Parliamentary questions

Jeremy Purvis

909 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

9 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what element of its DG Education’s targeted savings for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11, as shown on page 77 of Efficiency Delivery Plans: May 2008, comes from (i) not raising the eligibility threshold for government contributions to student support and (ii) not moving to the use…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: None of the efficiency savings identified on page 77 of the Government’s Efficiency Delivery Plans, published on 30 May 2008, are as a result of (i) not raising the eligibility threshold for government contributions to student support and (ii) not mov…

29 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what rates of interest are being paid to lenders in relation to the Falkirk PPP/NPDO schools projects.

Answer · John Swinney: This is a commercial matter for Falkirk Council, as the procuring body for the NPD schools project.

29 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what rates of interest are being paid to lenders in relation to the Aberdeen PPP/NPDO schools projects.

Answer · John Swinney: This is a commercial matter for Aberdeen City Council, as the procuring body for the NPD schools project.

28 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Student Awards Agency for Scotland is running two or more systems concurrently for assessing means-tested student loans and bursaries, for example to distinguish between full-time and part-time students.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: No. SAAS uses a single system for assessing means-tested student loans and bursaries.

28 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions were held with student representatives prior to its decision that changes to means testing for student loans and bursaries would apply to both existing and new students.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-10215 on 5 March 2008. 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.parli…

28 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary to question S3O-3427 by Fiona Hyslop on 22 May 2007 (Official Report c. 8926), what difficulties to parents and students it considers may have been averted by its decision not to run two systems of means testing for student loans and bursa…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has averted a number of difficulties to parents and students by its decision to not run two systems of means testing for student loans and bursaries concurrently. These include: 1. By running with one system, we are ensuring …

28 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary to question S3O-3427 by Fiona Hyslop on 22 May 2007 (Official Report c. 8925), what (a) information technology and (b) administrative functions at the Student Awards Agency for Scotland would have been adversely affected by an attempt to …

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Both the current grants for Scottish students operating system and its replacement student entitlement processing system would have required expenditure and rewriting, adding to the complexity of these systems and the need for additional rigorous testing.…

28 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any cost estimates of implementing changes to means testing for student bursaries and loans for new students only, while simultaneously continuing to operate for existing students the system that was in place at the start of the academic year.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Yes. The cost of changing the ICT systems were estimated to be at least £1 million. The decision which was taken to change the means-test arrangements for all students (not simply new students) was based on a range of factors. It was primarily taken on the ba…

9 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what elements of the revenue support grants approach for the Aberdeen and Falkirk PPP/NPDO schools projects will be made available for other PPP/NPDO projects.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Not all PPP/NPDO projects are identical. The revenue support element offered for the Aberdeen and Falkirk PPP/NPDO schools projects is specific to those projects. There is no general Scottish Government fund for PPP/NPDO projects.

9 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of revenue support grant it has provided for the Falkirk PPP/NPDO schools project.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Scottish Government revenue support for the Falkirk schools project will average £5 million per year for the 30 year duration of the PPP contract.

9 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of revenue support grant it has provided for the Aberdeen 3Rs school project.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Scottish Government revenue support for the Aberdeen 3Rs schools project will average £5.72 million per year for the 30 year duration of the PPP contract.

2 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what conditions apply to funding provided by the Scottish Funding Council for the redevelopment of Jewel and Esk College and whether any new conditions have been applied retrospectively since grant support was agreed.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Funding Council made a formal offer of grant to the college in a letter dated 9 February 2007 which also set out the conditions which applied to the grant. I have asked the Acting Chief Executive of the Funding Council to provide the member with …

2 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is being provided by the Scottish Funding Council for the redevelopment of Jewel and Esk College

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The college has received a grant of £24.3 million towards the cost of its estate redevelopment.

2 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what special services are provided to children for whom English is not their first language enrolled in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Information on the full range of special services available is not held centrally. However, local authorities provide English as an additional language services and information on the number of teachers involved can be found at: <a href="http://www.s…

2 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children for whom English is not their first language are enrolled in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The following table gives the number of children with English as an additional language in Scottish publicly funded schools, who are not fluent in English, by local authority and split into primary and secondary, as at September 2007: Pupils with Eng…

1 May 2008 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government considers that its target for primary class size reduction will be delivered during this parliamentary session.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Our target is as set out in the historic concordat with local government “ to reduce class sizes in P1 to P3 to a maximum of 18 as quickly as is possible. Local government will be expected to show year-on-year progress toward delivery of the class size reduct…

24 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what vote weighting systems will be established in decisions made by strategic development planning authorities.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The governance arrangements for the new strategic development planning authorities will be for the authorities themselves to establish. However, planning authorities will be required to have regard to the guidance on SDPAs which Scottish ministers have issued…

24 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the interests of communities in the Scottish Borders will be protected in decisions taken by the Strategic Development Planning Authority for the area.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Planning Circular 2/2008 provides guidance on the establishment of Strategic Development Planning Authorities. Each SDP Authority will be a partnership between the relevant Planning Authorities representing the interests of their constituents. Scottish Border…

18 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why no mention is made of outdoor education in its concordat with local government.

Answer · Maureen Watt: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12066 on 1 May 2008. 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/webapp/wa…

18 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used to identify deprived communities for the targeting of support to expand subsidised outdoor education.

18 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much investment will be made over the course of the current spending review period to support the expansion of five days subsidised outdoor education targeted at children from Scotland's most deprived communities.

18 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when every school pupil can expect a guarantee of five days of outdoor education.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Through our historic concordat with COSLA we have moved to an outcomes-focussed approach which empowers local authorities and provides consolidated block grants rather than ring-fenced funding. This will give councils flexibility to allocate resources to meet…

18 Apr 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of school pupils currently receive at least five days of outdoor education, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This information is not held centrally.