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-07594

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 16 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider providing funding for the voluntary sector organisations which it supports and for its Executive agencies on a three-yearly rather than annual basis.

The Scottish Executive has a commitment to creating a more stable funding environment for the voluntary sector, including providing three-year funding packages where appropriate. The Scottish Compact sets out the principles underpinning the relationship between Government and the voluntary sector in Scotland. As part of its implementation, good practice guidance on funding has been consulted on and was published this week. The Scottish Executive and Executive agencies have a responsibility to ensure that they have plans to implement the Compact.

Question reference: S1W-07556

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown of the monies spent by the Scottish Enterprise Network on foreign travel in each of the last two years.

Question reference: S1W-07555

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown of monies spent by the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Network on foreign travel in each of the past two years.

Question reference: S1W-07392

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of funding it has provided in each of the last three years and the current financial year to the National Schools for the Deaf and Blind.

The information requested is given in the tables below.

Grant Aid Payments to Royal Blind School and Donaldsons College (£)

Revenue

	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Royal Blind	1,383,376	1,525,660	1,500,000	1,470,000
Donaldsons	886,566	918,530	1,056,208	1,189,136

Note: figures represent the actual grant offer.

Capital

	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Royal Blind	nil	9,000	29,896	n/k
Donaldsons	26,305	158,956	1,067,008	n/k

Final decision on capital awards for 00/01 pending response to Ministerial submission in respect of grant-aid.

Note: figures represent the actual amounts paid.

Question reference: S1W-06614

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 15 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4192 by Donald Dewar on 13 April 2000, whether it will provide a breakdown for the First Minister's office of its performance in relation to targets for replying to correspondence from MPs or MSPs for the period 1 November 1999 to 31 January 2000.

Between 1 November 1999 and 31 January 2000, the First Minister's Office replied to 64% of correspondence (36 letters) within the target of 17 days.

The volume and rate at which Ministers receive correspondence continues to increase. In the first nine months since devolution, the number of letters for ministerial reply increased by over 50% compared with the same pre-devolution period. Comparing the last quarter measured, January to end-March 2000 with the same period in 1999 shows an 82% increase.

Question reference: S1W-07400

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of people over 50 who are on the New Deal by local enterprise company area.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive. Many partner organisations at local level also provide New Deal services under contract or provide funds and other resources, including training funds to enhance the quality of New Deal in their areas. The public and voluntary sector organisations, which contribute in this way fall within the remit of the Scottish Executive.

The following table shows figures for current participation and cumulative starts for over 50 year olds on New Deal 25plus by Local Enterprise Company (LEC) area at end-March 2000.

LEC Area	Aged 50+ Current participation	Aged 50+ Cumulative starts
Ayrshire	262	909
Borders	39	92
Dunbartonshire	157	470
Dumfries & Galloway	148	377
Fife	123	475
Forth Valley	31	83
Glasgow	485	1,259
Grampian	69	260
Lanarkshire	208	727
Lothian & Edinburgh	234	726
Renfrewshire	174	557
Tayside	220	753
Argyll & Bute	64	188
Caithness & Sutherland	66	176
Inverness & Nairn	38	116
Lochaber	12	30
Moray & Badenoch	34	122
Orkney	20	58
Ross & Cromarty	29	96
Shetland	5	29
Skye & Lochalsh	14	35
Western Isles	9	27
Totals	2,506	7,667

The New Deal 50 plus was introduced on 5April 2000 to provide further help for people aged over 50 in their search for work.

Detailed management information is not yet available for New Deal 50plus.

Question reference: S1W-07417

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated value is of the outstanding repair and maintenance requirements of secondary schools in Hamilton North and Bellshill.

Question reference: S1W-07405

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for tackling unemployment in Kilmarnock and Loudoun.

Question reference: S1W-07401

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Frank McAveety on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority area of the number of households receiving assistance through the Warm Deal programme including details of the level of grants awarded.

A total of 38,604 households benefited from the Warm Deal in the year ending 31 March 2000, the most recent period for which figures are available. Local authorities improved 22,554 of their own houses. The number improved by each authority is set out below. Resources go to authorities as landlords: the tenants do not receive grant. 16,050 households received a Warm Deal grant from Eaga, whose expenditure is not recorded by local authority area. The average grant was £315.

Warm Deal as Administered by Local Authorities: Number of Households Benefiting: 1 April 1999 - 31 March 2000
Council	Number of households	Council	Number of households
Aberdeen	672	Inverclyde	1,511
Aberdeenshire	925	Midlothian	322
Angus	580	Moray	484
Argyll and Bute	433	North Ayrshire	1,268
Clackmannanshire	636	North Lanarkshire	832
Dumfries & Galloway	398	Orkney	78
Dundee City	496	Perth & Kinross	-
East Ayrshire	887	Renfrewshire	586
East Dunbarton	421	Scottish Borders	414
East Lothian	343	Shetland	74
East Renfrewshire	274	South Ayrshire	857
Edinburgh	800	South Lanarkshire	1,209
Falkirk	694	Stirling	291
Fife	2787	West Dunbartonshire	1011
Glasgow City	2809	West Lothian	124
Highland	255	Western Isles	83
		Total	22,554

Perth and Kinross Council is not participating in the local authority part of the Warm Deal.

Question reference: S1W-07402

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an estimate, by local authority area, of the shortage of high support and medium support housing units required to meet the needs of people with severe learning difficulties; what is the actual and projected spend on such units by local authority for the current year and each of the next two years, and whether it has a different policy for supporting those who are coming out of residential care into the community and those who are coming from a family care environment as to their eligibility for such units.

Information on the shortage of high support and medium support housing units by local authority area to meet the needs of people with severe learning disabilities is not held or collected centrally.

Levels of actual and estimated spend on such units owned by local authorities are a matter for local authorities themselves to determine in the light of local estimates of need.

It is also for local authorities to determine how such units are allocated.