Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S1W-21356

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19478 by Iain Gray on 13 November 2001, whether the appointments of the chairman and lay members of the Judicial Appointments Board reflect its targets on appointing more people from under-represented sections of society to public office.

Question reference: S1W-21360

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 17 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19597 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 15 November 2001, what funding has been allocated to infrastructural improvements, working in partnership with the private sector and marketing and promotion for the retail industry in Glasgow.

A £25 million programme has been undertaken to upgrade the main shopping streets in the city centre of Glasgow. This was undertaken by Glasgow City Council, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise Glasgow and with European funding. In partnership with the council a range of events are supported throughout the year which promote Glasgow as a vibrant city. Events supported include Glasgow Air Fair and summer in the city events. Over the last three years, Scottish Enterprise Glasgow has provided funding of £225,000, to the City Centre Partnership, for a range projects in the city centre, including the retail sector. Over the last two years Scottish Enterprise Glasgow has funded £20,000 each year for a television advertising campaign to promote Glasgow as the place to shop at Christmas.Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board, with support of £125,000 from Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, have secured 237 conferences in the last two years.

Question reference: S1W-21361

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19627 by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 November 2001, when it will make an announcement in respect of any impact on the treatment of people with ME in Scotland of the findings of the Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on ME in England.

Question reference: S1W-21362

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 17 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-4068 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 15 November 2001, whether there are any plans to bring funding allocated to institutional access and hardship funds back within the control of the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.

Question reference: S1W-21358

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Elaine Murray on 17 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19521 by Allan Wilson on 13 November 2001, whether National Planning Policy Guideline 11: Sport, Physical Recreation and Open Space applies to sports centres and sports facilities in former school premises.

Question reference: S1W-21226

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 15 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in its discussions to seek to allow businesses to retain their existing telephone numbers following Atlantic Telecom going into receivership.

Question reference: S1W-21223

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 15 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding support it has allocated to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to meet its objectives of promoting access for poorer Scots and those living in rural areas identified in the annual guidance letter of 10 December 2001.

Our overall aim must be that widening access becomes embedded as a mainstream activity for higher education institutions. I am therefore pleased that as part of its consideration of a new condition of grant the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council is currently considering how to achieve this, in a way which recognises the specific circumstances of individual institutions. Overall funding for the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council for the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 was set out in the guidance letter I sent to the council on 23 November 2000. This noted that overall planned funding for 2001-02 was 5.6% higher in real terms than in the previous year, with the value of the settlement maintained in real terms over the following two years. Over the period, £18 million was specifically earmarked within the council's financial settlement for widening access. In particular, the council was asked to: provide a further 800 fully funded FTE places by academic year 2003, in addition to the 2,000 already allocated in the 1998 review, with these to be targeted in such a way as to maximise their take-up by those from currently under-represented groups;devise a mechanism to provide additional support to institutions which reflects the extent to which they provide for students from under-represented groups, anddevise a scheme to incentivise private sector investment in access initiatives. On 11 December 2000, I subsequently announced that an additional £0.5 million would be made available to the council during 2000-01, which it should use to encourage collaborative development projects to increase the uptake of higher education and Continuing Professional Development in the rural south west.In addition, funding of £21 million has transferred to the council for over the period 2000-01 and 2001-02 in respect of funding for the higher education in the Highlands and Islands via UHI Millennium Institute, designated as a higher education institution on 1 April 2001, and the Open University in Scotland, which has a strong track-record of providing higher education to those in remote rural areas, and whose funding was transferred during 2000-01 to the council. This figure is largely comprised of funds transferred from the Scottish Further Education Funding Council, which previously funded higher education provided by further education colleges in the Highlands, and from the UK Government, which previously funded the Open University in Scotland.

Question reference: S1W-21224

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 15 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any representations which it, Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise have made, or plan to make, to (a) the Department of Trade and Industry, (b) the Office of Telecommunications, (c) BT Group plc and (d) Scottish Chambers of Commerce on the receivership of Atlantic Telecom and the economic implications of this for businesses and other customers.

Question reference: S1W-21225

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 15 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it, Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise have made, or plan to make, to (a) the Department of Trade and Industry and (b) the Office of Telecommunications on increasing choice in the telecommunications sector for Scottish businesses in order to provide more enterprise opportunities and as part of its broadband strategy.

Telecommunications regulation is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the Department of Trade & Industry and OFTEL regarding the impact of UK policies on Scotland.Within the context of its economic development remit, Scottish Enterprise is developing the Accessing Telecoms Links Across Scotland (ATLAS) project which aims to increase choice within the wholesale telecoms market in Scotland. Ultimately this should benefit businesses by increasing choice of suppliers at a local level.

Question reference: S1W-19971

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to deal with staff shortages as a result of the three consultants' resignations that have taken place at the Beatson Oncology Unit.