- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any added liability placed on a seller in the pilot sellers' survey schemes.
Answer
There are no plans to amendthe current common law principle of caveat emptor or “buyer beware”.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to any concerns by surveyors that the pilot sellers' surveys may operate in the interest of the seller.
Answer
For buyers and their lendersto have confidence in a survey that is commissioned by a seller, it will haveto provide objective, reliable and reasonably comprehensive information on thecondition of the house. Surveyors are disinterested professionals and we expectthat they will produce a single survey that meets the needs of both sellers andbuyers and will be accepted by all parties.
We do, however, anticipate abenefit to the seller in terms of improved marketing of their property andincreased confidence in the condition of the house.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3052 by Nicol Stephen on 21 October 2003, what representations it has received on re-regulating the bus industry.
Answer
Since August 2002 the Executive has received representations from Stirling Council and MidlothianCouncil regarding additional regulation of the bus industry. The issue is alsoraised from time to time in parliamentary debates and correspondence from thegeneral public, and is the subject of 2 parliamentary petitions currently withthe Local Government and Transport Committee (PE420 & PE569).
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2078 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, how it defines doorstep collection of household waste recycling.
Answer
“Doorstep collection” isanother term for kerbside collection. Annex B of the National Waste Plan describeskerbside segregated collection as “any regular collection of recyclable orcompostable materials from premises”. It excludes collection services deliveredon demand.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2078 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, what subsidy is being given to local authorities to implement household waste recycling targets.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-4439 on 10 December 2003. 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/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question SW2-2078 by Ross Finnie on 9 September 2003, what information it has on how the national targets for recycling household waste as outlined in A Partnership for A Better Scotland compare to the target in the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 that by 2010 every home must have a separated doorstep collection of at least two recyclable materials.
Answer
The Household WasteRecycling Act 2003 requires English waste collection authorities, from 31December 2010, to make arrangements for the collection of at least two types ofrecyclable waste together or individually separated from the rest of thehousehold waste unless they are satisfied that the cost of doing so would beunreasonably high or comparable alternative arrangements are available.
The act does not extend to Scotland.
A Partnership for aBetter Scotland includes a commitment to set targets for local authoritiesto recycle or compost 25% of waste by 2006 and 55% by 2020 through increasingthe use of doorstep collection and through provision of recycling facilities inevery community. This reflects the National Waste Plan (Bib. number. 26101),which was published in February 2003 and set out the best practicableenvironmental option for more sustainable management of municipal waste in Scotland.Implementation of the plan will provide widespread segregated kerbside wastecollections of recyclable materials across Scotland (to about 85% ofhouseholds by 2010 and over 90% by 2020).
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 9 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will address underperformance in Scottish Qualifications Authority exams amongst pupils from areas with the highest poverty levels.
Answer
The National Priorities inEducation and the school improvement framework are the vehicles through whichwe work with education authorities and schools to seek improvement ineducational outcomes for all pupils. As part of the drive for improvement, allpublicly funded secondary schools have set targets for exam performance for2005.
We recognise that there areparticular barriers that can prevent pupils who live in areas of highdeprivation from achieving their potential in exam performance. A number ofpolicy initiatives seek to offer support that will help to overcome thesebarriers. These include Surestart, integrated community schools and programmesfor study support, among others. The curriculum review and the increase inopportunities for those who wish to pursue vocational qualifications are alsoimportant developments focused on addressing underperfomance. There is anadditional allowance of around £50 million within the local governmentsettlement to cover education deprivation.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 8 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to making representations to Her Majesty's Government about the proposal by the Refugee Scotland Project that open door hostel accommodation should be developed as an alternative to detention at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre which would also allow the children of asylum seekers to attend local schools.
Answer
Asylum and immigrationmatters, including the detention of asylum seekers, are reserved. The HomeOffice is responsible for considering the suitability of alternatives toaccommodation in Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre. Useful discussionsbetween the Home Office and the Executive, South Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire on a range of issues affecting Dungavel are on-going.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 3 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to integrate dispersed asylum seekers into local communities.
Answer
The Executive has provided around£2 million of funding since September 2001 for a range of projects which assistasylum seekers to integrate into the local community. These include facilitiessuch as drop in centres, language classes and child care provision and theFramework for Dialogue project being run by the Scottish Refugee Council in partnershipwith Glasgow City Council and the Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector. Inaddition we have spent a further £3 million on language services and onimplementing the Scottish Refugee integration Forum Action Plan.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 26 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive at what point its responsibilities end for the provision of services to dispersed asylum seekers.
Answer
The point at which the Executive’sresponsibilities for providing services to dispersed asylum seekers end willdepend on the individual circumstances of each case and the services inquestion.
