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: S2W-24545

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 20 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how the proposed candidate number database system will conform with the requirements for data subject access under the Data Protection Act 1998, particularly as the data subjects are not supposed to know their Scottish candidate numbers.

Question reference: S2W-24547

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 20 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive who will be able to read the information on the candidate number database; who will have access to update it; what measures will be taken to prevent authorised or unauthorised access by individuals who might specifically wish to identify vulnerable young people, and whether there will be cross-matching of individuals who have, or could have, access to the data with information in other databases, such as the sex offenders’ list.

Existing arrangements forschools management and information system (MIS) in respect of security willapply as will Scottish QualificationsAuthority (SQA) arrangements in respectof secondary school pupils presented for examinations.

Access to data in a schoolsMIS for school staff is password controlled and on a need to know basis, ofwhich the headteacher has oversight and responsibility.

The SQA is a notified datacontroller under the terms of the Data Protection Act (No Z5781759). All SQAstaff are briefed on the requirements of this Act, irrespective of their accessto the data. SQA centres are allowed limited access to the data pertaining totheir candidates, this access conforms to the Data Protection Act.

The Scottish ExecutiveEducation Department fully complies with the terms of the Data Protection Act(No. Z4857137).

Question reference: S2W-24466

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 4 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24032 by Robert Brown on 17 March 2006, by which local authorities the three members of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland are employed and to which local authorities the four independent consultants who are members of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland are contracted.

Further to the questionS2W-24032 answered on 17 March 2006, two members of the Additional Support NeedsTribunals for Scotland are employed by the City of Edinburgh Council and the third member has since retired.

We do not hold informationon the current employment of the four independent consultants. Their employmentcontracts are a matter for them and their employers including localauthorities, where appropriate.

All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be foundat:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S2W-24034

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 21 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23153 by Robert Brown on 3 March 2006, how many applications were received for each post of membership and convenership of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals and, of those applicants, how many (a) were currently, or had been, employed by or contracted to a local authority, (b) were currently, or had been, employed by or contracted to an NHS board, (c) were parent representatives or (d) were active in other capacities.

One hundred and sixty-eight applications were received for the posts of member of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals, and 80 applicationsfor the posts of convener. A breakdown of the information requested on employment is provided in the following table and hasbeen obtained from the employment history section of the application form submittedby applicants in July 2005. The form did not ask specifically about their role asa parent representative and therefore figures on this part of the question cannotbe provided.

Employment History of Membersand Conveners Additional Support Needs Tribunals – as at July 2005

	Currently Employed or Contracted by a Local Authority	Previously Employed or Contracted by a Local Authority	Currently Employed or Contracted by an NHS Board	Previously Employed or Contracted by an NHS Board	Others -not Employed by a Local Authority or NHS Board	Total
Members	58	73	4	12	32	179*
Conveners	14	19	0	0	47	80
Total	72	92	4	12	79	259

Note: *These figures include11 applicants recording employment in both local authority and NHS boards.

Question reference: S2W-23982

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23104 by Malcolm Chisholm on 6 March 2006, whether it expects the trend of rising home ownership to continue for the next 10 years and what its assessment is in figures of the likely growth over the next 20 years.

Question reference: S2W-24033

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 17 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23153 by Robert Brown on 3 March 2006, what safeguards exist to ensure that the 73% of members of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals who are currently, or have been, employed by or contracted to a local authority in some capacity will not participate in any reference made by a parent against a local authority by which that member was, or is currently, employed or contracted.

The President has taken stepsto ensure that decisions taken by the Additional Support Needs Tribunals will conformto the rules of natural justice and fair hearing in respect of the allegiances ofmembers. For example, induction training for members included guidance on the circumstancesin which they should decline to sit on particular cases. The obligation is on themember to disclose any potential conflict.

The guidance given by the President,is that it is not appropriate for members to participate in any reference made bya parent against a local authority by which that member is currently employed orcontracted. Where that member was previously employed or contracted to the localauthority, guidance should be sought from the President, who will consider the factsand circumstances of each case, before deciding if it is appropriate for a memberto sit on a tribunal.

The governing principle, whichis in each member’s terms and conditions, is that a member should not take on anyreference or sit at a Tribunal in any circumstances, which would lead an objectiveonlooker with knowledge of all the material facts reasonably to suspect that theperson might be biased.

Question reference: S2W-24031

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 17 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23151 by Robert Brown on 3 March 2006, why the President of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals was required to publish her biographical details, qualifications and registered interests, while the conveners and members of the tribunals are not required to publish such information.

Question reference: S2W-24032

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 17 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23153 by Robert Brown on 3 March 2006, in what capacity the 73% of members of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals were, or are currently, employed by or contracted to a local authority.

The 73% (11 out of 15) of membersof the Additional Support Needs Tribunals were, or are currently, employed by orcontracted to a local authority in the following capacities.

Three are currently employedby local authorities, two as educational psychologists and one as a manager of children’sservices.

Four are independent consultants,working with local authorities and others. They have local authority managementand-or teaching backgrounds.

The remaining four members havepreviously been employed in local authority management (two) and teaching (two).

Question reference: S2W-23729

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 10 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23103 by George Lyon on 28 February 2006, whether it will publish this information in a graph and whether it will publish a comparable graph showing equivalent figures in England and Wales.

GROS do not planto publish information on change in life expectancy since 1979. Suchinformation is available from the Government Actuary's Department (GAD). The GAD’swebsite gives data on life expectancy for the UK andits constituent countries, and provides graphs of time series from 1981. Theinformation can be found at: http://www.gad.gov.uk/Population/index.asp?v=Principal&y=2004&subYear=Continue.

Question reference: S2W-23305

Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 6 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can confirm the approximate date for the introduction of a Private Bill to re-establish an Airdrie to Bathgate rail link and what the anticipated time schedule will be for (a) such a Bill and (b) completion of the project.