- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 17 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the Deloitte & Touche Scottish Chambers Business Survey report that the construction industry in the first quarter of 2000 operated at 85.7% capacity and 60% of employers had difficulties recruiting staff, particularly skilled manual workers, and what action it is taking to address this situation.
Answer
The Executive is aware of the report. There are some longstanding recruitment difficulties within the construction industry which will clearly take time to rectify. Young people are able to train in the construction industry through the Scottish Executive's youth training programme, Skillseekers, which includes Modern Apprenticeships. Most Skillseekers are employed while training and Local Enterprise Companies make a contribution to the cost of training.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 15 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many full time equivalent posts were lost in Argyll and Bute, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire Councils from 1996-97 to 1999-2000 inclusive.
Answer
The table below shows the change in the full-time number of staff reported by each council.
Council | Change December 1996 to September 1999 |
Argyll & Bute | +55 (+1.45%) |
Glasgow City | -2,327 (-7.0%) |
Inverclyde | -79 (-2.0%) |
North Lanarkshire | -267 (-2.0%) |
South Lanarkshire | -120 (-1.0%) |
West Dunbartonshire | -32 (-0.7%) |
Source: Drawn from local authority staffing surveys compiled jointly by the Scottish Executive and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
Notes:
1. Figures for full time equivalent staff exclude staff in fire services, police services, Bridge Joint Boards and Valuation Joint Boards.
2. The data for 1996 is taken from December as earlier figures for that year are considered less reliable due to classification problems encountered by some local authorities in the period immediately following local government reorganisation.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 12 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage fostering.
Answer
We are committed to ensuring that every child who might benefit from fostering has equal access to it, no matter where they are in Scotland. A range of initiatives is in place or planned to help achieve this goal.
This includes £4.7 million additional funding for community placements through the Children's Services Development Fund; improving national standards in foster care; work on a Scottish Code of Practice for local authorities on recruitment, selection and assessment of foster carers; reviewing the regulation of payment of foster carers and commissioning advice on salaried payments for foster carers. We are also funding a research evaluation of the National Children's Homes Action for Children project on Community Alternative Placement Schemes which provide foster placements for young people aged 12-16 years who are at imminent or long-term risk of entry to secure accommodation. The final report should be available by the end of this year and will provide an opportunity to share good practice with local authorities, many of whom are developing their own specialist fostering services.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 12 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many adoptions were carried out in each of the last three years for which figures are available; (b) how many couples are currently on the waiting list to adopt; (c) what is the average age of children when adopted; (d) what is the average age of parents who adopt and (e) what plans it has to improve and standardise adoption procedures.
Answer
The total number of adoption applications granted for the last three years and the average age of children is as follows:
Calendar Year | Total no of applications which were granted (a) | Average age of child when application granted (b) |
1997 | 369 | 7 years 5 months |
1998 | 400 | 7 years 6 months |
1999 | 388 | 7 years 2 months1 |
Sources:
a). Scottish Executive Courts Group CJ&ID.
b). Scottish Executive, Education Statistics Division (A2 statistical return completed by Sheriff Courts).
Notes:
1. Figures for 1999 are as yet unpublished and should therefore be regarded as provisional.
Information on the number of couples currently on the waiting list to adopt and on the average age of adoptive parents is not held centrally.
We aim to improve and standardise adoption procedure through the establishment of a Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. The Commission will be responsible for regulating all care services, including local authority adoption services, which are not currently open to independent scrutiny. Voluntary adoption agencies are currently approved by Scottish Ministers but will be regulated by the Commission in the future.
We will also be watching closely the adoption review currently being undertaken in England and Wales for any lessons which may be learned.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 12 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what stimulus it will provide to the construction industry in Glasgow to encourage the training of new skilled apprentices.
Answer
I am pleased to say that there is a strong history of apprenticeships in the construction industry in Glasgow and there are currently 985 Modern Apprentices training in construction-related trades in Glasgow. I can assure you that the Scottish Executive is committed to promoting training at craft, technician and junior management level through the Modern Apprenticeship programme and, as you are aware, in Programme for Government we set a target of 20,000 Modern Apprenticeships by 2003.
Modern Apprenticeships are delivered through the wider Skillseekers programme by the Enterprise Network. Scottish Enterprise Glasgow is responsible for assessing the skills requirements of the local economy and providing a contribution to funding of Modern Apprentices, including those in construction.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 10 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why Glasgow City Council has received the thirtieth worst of the 32 external finance settlements over the years 1996-97 to 2000-01 inclusive and what impact this has had on the Glasgow economy.
Answer
In each year since 1996-97, the City of Glasgow Council has received the highest aggregate external finance allocation per person of any mainland council in Scotland, reflecting the needs of its population and its role as an urban centre.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 10 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the aggregate external finance was for Argyll and Bute, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire Councils in 1996-97 and what it will be in 2000-01 in real terms.
Answer
The aggregate external finance allocations for each of these years are shown in real terms in the following table. These are not directly comparable due to agreed transfers to programmes outwith the main local government finance settlement, with variable effects for individual councils.
Council | AEF 1996-97 | AEF 2000-01* |
| | £ million | £ million |
Argyll & Bute | 99.679 | 113.524 |
Inverclyde | 101.850 | 101.017 |
North Lanarkshire | 334.008 | 345.867 |
South Lanarkshire | 302.247 | 313.719 |
West Dunbartonshire | 114.890 | 112.855 |
*Excludes allocations from £42 million undistributed Excellence Fund.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 10 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why aggregate external finance for Glasgow in 2000-01 will be #830,045,000 compared to #830,547,000 in 1996-97 and what percentage reduction this represents in real terms.
Answer
The aggregate external finance allocations to individual councils are calculated on a formula basis agreed following consultation with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
The figures quoted are not directly comparable due to agreed transfers to programmes outwith the main local government finance settlement (e.g. £106 million for rail services transferred to the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority from 1997-98).
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 9 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking in partnership with Her Majesty's Government and Scottish manufacturing to deal with the skills shortages in manufacturing and alleviate the recruitment difficulties currently being experienced by 57.4% of Scottish manufacturers.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has recognised that manufacturing plays a vital role in the Scottish economy with the recent publication of the report
Created in Scotland - The Way Forward for Scottish Manufacturing in the 21st Century. The report describes how the Executive, in partnership with the UK Government, is committed to providing public support for Scottish companies to enhance skills and training, and to encourage the use of new technology to help manufacturers improve their competitiveness. It is also committed to improving the image of manufacturing to encourage more young people to consider a career in this sector.
Education, training and skills development represent the top priority of The Scottish Executive and considerable efforts are being made, in partnership with National Training Organisations and other employer representatives, to ensure that education and training provision is relevant to the current and projected needs of employers.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 9 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why the total private finance generated by Scottish Homes fell from #218 million in 1995-96 to #158.345 million in 1998-99.
Answer
The 1995-96 figure is £208 million not £218 million as stated. The amount of private finance which can be generated by Scottish Homes' Development Programme in any year depends on the overall size of the programme and the nature of the projects funded in that year. The table below gives information on the overall size of the Development Programme and the amount of private finance generated in each year from 1995-96 to 1999-2000.
| | Scottish Homes' Development programme (£ million) | Private finance generated (£ million) | Private finance as a percentage of Development Programme |
1995-96 | 324.9 | 208.000 | 64.0% |
1996-97 | 304.0 | 191.340 | 62.9% |
1997-98 | 210.3 | 137.435 | 65.4% |
1998-99 | 199.7 | 158.345 | 79.3% |
1999-2000 (estimate) | 209.6 | 170.0 | 81.1% |
