- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 11 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many fingerprint identifications were requested in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002 and (d) 2003.
Answer
The number of fingerprint identifications requested is as follows:
| Year | Number |
| 2000-01 | 87,000 |
| 2001-02 | 106,178 |
| 2002-03 | 104,731 |
| 2003-04 | not yet available |
It should be noted that the figure for 2000-01 does not include the number of identification requests made to individual forces prior to the formation of the Scottish Fingerprint Service.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 10 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to report on the evaluation of the pilot projects for business learning accounts; how many such projects have been undertaken, and where they have been based.
Answer
The business learning account (BLA) pilots will run for two years until 2005, with evaluation on-going throughout. An interim evaluation is due in Autumn this year, with the final evaluation report due to be received in September 2005.
Three hundred BLAs are being delivered within four pilots testing a sectoral and geographical approach. Three are within the Scottish Enterprise area and one in the Highlands and Islands using two different funding caps to establish the most effective level of support. The following table summarises the scope of the BLA pilots:
| | | £7,500 cap | £3,500 cap |
| Sectoral | Manufacturing | SEn Lanarkshire leading | |
| | Tourism | | SEn Fife leading |
| Geographical | LEC 1 | Ross and Cromarty | |
| | LEC 2 | | Clyde (Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire) |
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 10 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in implementing each of the recommendations that it wholly or partially agreed with in the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee's 9th Report 2002, Final Report on Lifelong Learning.
Answer
The majority of the committee’srecommendations which were wholly or partially accepted have been incorporatedwithin the 48 commitments of our Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland(Bib. number 26050). Progress on the strategy document was reported to theLifelong Learning Forum at their inaugural meeting on 16 December 2003. Acopy of the progress paper provided to Forum members is available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 31292).
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when it now expects to reintroduce individual learning accounts and what eligibility criteria will be applied.
Answer
I set out my plans for thenew Individual Learning Account scheme, to be known as ILA Scotland, to the Enterpriseand Culture Committee on 27 January.
It is intended that the new scheme will be available from summer 2004subject to all required improvements being in place, and testing having beensatisfactorily completed.
It will initially be offeredto people on incomes of up to £15,000 per year.
A universal scheme, focusedinitially on basic Information, Communication Technologies skills andqualifications, will be rolled out from April 2005. It is intended that the general eligibility criteriafor the universal scheme are that learners should be ordinarily resident in Scotland andaged 18 years or over.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 10 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it will apply to reach its final decision on the application by Eden Waste Recycling Ltd for a landfill site in the Greengairs area.
Answer
The Scottish ministers willseek to ensure that the Section 75 Agreement between North Lanarkshire Counciland the applicant has been concluded to their satisfaction and that it has beenentered in the Register of Sasines. They will also take account of anyrepresentations received.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 10 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to make a final decision on the Reporter's findings and recommendations in respect of Eden Waste Recycling Ltd's application for the Greengairs area.
Answer
A letter of intention togrant planning permission to Eden Waste Recycling was issued on 5 February. Thisindicated that formal planning permission would not be issued until thesatisfactory conclusion of an agreement, between North Lanarkshire Council andthe applicant, which requires the provision of a restoration bond. An initialperiod of three months has been allowed to complete the agreement.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 10 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was consulted by the Sector Skills Development Agency about the appointment of two partnership managers, their remit, how they will interface with the enterprise network and the funding arrangements for the posts.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has been fully consulted by the Sector Skills Development Agency aboutthe intention to appoint two partnership manager posts for Scotland.We, along with key Scottish stakeholders, including the enterprise ntworks,have been fully involved in the development of the specific roles for these twoposts. Funding of the proposed posts is a matter for the Sector SkillsDevelopment Agency.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5794 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 February 2004, under what circumstances the Scottish Criminal Record Office would make information available to the United States Government in respect of visa applications and whether any requests for such information have been made in the last five years.
Answer
The Scottish Criminal RecordOffice (SCRO) could be required to make information available to implementinternational obligations entered into by the UK Government. There is, however,no such agreement between the UK and US Governments which deals with the exchange ofcriminal history information in respect of visa applications. The US Governmenthas not made any requests of SCRO for such information.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5655 by Mr Jim Wallace on 5 February 2004, whether it will publish the key findings from the study of inward investors that fall outwith the category of “commercially sensitive” information.
Answer
A summary of the keyfindings from the report Inward investment benefits for the Scottish economyis being prepared. I have asked my officials to write to you when it has beenplaced in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 9 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the most up-to-date figures are for the number of people on each New Deal.
Answer
Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.
Number of People Participating in New Deal Programmes in Scotland to end December 2003
| New Deal Programme | Number of Participants |
| New Deal for Young People | 9,750 |
| New Deal 25 Plus Enhanced Programme | 5,900 |
| New Deal for Lone Parents | 10,600 |
Source: New Deal Evaluation Database, Department for Work and Pensions
Further information, including the publication of the quarterly New Deal for Unemployed People in Scotland Statistics, can be found on the Scottish Executive New Deal website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/ELLD/EI/00015648/New_Deal_Intro.aspx.
