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-01239

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 14 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional cost would be involved in making the provision of school meals universally free in Scotland.

Question reference: S1W-01236

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-805 by Sarah Boyack on 23 August 1999, whether it will confirm that the concessionary travel scheme will cover disabled people as well as blind people.

Question reference: S1W-01244

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a list of (a) those Local Enterprise Companies whose Articles of Association preclude board members serving more than eight years and (b) board members of these Local Enterprise Companies who have served in excess of eight years.

Question reference: S1W-01207

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Frank McAveety on 13 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that East Ayrshire Council has successfully implemented the new financial management system for its DLO-related activities as recommended by the Audit Commission.

Question reference: S1W-01209

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 13 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current status is of plans for A71 by-passes in the Irvine valley.

Question reference: S1W-01031

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answers to questions S1W-303 and S1W-304 by Henry McLeish on 29 July 1999, whether the maximum percentage of employers who have signed a New Deal employer agreement in Scotland and have also recruited a New Deal employee is 29%, and if so what steps are being taken to encourage the other 71% to recruit.

Employment Policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the 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 to the New Deal in this way fall within the remit of the Scottish Executive.

Information on the number of employers who have taken on New Deal recruits is not available.There is a range of New Deal vacancies for suitable young people, to offer them a choice. At the same time, a number of measures are being tested. These include the intensification of the Gateway, in order to make New Deal clients more attractive to prospective employers.

Question reference: S1W-01035

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S1W-304 by Henry McLeish on 29 July 1999, how many employers have been involved in recruiting the 2,530 young people who have joined the New Deal employer option.

Question reference: S1W-01034

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S1W-302 by Henry McLeish on 29 July 1999, how many employers recruited the 5,570 people who obtained employment through the New Deal Gateway and how many of these employers had not signed a New Deal employer agreement prior to this recruitment.

Question reference: S1W-01033

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what are the performance and impact measurements in place to monitor the success of the New Deal for Young People and the other New Deal programmes.

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 Scottish organisations, as indicated in the answer to S1W-1031.

The performance of the New Deal for Young People is measured in each Unit of Delivery by 9 Core Performance Measures. These are as follows:-

The number of New Deal participants and the proportion of each cohort moving into

i) unsubsidised jobs, ii) subsidised jobs and iii) all jobs;

The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort moving from the Gateway and each of the options into unsubsidised jobs;

The unit costs of the outcomes covered in 1 and 2 above;

The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort remaining in jobs 13 weeks, 6, 12 or 18 months after leaving New Deal, as measured by the renewal or otherwise of claims for JSA and other benefits;

The numbers and proportions of participants who are disabled, from ethnic minority backgrounds and who are men and women achieving the outcomes in 1, 2 and 4 above;

The numbers of subsidised jobs made available by employers and the level of employer satisfaction;

The level of satisfaction among participating young people;

The number and level of qualifications achieved by New Deal participants; and

The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort leaving the New Deal for known destinations.

In addition to these measures a comprehensive programme of evaluation is underway. The other New Deal programmes are assessed in similar ways.

Question reference: S1W-01029

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive to provide details of the expenditure on external contracts for public relations and lobbying activities by each of the Non Departmental Public Bodies for which it is responsible for each of the past two years and their respective budgets for the current financial year.