on new business formation, growth and survival.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: The amount paid in rates is just one of many influences on the birth, growth and survival of businesses, and so extremely difficult to isolate its effect.
10 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, Glasgow City Council and developers, to deal with any underlying shortage of IT-efficient, large-floorplate office accommodation in Glasgow city centre and peripheral locations such as business parks.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Scottish Enterprise Glasgow (SEG) continuously monitors market availability and suitability to ensure that all aspects of demand for office accommodation in Glasgow can be accommodated. SEG in partnership with Glasgow City Council has over the last five years…
9 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the statement by the Institute of Civil Engineers, Scotland in the October 2000 issue of Ice Breaker regarding its procurement record.
Answer · Angus MacKay: The importance of professional expertise in the management of the Scottish Executive's major construction projects is recognised. As well as the appointment of professionals to provide design and cost control services, professionally qualified project manager…
9 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reverse the decline of school pupils studying maths and physics at a higher level.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Provisional figures indicate that the number of pupils studying mathematics at SCE Higher/National Qualification Higher level in the 1999-2000 session increased slightly from 1998-99. The number taking physics did however decline slightly over the same period…
9 Nov 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what encouragement and incentives it provides to companies that are prepared to take responsibility for and develop brownfield sites.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: National planning policies encourage the reuse of brownfield sites for new development.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Scottish Enterprise Network offers support for brownfield development ranging from direct property and site assistance, such as addressing adverse ph…