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-15984

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 June 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake an urgent review of pay and conditions of nursing staff employed in private nursing and residential homes.

Question reference: S1W-16005

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 12 June 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15345 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 23 May 2001, whether it will show the modern apprenticeship pass rate for completers and for those still in training separately for 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

he table provides the information requested.

Modern Apprenticeship Pass Rate: 1999-2000 and 2000-01

LEC area	1999-2000			2000-01
LEC area	Starts	Completers	In-training	Starts	Completers	In-training
SE Ayrshire	938	12%	51%	1,039	8%	76%
SE Borders	83	1%	82%	125	1%	89%
SE Dumbarton	265	16%	68%	305	2%	84%
SE Dumfries	176	3%	72%	332	1%	84%
SE Edinburgh & Lothians	696	12%	67%	1,073	3%	89%
SE Fife	405	5%	60%	437	11%	83%
SE Forth Valley	465	18%	53%	656	5%	75%
SE Glasgow	1,730	23%	33%	1,732	12%	69%
SE Grampian	464	1%	75%	586	1%	85%
SE Lanarkshire	1,141	20%	51%	1,295	14%	73%
SE Renfrewshire	414	13%	63%	459	7%	82%
SE Tayside	357	2%	68%	653	2%	83%
Argyle & the Islands Enterprise	74	32%	69%	61	0%	87%
Caithness & Sutherland Enterprise	89	12%	79%	65	0%	92%
Inverness & Nairn Enterprise	75	8%	73%	125	2%	85%
Lochaber Limited	20	15%	65%	47	0%	79%
Moray, Badenoch & Strathspey Enterprise	40	25%	45%	39	3%	87%
Orkney Enterprise	30	7%	83%	25	0%	96%
Ross & Cromarty Enterprise	68	19%	63%	65	0%	91%
Shetland Enterprise	58	9%	79%	51	0%	96%
Skyle & Lochalsh Enterprise	17	29%	59%	12	0%	83%
Western Isles Enterprise	35	3%	84%	43	0%	88%

Note: Those who leave the Modern Apprenticeship programme before final completion often go on to positive outcomes, e.g. FE, other training or employment.

Question reference: S1W-15951

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 6 June 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15344 by Mr Alasdair Morrison on 18 May 2001, what the estimated annual cost will be of collecting endowment payments from EU students who leave the UK after graduating.

Details of the arrangements for collecting the Graduate Endowment are being finalised in discussions between the Scottish Executive and the Student Loans Company. However, the view of the Student Loans Company to date has been that, as the number of liable students expected to leave the UK after graduating will be relatively small, the cost of collecting the endowment from them does not merit calculating it separately.

Question reference: S1O-03534

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 6 June 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek a meeting with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary to examine any implications for Scotland of the French Prime Minister's recent proposals regarding reform of the European Union.

Question reference: S1W-15851

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 1 June 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many environmental risk assessments have been carried out on the Ravenscraig site in Lanarkshire and whether the findings of any such assessments are publicly available.

An environmental impact assessment was carried out by Aspinwall and Company in support of a planning application by British Steel PLC in November 1994 for the proposed development of a secure containment facility at Ravenscraig. The resulting Environmental Statement is available from North Lanarkshire Council, or from the Scottish Executive Library.The Scottish Environment Protection Agency carried out an assessment of the impact of a proposed discharge from a groundwater treatment plant at the site on the receiving watercourse. A consent under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 was issued in January 1997 and details are available from the agency.

Question reference: S1W-15848

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 31 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what its planning policy is in relation to out-of-town retail and leisure developments.

Question reference: S1W-15836

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 30 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had regarding the future development of the Ravenscraig site in Lanarkshire.

During the course of the last year, officials from the Enterprise, Planning Services and Environment Divisions of the Scottish Executive have all met with Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire on various occasions to discuss different aspects of the Ravenscraig redevelopment project. These discussions have related to the proposal to establish a public/private joint venture to take the development forward, the planning issues surrounding the project and the translocation of a colony of greater crested newts which were discovered on the site.Officials will continue to follow progress closely.

Question reference: S1W-15345

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 23 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the modern apprenticeship pass rate was in each local enterprise company area in each of the last two years.

The table provides the information requested.Modern Apprenticeship Pass Rate: 1999-2000 and 2000-01

LEC area	1999-2000		2000-01
LEC area	Starts	Completers or still in training	Starts	Completers or still in training
SE Ayrshire	938	63%	1,039	84%
SE Borders	83	83%	125	90%
SE Dumbarton	265	84%	305	100%
SE Dumfries	176	75%	332	85%
SE Edinburgh & Lothians	696	80%	1,073	91%
SE Fife	405	65%	437	94%
SE Forth Valley	465	71%	656	80%
SE Glasgow	1,730	55%	1,732	81%
SE Grampian	464	76%	586	86%
SE Lanarkshire	1,141	72%	1,295	86%
SE Renfrewshire	414	75%	459	89%
SE Tayside	357	70%	653	85%
Argyle & the Islands Enterprise	74	100%	61	87%
Caithness & Sutherland Enterprise	89	91%	65	92%
Inverness & Nairn Enterprise	75	81%	125	86%
Lochaber Limited	20	80%	47	79%
Moray, Badenoch & Strathspey Enterprise	40	70%	39	87%
Orkney Enterprise	30	90%	25	96%
Ross & Cromarty Enterprise	68	82%	65	91%
Shetland Enterprise	58	88%	51	96%
Skye & Lochalsh Enterprise	17	88%	12	83%
Western Isles Enterprise	35	89%	43	88%

Notes:Modern apprentices start at different times throughout the year and there is no common set point for individuals to complete their apprenticeships, so the information above shows the proportion of young people who started MAs in the last two years and have completed their training or are still in training.Those who leave the modern apprenticeship programme before final completion often go on to positive outcomes, e.g. FE, other training or employment.

Question reference: S1W-15683

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Angus MacKay on 22 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average cost was in 2000-01 of advertising an appointment to a non-departmental public body.

During the period in question, some 61 vacancies to non-departmental public bodies were advertised for a total cost of almost £242,000. The average cost of advertising an appointment amounted to £3,966. Under the terms of the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code, not all vacancies are required to be advertised.The Executive is currently looking at ways in which the overall costs of advertising public appointments can be reduced without compromising the principle that vacancies should be promoted as widely as possible. One example of where progress on this front has been made is the Executive's public appointments website which was launched at the end of last November. Details of all vacancies are placed on the site and to date over 8,000 hits have been recorded.

Question reference: S1W-15682

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 May 2001
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 22 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average cost was in 2000-01 of providing official support to ministers when giving evidence to a committee of the Parliament.