- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings it, or any other bodies on its behalf, have held regarding the decision to sell Compound Semiconductor Technologies Ltd and what parties attended any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is not a partner in Compound Semiconductor Technologies (CST) and therefore has not been involved in the discussions regarding investment in the company. However, such meetings have been held between the founding shareholders in CST, namely Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde and Chair and Chief Executive of CST. These discussions have been professionally advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Maclay Murray & Spens solicitors.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons were for the decision to pass Compound Semiconductor Technologies Ltd into private ownership.
Answer
Compound Semiconductor Technologies Ltd has developed successfully as a centre of excellence for the commercialisation of research in optoelectronics and now needs to attract new investment to undertake further development and commercialisation activities.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Ayrshire and Arran Health Board have refused to prescribe Inflaximab to any patients within their catchment area on the recommendation of an NHS consultant and, if so, whether such refusal infringes a patient's rights under the Human Rights Act 1998.
Answer
This is a matter for Ayrshire and Arran Health Board.Health boards determine their prescribing policy on new medicines, taking into account local needs and advice from their Area Drugs and Therapeutic Committee. The Scottish Medicines Consortium will provide advice to local Area Drug and Therapeutic Committees about new drugs. In addition, some new medicines will be evaluated by the Health Technology Board for Scotland. The advice of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence is also made available publicly. The human rights legislation does not confer a right to treatment.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 11 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional measures it intends to implement to eradicate child poverty.
Answer
The Social Justice Annual Report sets out programmes and policies of the Scottish Executive and the UK Government, which will help to move towards our shared goal of ending child poverty in a generation. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20286 on 23 November announcing the publication of the report. Securing better outcomes and life chances for all children is a key priority for the Executive. We have recently announced the establishment of a new Cabinet Sub-Committee on Children's Services, to be chaired by the First Minister. In addition, the Scottish Executive announced on 26 November 2001 a £250,000 boost to breakfast service provision in Scotland's most disadvantaged areas. Breakfast is important for children to help them to concentrate and learn in school as well as meeting their physical needs.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) private residential homes, (b) private nursing homes and (c) local authority residential homes there currently are in (i) Scotland and (ii) each local authority area.
Answer
The information requested is contained in the following table:Number of Homes: at 31 March 2000
Local Authority | Private Residential Care Homes | Private Nursing Homes | Local Authority Residential Care Homes |
Aberdeen City | 3 | 18 | 18 |
Aberdeenshire | 13 | 33 | 18 |
Angus | 23 | 12 | 6 |
Argyll & Bute | 26 | 9 | 9 |
Clackmannanshire | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 23 | 14 | 2 |
Dundee City | 8 | 16 | 15 |
East Ayrshire | 16 | 17 | 6 |
East Dunbartonshire | 3 | 7 | 1 |
East Lothian | 3 | 12 | 3 |
East Renfrewshire | 2 | 8 | 2 |
Edinburgh, City of | 23 | 44 | 23 |
Eileannan Siar | 1 | 2 | 16 |
Falkirk | 12 | 10 | 8 |
Fife | 23 | 32 | 49 |
Glasgow City | 13 | 47 | 27 |
Highland | 45 | 30 | 23 |
Inverclyde | 3 | 8 | 5 |
Midlothian | 8 | 7 | 3 |
Moray | 5 | 8 | 6 |
North Ayrshire | 14 | 15 | 7 |
North Lanarkshire | 9 | 24 | 13 |
Orkney Islands | 3 | - | 3 |
Perth & Kinross | 20 | 20 | 5 |
Renfrewshire | 6 | 12 | 9 |
Scottish Borders | 9 | 16 | 7 |
Shetland Islands | 0 | - | 4 |
South Ayrshire | 4 | 22 | 7 |
South Lanarkshire | 14 | 34 | 13 |
Stirling | 6 | 11 | 5 |
West Dunbartonshire | 2 | 3 | 9 |
West Lothian | 11 | 12 | 7 |
Scotland | 351 | 505 | 331 |
Source: ISD Scotland, ISD(34).HD: Social Work Statistics,R1 Return.Notes:1. There are also 923 residential care homes in the voluntary sector bringing the Scotland total to 1,605. 2. Private nursing homes subject to the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938 (as amended), or the Mental Health Act 1960/1984. It also includes a few "other" establishments, e.g. hospices registered under the Act. 3. The figures shown are based on information supplied by nursing homes at the end of the financial year. It is understood from health boards that a small number of other nursing homes have not been able to provide the information requested. Data from these nursing homes (around 30 in total) and data from private hospitals, also registered under the Acts, are not included in the table. 4. The figures represent a "snap shot" on 31 March each year and do not necessarily reflect the position between census' or at present.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 6 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18802 by Angus MacKay on 19 November 2001, whether it will provide information on the number and percentage of applicants for public appointments who declared any political activity.
Answer
The information requested is not available. All applications for public appointments are considered very carefully against the criteria for the appointment in question. As the political activity declaration makes clear, neither activity nor affiliation is a criterion for appointment. Information on the political activities of applicants is not collated centrally. The Commissioner for Public Appointments does not require this information. Most applications are retained for only a very short period and then destroyed.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 6 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether grants to tenants by local authorities for the upgrading and repair of social housing can be used to pay off council tax arrears.
Answer
This is a matter for local authorities.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 29 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional measures it intends to take to reform the public appointments system.
Answer
The Executive has put in place a modern, fair and open public appointments system. The key requirement is that ministers are able to appoint individuals with the necessary ability and experience to run our public bodies. A number of additional measures to enhance the public appointments system and attract candidates from a wider cross section of Scottish society were set out in Public Bodies: Proposals for Change which was published by the Executive in June. Most important was the announcement of plans to establish a Scottish Commissioner for Public Appointments who will oversee all ministerial appointments and be required to report to the Scottish Parliament annually on the operation of the public appointments system.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 23 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total budget for the New Deal for Young People was in Scotland at its inception and how much has been spent to date
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.Spending on New Deal is funded from a Great Britain-wide budget which is determined by the level of unemployment, and the size of the client group. Actual spending over the period to August 2001 was £107 million for Scotland.As a demand-led programme, the significant fall in unemployment has resulted in the lower than initially anticipated spending to August 2001.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 19 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all officially recognised sports and recreations.
Answer
Sports which are officially recognised by the home country Sports Councils are listed in the following table. There is no official list of recreations. Recreation is an activity that promotes the refreshment of health or spirits by relaxation and enjoyment. By its own definition, recreation is limitless.
Angling | Mountaineering |
Archery | Movement and Dance, Exercise and Fitness |
Football | Netball |
Athletics | Orienteering |
Badminton | Parachuting |
Basketball | Petanque |
Billiards and Snooker | Polo |
Bowls | Quoits |
Boxing | Racketball |
Canoeing | Rambling |
Cricket | Real Tennis & Rackets |
Croquet | Riding |
Curling | Roller Hockey |
Cycling | Roller Skating |
Fencing | Rounders |
Aeromodel Flying | Rowing |
Gaelic Football | Rugby League |
Gliding | Rugby Union |
Golf | Sailing/Yachting |
Gymnastics | Shinty |
Handball | Shooting |
Hang/Paragliding | Skating |
Highland Games | Skiing |
Hockey | Softball |
Horse Racing | Sombo |
Hovering | Squash |
Hurling | Sub Aqua |
Ice Hockey | Swimming, Diving, Water Polo & Synchronised Swimming |
Judo | Table Tennis |
Ju Jitsu | Taekwondo |
Karate | Tang Soo Do |
Kendo | Tenpin Bowling |
Korfball | Trampolining |
Lacrosse | Triathlon |
Lawn Tennis | Tug of War |
Lifesaving | Volleyball |
Luge | Water Skiing |
Modern Pentathlon | Weightlifting |
Motor Cycling | Wrestling |
Motor Sports | Yoga |
