Parliamentary questions
Claire Baker
1,724 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
27 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided sufficient childcare discretionary funding to ensure that childcare costs will not be a barrier to any parent who wishes to study at a college or university in 2008-09.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-21496 on 10 March 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/Apps2/…
27 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided sufficient childcare discretionary funding to meet demand among student parents at college and university in 2008-09.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The purpose of child care discretionary funds is not to meet every demand for the cost of child care from every student. They are intended to provide institutions with a source of additional funding which colleges and universities can then use to assist stude…
27 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided sufficient discretionary funding to prevent student hardship in 2008-09.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-21494 on 10 March 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/Apps2/…
27 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether discretionary funds will meet demand among students in 2008-09.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The purpose of discretionary funds is not to meet every financial demand from every student. They are intended to provide institutions with a source of additional funding which colleges and universities can then use to assist students in financial difficulty …
27 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any reallocations of discretionary funds that it has made for colleges or universities in 2008-09.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The in-year re-allocation of Higher Education Discretionary Funds for 2008-09 was as follows:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=209 valign=top > <p align=center >Institution</p> </td> <td width=127 va…
27 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to make a reallocation of discretionary funds among (a) universities and (b) colleges and which types of discretionary funds will be reallocated.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: An in-year reallocation of Higher Education Discretionary Funds takes place in late January or early February each year. This year the reallocation process was completed by 13 February 2009. This re-allocation of funds is for higher education students in both…
27 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any discretionary funds have been exhausted at universities or colleges in the last two academic years and, if so, which funds and which institutions.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Higher Education Discretionary Fund allocations for each year are intended to provide institutions with a source of additional funding which they can then use to assist students in financial difficulty and who are at risk of not completing their course. The f…
26 Feb 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the new Town Centre Regeneration Fund will benefit the people of Fife.
Answer · Alex Neil: <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/sor0226-01.htm">http://www.scot…
25 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) male and (b) female mortality rate was where alcohol was a contributory factor in each of the last five years, broken down by community health partnership area, and when it expects new statistics to be available.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is available in two tables, which are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47843).</p> <p >In addition, the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) does not routinely publish data on alcohol mor…
25 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) male and (b) female mortality rate was where alcohol was the underlying cause in each of the last five years, broken down by community health partnership area, and when it expects new statistics to be available.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is available in two tables, from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47842).</p> <p >In addition, the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) do not routinely publish data on alcohol mortality rates by Commun…
25 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the discharge rate from general hospitals was for alcohol-related conditions in each year from 2003-04 to 2007-08, broken down by community health partnership, and when it expects new statistics to be published.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is given in two tables, copies of which are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47841).</p> <p >In addition, the information requested for Community Health Partnerships (alcohol discharge rates) is…
25 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average class size was for (a) maths and (b) English in S1 and S2 in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Keith Brown: This information is not generally collected centrally. It was collected in 2007 to measure progress against the previous administration''s target.</p> <p >The information is published on the government website at the following link:</p> <p ><a href="http://…
25 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average class size was for each secondary school age group in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Keith Brown: This information is not collected centrally.</p>
25 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many publicly funded schools offered (a) higher and (b) advanced higher courses in each of the last four years, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Keith Brown: The available information is given in the following table.</p> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=160 nowrap rowspan=2 valign=top > <p > </p> </td> <td nowrap colspan=4 valign=top > <p align=center…
25 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences of drunk driving per 10,000 head of population there were in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area, and when it expects new statistics to be available.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Figures for drink driving convictions alone are not available. The following table provides information on drink or drug driving convictions from 2002-3 to 2006-07. Data relating to 2007-08 will be available in April 2009, following the publication of Crimin…
4 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many further education students it estimates to have dependent children.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: This information is not held centrally.</p>
3 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in receipt of an Education Maintenance Allowance of (a) £10 and (b) £20 received the £150 bonus payment in each of the last three years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The following table presents the number of school pupils and further education college students who were supported in the £10 and £20 categories of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme and who received bonus payments in academic years 2005-06 to 2…
3 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what is considered a full-time course (a) by the Scottish Funding Council and (b) for the purposes of council tax collection.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Funding Council classify a full time course as courses with at least 720 planned hours within one academic year for further education (non-advanced) and at least 480 planned hours within one academic year for higher education (advanced) courses.<…
3 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time higher education students it estimates have dependent children.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Annual Population Survey (APS) collects information on household composition and qualifications being studied by people in the household. The estimated number of full-time students studying for qualifications at the higher education level who have depende…
3 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of students entering higher education represents those from (a) low-participation neighbourhoods, (b) non-traditional backgrounds and (c) low socio-economic classification groups for each of the last five years and when updated statistics will be published.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Higher Education Statistics Agency annually publishes higher education performance indicators for all higher education institutions in the UK, including participation rates of students from low participation neighbourhoods and from low socio-economic clas…
3 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged 16 to 19 were not in education, employment or training in each of the last five years for which information is available and when updated statistics will be published.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Annual Population Survey is the official source for national estimates of the numbers of people aged 16 to 19 who were not in education, employment or training. The estimates for each the last five years for which data are available are given in table 1. …
2 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount was of interest accrued by Scotland domiciled and resident students in student loan debt in each of the last five years, broken down by interest accrued (a) while studying and (b) following graduation.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The following table shows the total amount of interest accrued by Scottish domiciled and resident students in student loan debt in each of the last five financial years broken down by interest accrued (a) while studying and (b) following graduation or withdra…
2 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20037 by Fiona Hyslop on 29 January 2009, how much would be saved by abolishing the £150 bonus payment for people in receipt of an Educational Maintenance Allowance of (a) £10 and (b) £20.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Assuming that the amounts paid out in bonus payments to those in the £10 and £20 categories in future years would be the same as in 2007-08, we estimate that the resources released by removing the bonus payments for students supported in these categories woul…
2 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people received a Get Ready for Work payment in the last three years, broken down by payment amount.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: This information is not captured centrally.</p> <p >The Scottish Government have however obtained the following from Skills Development Scotland on the programme costs and the number of individuals involved in the Get Ready for Work (GRfW) programme over the…
2 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether modern apprenticeships would continue to be paid at up to £55 per week if the Get Ready for Work programme is replaced by an Educational Maintenance Allowance of £30.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The £55 per week training allowance, available to Get Ready for Work participants and non-employed Skillseekers, does not apply to the modern apprenticeship programme. The conclusions of the consultation will not therefore impact on the modern apprenticeship …
2 Feb 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people received an education maintenance allowance of (a) £10 and (b) £20 in each of the last three years.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The following table presents the number of school pupils and further education college students who received education maintenance allowance (EMA) support in the £10 and £20 categories in academic years 2005-06 to 2007-08.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 …
28 Jan 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students receive the full Young Students’ Bursary, broken down by assessed income.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The table below shows students who received the maximum amount of Young Student''s Bursary in academic year 2007-08 broken down by parental/spousal income.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td nowrap > <p align=center >Income b…
22 Jan 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts it is making to ensure that there is provision of effective justice services throughout Scotland.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Protecting Scotland''s Communities: Fair, Fast and Flexible Justice published on 17 December 2008 sets out our plan for delivering a coherent offender management strategy building on effective justice services. Our plan incorporates the improvements in train …
21 Jan 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students would benefit from the introduction of Activity Agreements, as proposed in 16+ Learning Choices: First Step Activity and Financial Support.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Activity Agreements would provide young people who are not ready or able to access formal learning or training with an offer of learning which better suits their needs.</p> <p >Our prime target group is the 7,000 young people who fail to reach a positive des…
21 Jan 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the cost of introducing Activity Agreements, as proposed in 16+ Learning Choices: First Step Activity and Financial Support.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Introduction of Activity Agreements would be made possible by the redirection of existing resource as outlined in <i >16+ Learning Choices: First Step Activity and Financial Support.</i></p> <p >We estimate that some £10.5 million would be available. Thi…