Mike Watson

16 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to ensure that the Enforcement Concordat is implemented throughout its departments and agencies.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Enforcement Concordat launched jointly by central and local government in March 1998, encourages constructive relationships between regulators and the business community in enforcement matters by advocating precepts of openness, helpfulness, proportionali…

13 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish-domiciled students are attending universities in England and Wales in the academic year 2004-05 and what the cost to it would be of meeting their tuition fees in the same way as for those attending universities in Scotland.

Answer · Jim Wallace: In 2002-03, there were 6,303 Scottish-domiciled students studying for first degrees in higher education institutions in England and Wales. This is the most recent year for which data are available at present. Tuition fees in England were£1,150 per student for…

28 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the final outcome is of applications made to the third round of the Modernising Government Fund and what projects will be supported under the fund

Answer · Tom McCabe: I am pleased to announce today that I have been able to significantly increase the £30 million provision for the third round Modernising Government. Over the next three years I will be able to provide up to £38.45 million for a number of key public sector pro…

2 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why retail is not recognised as one of the 10 priority sectors within Round 4 of the Scottish Skills Fund.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The decision on priority sectors was taken following advice from the enterprise networks and Futureskills Scotland. Under Round 4 of the Scottish Skills Fund all sectors were eligible to apply. The enterprise networks are working closely with Skillsmart, the …

22 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be its achievements in its participation in this year's Tartan Day celebrations in the United States of America.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Tartan Day offered Scottish ministers and members of the Parliamentary delegationan excellent opportunity to promote Scotland as a good place to visit, study in, live and do businesswith.  </p><p>Theprogramme, co-ordinated and supported bythe Scottish Executi…

19 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make provision for sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy (CFS/ME) following the recent announcement by Her Majesty's Government of funding for 12 new centres and local support teams for such patients in England.

Answer · Tom McCabe: A framework for theprovision of services for CFS/ME sufferers in Scotland was developed by a shortlife working group, set up by the Executive, and commended to NHS boards inFebruary 2003. The Executive has asked boards for reports on action taken inthe light …

3 Mar 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it provides to Glasgow City Council in relation to the maintenance of the Clyde Tunnel.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: We providerevenue support to local authorities for roads, bridges and tunnels, includingthe Clyde Tunnel, through the general local government finance settlement. Thatsupport is not ring fenced, and it is for each local authority to decide how toallocate its …

3 Mar 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support and supervision it will offer to newly-released prisoners to ensure that they do not reoffend.

Answer · Hugh Henry: TheExecutive is working to reduce re-offending rates by developing betterthroughcare services, as recommended by the Tripartite Group in its report <i>Throughcare– Developing the Service</i> published in January 2003. The enhancedthroughcare strategy will str…

28 Jan 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it can further reduce homelessness, particularly among drug users and vulnerable young people.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is working with those at the front line of delivering homelessnessservices to ensure the prevention of homelessness as well as effective responseswhere it does occur.  The recommendations of the Homelessness Task Force arebeing taken fo…

14 Jan 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the future is for Scotland's financial sector in general and fund asset management in particular.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Scotland’s financial services sector has demonstratedsolid growth over the past decade and continues to perform robustly. Againstthe background of challenges from increased global competition, however, thereis no room for complacency. The Scottish Executive r…

31 Oct 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to improve recruitment and retention in the social work profession following the recent action team report on children's services.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is aware of some difficulties in recruiting and retaining social work staff in parts of Scotland. The Executive will be working closely with the newly created Scottish Social Services Council and other organisations in the coming months…

24 Oct 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to pursue the key developments of the Scottish rail network in light of Railtrack plc going into administration.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Executive is working closely with the UK Government and the Strategic Rail Authority to ensure that the new railway structure fully takes into account Scotland's interests.

19 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can now give the allocation of End Year Flexibility by Department.

Answer · Angus MacKay: I refer the member to the following table: copies of which will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=567><TR><TD WIDTH="38%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=12><P></TD><TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=12><P ALI…

19 Sep 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support is currently available for repairs to, and replacement of, school buildings.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Such financial support is available from different allocations including :<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The New Deal for Schools, where £115.7&nbsp;million was available from 1997 to 2002 and the allocation in the current year is £26.7&nbsp;million.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ca…

29 Aug 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in relation to the provision of nursery education for three-year-olds.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The proportion of eligible three-year-olds receiving pre-school education currently stands at 80%. The target of a nursery place for all three-year-olds whose parents want it is expected to be met by April 2002.

25 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is in place to record how many older people have embarked on modern apprenticeships following the removal of the age restriction and what measures are in place to encourage older people to do so.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Modern Apprenticeships (MAs)for over 25s will be monitored through Scottish Enterprise's Corporate Training System. Scottish Enterprise is piloting MAs for this group across a range of occupational sectors: about 1,200 apprentices are expected to be involved …

11 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many places are available in out-of-school and after-school care in each constituency in the City of Glasgow and how many children are on waiting lists for places in such services.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally. Glasgow City Council holds some of the information at postcode level. The New Opportunities Fund (the Fund) holds data on projects approved in parliamentary constituencies, including places created, since the l…

6 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to undertake a review of Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 following the completion of the review of the adjudication provisions in the construction contracts legislation undertaken by the Construction Industry Board.

Answer · Iain Gray: The recent review of the adjudication provisions in the legislation, which was undertaken by the Construction Industry Board at the request of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and had regard to Scottish issues, concluded that the p…

6 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it submitted a response to the consultation by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions on the Construction Industry Board (CIB) review of the adjudication provisions of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and the Scheme for Construction Cont…

Answer · Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive did not submit a separate response to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' consultation paper which was issued to the industry's main umbrella bodies following the Construction Industry Board's earlier review of…

6 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received on the operation of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Executive has received correspondence from the Electrical Contractors Association of Scotland regarding the operation of the legislation particularly with regard to the specialist contracting sector.

6 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of the construction contracts provision in Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and the Scheme for Construction Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 1998 on the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration …

Answer · Iain Gray: The Construction Industry Board undertook a review of the adjudication provisions of Part II of the Act and the Scheme for Construction Contracts last year at the request of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The Construction Indust…

28 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether further provision is to be made in relation to the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Yes. A number of amendments were made to other enactments at Stage 2 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Bill, including an amendment to the Finance Act 2000. That amendment relates to a reserved matter and is therefore outwith the Parliament's legislative c…

27 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how trade unions representing workers employed in the transport industry are being consulted on the work currently under way on the Executive's transport delivery plan.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I will be meeting the STUC shortly to discuss issues relating to the Transport Delivery Plan.

21 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15837 by Nicol Stephen on 31 May 2001, how many of the pre-school places for (a) three-year-olds and (b) four-year-olds with partner providers in Glasgow are provided by (i) the private sector and (ii) the voluntary sector.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: 2,535 three- and four-year-olds were receiving publicly funded pre-school education from partner providers in the City of Glasgow in the summer term of 2000-01. The figures are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=455><TR><TD WIDTH="32%"…

23 May 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to tackle regional variations in access to epilepsy diagnosis and services across Scotland as highlighted in the report by Epilepsy Action Scotland, Patterns of Epilepsy Service in Scotland.

Answer · Susan Deacon: <I>Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change</I> promises that the Scottish Executive and the NHS will work closely with patient support groups to ensure that the needs of those with chronic enduring conditions such as epilepsy are met. I have…

17 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pre-school education places for (a) three-year-olds and (b) four-year-olds are now available in each parliamentary constituency in Glasgow, specifying in each case the number of places in local authority managed establishments and the number provided through partnership arrangeme…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Data on pre-school education places on a constituency basis is not held centrally.<P>The number and percentages of children receiving publicly funded pre-school education in the City of Glasgow in the summer term of 2000-01 are as follows:<P>Four-year-olds: 6…

16 May 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources are being allocated to assist local authority education departments to prepare suitable curriculum material to raise awareness of the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers and to tackle any increase in racist incidents perpetrated by young people.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: A Staff Development for Effective Teaching (SDET) project to provide Anti-Racism Support Materials and Seminars is currently in progress. In addition, Learning and Teaching Scotland are developing a national statement on Education for Citizenship.<P>There are…

11 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3292 by Iain Gray on 26 April 2001, whether the asylum liaison officers appointed by Strathclyde Police were in addition to the existing staff complement and what information has been gathered to date through the monitoring of racial incidents by the…

Answer · Jim Wallace: Decisions about the deployment of police officers are for the Chief Constable, but I understand that Strathclyde Police's asylum liaison officers have been appointed from the force's existing complement of officers. The Scottish Executive does not hold the in…

9 May 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether updated information on the use of anti-social behaviour orders is now available and what procedures are in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of such orders.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland has been commissioned by the Executive to undertake an annual exercise to determine the use being made of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs). In the period from 1 April 1999, when ASBOs came into force, to 1 De…

18 Apr 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to tackle the level of racial abuse and number of assaults experienced by refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow in particular where the abuse or attack is perpetrated by children and young people.

Answer · Iain Gray: Policing issues related to asylum seekers in Glasgow are operational matters for the Chief Constable. Strathclyde has a force policing strategy which requires divisions receiving asylum seekers to appoint asylum liaison officers to develop links with asylum s…