- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to reintroduce individual learning accounts for learners.
Answer
I am pleased to confirm that the new individual learning account (ILA) scheme, ILA Scotland, will be launched to learners in Scotland on Monday 13 December. I will provide full information on the new scheme at that time.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 1 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement on the Review of the Curriculum, Assessment and Testing and other matters arising from the National Debate on Education.
Answer
Today, the Scottish Executive is publishing Ambitious, Excellent Schools which sets out our agenda for the most comprehensive modernisation programme of our schools for a generation. This agenda involves: higher expectations for schools and school leadership; greater freedom for teachers and schools, more choice for pupils and better support for learning so the individual needs of young people can be better met, and tough, intelligent accountabilities to drive improvement. We are also publishing our detailed plans for two important planks of our agenda: A Curriculum for Excellence which sets out, for the first time, a three to 18 curriculum focused on achieving clearly defined, rounded outcomes for young people; and Assessment, Testing and Reporting 3-14 which will introduce a new, more rigorous national survey of achievement to replace the old national five to 14 test results and help us assess the achievements of pupils better. Copies of the publications have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Ambitious, Excellent Schools, Bib. number 34227; A Curriculum for Excellence, Bib. number - 34228; and Assessment, Testing and Reporting 3-14, Bib. number - 34229).
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the results of its Phase One consultation exercise on the review of the Childrens Hearings system.
Answer
The independent analysis report on the responses to the Phase One consultation exercise is being published today. The full report and a summary version are both being made available online on the Children’s Hearings website,
www.childrens-hearings.co.uk.
A copy of the summary report is also being sent to each of the 732 organisations and individuals who responded to the consultation exercise.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 30 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will involve communities in the licensing process.
Answer
Our proposal for a modern licensing system recognises the need for communities to have a voice.
We will do this by widening the range of people who can object to individual licences; by ensuring boards must consult local communities in developing their policies on over provision, and by introducing local forums to improve dialogue between licensing boards and local communities.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to improve disabled access at railway stations.
Answer
The Executive is working closely with the Strategic Rail Authority, who isprincipally responsible for disabled access, to provide a more accessibletransport network.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 20 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what its performance in answering ministerial correspondence was in the first quarter of 2004.
Answer
In the answer given to questionS1W-24583 on 28 March 2002, I undertook to continue to report quarterly on the numbersof letters received by ministers and our performance in answering them. This isthe fourth quarter in which I am reporting performance on letters only and not invitations.
In the quarter January to March2004, 3,368 letters were received for Ministerial reply of which 74% received areply within 17 working days, and 91% received a reply within 25 working days. Inthe same period ministers received 710 invitations.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 20 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the further development of the Dyslexia Friendly Schools Award.
Answer
I recently visited Dyslexia Scotwestwho developed the Dyslexia Friendly Schools Award. I was impressed by what I sawand learned and I am considering what I can do to encourage the approach being appliedmore widely.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 19 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the Dyslexia Friendly Schools Award, as piloted in East Renfrewshire, and whether it will support the roll-out of this system of parent-led school accreditation across Scotland.
Answer
I recently visited Dyslexia Scotwestwho developed the Dyslexia Friendly Schools Award. I was impressed by what I sawand learned and I am considering what I can do to encourage the approach being appliedmore widely.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 19 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to raise awareness of dyslexia among students undergoing initial teacher training.
Answer
The Executive publication
TheStandard for Initial Teacher Education in Scotland details the broad rangeof skills and attributes that programmes of initial teacher education aredesigned to enable student teachers to acquire. These include the expectationthat by the end of the programme, students will demonstrate the ability toidentify and respond appropriately to pupils with difficulties in, or barriersto, learning (including but not limited to dyslexia) and recognise when to seekfurther advice in relation to their special educational needs. These abilitiesare then further developed, as required, during the induction period andthereafter through continuing professional development (CPD) and/or optionmodules on Chartered Teacher Programmes. The national register of providers ofCPD, which can be viewed at
http://www.gtcs.org.uk/gtcs/nat_reg_prog_search.aspx,indicates that a range of providers offer relevant programmes.
- Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 14 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what rights people who live in retirement housing complexes and who own a majority share in the equity of their property have to exercise control over the management of their property.
Answer
Where the occupier of a propertyis not the owner, but instead has a share in the equity, their rights in relationto management should be set out in the contract which set up the equity arrangement.