John Park

1 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-03255 by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 November 2011, whether it will review the policy of keeping records in relation to crimes committed under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in order to assist the analysis of data.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government is committed to annual analysis of the data on religiously aggravated offences held by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in relation to Section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. Any review of the Data…

23 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has a record of instances of asbestos in soil and, if so, how many instances have been recorded since 2001; in what locations, and what treatment was deployed in each instance.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government does not hold any record of asbestos in soil. It is understood that asbestos is widely distributed in soils and can be detected on many brownfield sites. A variety of techniques may be used in remediation of such land.

23 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is available to industry on the (a) investigation, (b) analysis and (c) treatment of asbestos in soil.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government’s contaminated land statutory guidance, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/06/05131212/0, advises that potential risks to human health should be assessed, taking account of any significant pollutant linkages, from contaminant…

23 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which modern apprenticeship programmes have the highest drop-out rates in their first year.

22 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it (a) took between 2007 and the launch and (b) has taken since the launch of The Government Economic Strategy in 2011 to promote (i) flexible working and (ii) high quality part-time employment across all pay grades.

Answer · John Swinney: Since 2003, the Scottish Government has provided a range of options for flexible working for its staff, including part-time working. All staff, excluding those on shift work can apply to work flexibly. In addition, staff can make use of the flexible working …

22 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken since the launch of The Government Economic Strategy in 2011 to promote the provision of (a) high quality, (b) accessible, (c) affordable and (d) flexible childcare.

Answer · Angela Constance: We continue to promote and support high quality childcare in Scotland through the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council and Education Scotland. This includes the inspection programme and evaluations of improvements in performance by HMIE, and th…

22 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what childcare it provides for its employees in terms of (a) number of places, (b) quality, (c) accessibility, (d) affordability and (e) flexibility.

Answer · John Swinney: As an employer, the Scottish Government currently provides one workplace nursery for staff, based in the Victoria Quay offices in Edinburgh. It is run by North Edinburgh Childcare (NEC), which secured the contract after a competitive tendering exercise in 201…

22 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been undertaken since the launch of The Government Economic Strategy in 2011 to map childcare provision in terms of (a) number of places, (b) quality, (c) accessibility, (d) affordability and (e) flexibility and with what result.

Answer · Angela Constance: We are currently reviewing and updating existing data on childcare provision in Scotland. This work is being informed by statistics and information from a number of sources including: the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council, Education Scotland…

22 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by (a) occupation, (b) pay grade and (c) gender of its (i) part-time and (b) job-share staff.

Answer · John Swinney: The following tables show numbers of part-time staff in Scottish Government Core directorates by pay range and gender at 31 October 2011. Part-Time Staff by Pay Range A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 BFS C1 C2 C3 NA SCS Total SG Core 152 47 121 145 137 4 …

22 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunities for (a) flexible and (b) part-time working it offers its employees in terms of (i) hours, (ii) occupation and (iii) pay grade.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-04147 on 6 December 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

18 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether (a) it procures or (b) any of its agencies procure (i) life jackets, (ii) all-weather garments, (iii) chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (A) safety training programmes or (B) protection products, (iv) water-repellant clothing, (v) contaminated casualty transportation p…

Answer · Alex Neil: Information from the Scottish Procurement Information Hub confirms that life-jackets, all-weather garments and water repellent clothing were bought by the Scottish Government and its agencies during the 2010-11 financial year. However, the classification sys…

2 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has that the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has been effective in terms of convictions and as a deterrent.

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been adopted in each year since 2000, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) ethnic background and showing how many were adopted by (i) step-parents, (ii) other relatives and (iii) non-relatives.

Answer · Angela Constance: Each year, the Registrar General for Scotland publishes statistics of the number of adoptions that have been registered - for example, in Chapter 8 of Scotland's Population 2010: the Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends, which is available …

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been in local authority care in each year since 2000, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender, (c) ethnic background, (d) type of care and (e) local authority.

Answer · Angela Constance: Much of the requested information is available in the additional tables (Tables 2.1 to 2.3) that accompanied the Scottish Government Children Looked After Statistics, 2009/10 publication. These can be found here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics…

12 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what average length of time a child has spent in care prior to adoption in each year since 2000.

Answer · Angela Constance: Due to the method of collection, and level of detail collected, in the Scottish Government’s Children Looked After Survey prior to 2008-09, the information requested is not available prior to 2008-09. However, for the 204 episodes of care that ended during t…

10 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02895 by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 October 2011, for what reason it will not analyse the crimes committed under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in each year since its introduction rather than the data between 1 April 2010 and 31…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In accordance with the Data Retention Policy of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, police reports in concluded summary cases are only kept for a period of two years.

5 Oct 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to promote cultural and creative industries in Mid Scotland and Fife.

22 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate’s analysis of crimes committed under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in each year since its introduction will be made available to the Justice Committee before it completes its deliberations on the proposed new Offensive Behaviour at Footba…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government will undertake a one year analysis of the data held by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in relation to Section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. The analysis will cover the most recent data available – 1 Apr…

22 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate’s analysis of crimes committed under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in each year since its introduction will be made available to the general public on request.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02895 on 6 October 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/MAQASea…

21 Sep 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what actions it is taking to develop its procurement policy.

13 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it gives to local authorities on the use of European Social Funding and what action it can take if this funding is used incorrectly.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government work closely with all Scottish local authorities, and representative organisations providing extensive guidance and advice to all recipients of European Structural Funds. The funds are controlled by European Commission regulations. Eac…

13 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) funding and (b) support is available to training providers in the (i) tourism and (ii) hospitality sectors.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and other partners to ensure that training provision is available to meet the Tourism sector’s needs through the development of a Tourism Skills Investment plan expected to be completed…

31 Aug 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to develop careers guidance.

1 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the Green Deal will have on Scotland and what relevant discussions it has had with the UK Government.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Green Deal is a UK Government initiative that will be made available in Scotland. It has the potential of providing significant amounts of private funding for the implementation of energy efficiency measures in homes and businesses in Scotland with no upf…

1 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to help businesses upskill for the low-carbon economy.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of Green Skills Academies and will be working and consulting with relevant stakeholders, including those from the business community, colleges, universities and local authorities, in due course to take forw…

16 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its news release of 15 February 2011, 2.4m to help farmers access renewables, what uptake there has been by (a) farmers and (b) other land managers of the Communities and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) Loan Fund.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The first round of Community And Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) loan applications was considered by the CARES independent advisory panel on 16 June 2011. The panel considered a total of 49 applications of which 23 were from farmers. No applications were rece…

16 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the Scotland Rural Development Programme’s package for the Development of Renewable Energy Provision.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) continues to provide support under the renewable energy options. The guidance for these options clearly states the eligibility criteria for applications. It is updated regularly and can be found on the SRDP web…

16 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recent funding announcements, what provision it has made to ensure that local authorities have the capacity to deal with increased planning applications for renewable energy developments from farmers and other land managers.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The resourcing of their planning service is a matter for each local authority. Where a planning application is required then the appropriate fee must be submitted as part of the application.

8 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with stakeholders regarding reform of the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board.

8 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4O-00010 by Alasdair Allan on 2 June 2011, whether it will provide a breakdown by years in continuous employment of the 8,689 modern apprenticeship places taken by those upskilling.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to the member with the information he has requested.