- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what proof of ownership will be required to exempt third party goods from poinding during actions for the recovery of commercial debt.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29971 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 does not prescribe what will be acceptable as proof that articles belong to third parties. All that is required is that the sheriff officer is satisfied with the corroboration. If the proof of ownership is not available at the time, the 1987 act provides for the articles to be released on the sheriff officer being later satisfied. If the proof of ownership does not satisfy the sheriff officer, either at the time or later, then there is provision for an application to the sheriff.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements it is making to ensure that goods in the ownership of third parties are not poinded during actions for recovery of commercial debt.
Answer
The Executive is not making new arrangements in relation to existing safeguards for third party articles in actions for recovery of commercial debt. In this respect, the procedure proposed in the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Bill is essentially the same as that set out in the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987. The procedure for recovery of domestic debt, however, is radically different from that in the 1987 act.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of Education Action Plan funding; whether it will give any examples of how such funding is used; which local authorities have received such funding in each year since the funding was introduced, and what level of funding was received in each case.
Answer
The Education Action Plan programme came to an end on 31 March 2002. The purpose of the funding was to provide additional time-limited support to help education authorities to raise standards in schools facing major challenge.A total of £14.1 million was made available over the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2002. Following a bidding process, funding over the three-year period was offered to 16 authorities. East Ayrshire, Falkirk, Renfrewshire and South Ayrshire Councils each received £100,000 per year; Aberdeenshire, East Lothian, Fife, Inverclyde, Perth and Kinross and West Lothian Councils each received £200,000 per year; North Lanarkshire Council received £300,000 per year; Aberdeen City, Dundee City, City of Edinburgh and West Dunbartonshire Councils each received £500,000 per year, and Glasgow City Council received £800,000 per year.The funding has been used in a variety of ways. These include providing behaviour support bases and pupil support teams; developing alternative curriculum provision; enhancing early intervention programmes; improving in-service training in relation to discipline; extending use of information and communication technology, and establishing partnerships with parents.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have taken early retirement in each year since 1995.
Answer
The table shows how many teachers have retired early from the Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Scheme.
| Year | Premature(under 60) | Ill-health |
| 1995-96 | 1,071 | 467 |
| 1996-97 | 1,277 | 424 |
| 1997-98 | 2,183 | 435 |
| 1998-99 | 464 | 367 |
| 1999-2000 | 423 | 367 |
| 2000-01 | 300 | 323 |
| 2001-02 | 178 | 267 |
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it currently provides for the promotion and development of women's sport.
Answer
The national strategy for sport, Sport 21, has a target to increase the participation of women in sport.Sportscotland are represented on the UK Co-ordinating Group for Women in Sport. This group has the aim of forming a collective strategy for changing sporting culture in the UK for women and girls. Research will be done to gather statistical evidence which will help Scotland (and other UK countries) identify what needs to be done.Sportscotland are currently supporting the following projects with specific women in sport targets: Jogscotland; the Scottish Football Association's women and girls football, and the Talented Athletes Programme (since June 2001, 45% of funding has gone to female athletes).
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many indoor tennis facilities are managed by each local authority and what the average hourly cost is of hiring such facilities.
Answer
The City of Aberdeen Council has four indoor courts, the City of Edinburgh Council has six indoor courts, Glasgow City Council has eight indoor courts at Scotstoun Leisure Centre and four indoor courts at Gorbals Leisure Centre, and East Dunbartonshire Council has two indoor courts.The hourly standard charges for each are set out in the table.
| £ |
| Aberdeen Indoor Tennis Centre (City of Aberdeen) |
| Adult Peak Winter | 16.75 |
| Adult Off Peak Winter | 13.40 |
| Adult Walk On Winter | 8.65 |
| Adult Peak Summer | 13.65 |
| Adult Off Peak Summer | 10.70 |
| Adult Walk On Summer | 8.65 |
| Junior Peak Winter | 9.40 |
| Junior Off Peak Winter | 6.95 |
| Junior Walk On Winter | 5.85 |
| Junior Peak Summer | 7.45 |
| Junior Off Peak Summer | 5.35 |
| Junior Walk On Summer | 4.35 |
| Family Peak Winter | 13.30 |
| Family Off Peak Winter | 10.20 |
| Family Walk On Winter | 7.25 |
| Family Peak Summer | 10.60 |
| Family Off Peak Summer | 7.85 |
| Family Walk On Summer | 6.50 |
| Craiglockhart Sports and Tennis Centre (City of Edinburgh) |
| Adult Member Peak | 14.00 |
| Junior Member Peak | 9.00 |
| Non-Member Peak | 16.00 |
| Adult Member Off Peak | 9.00 |
| Junior Member Off Peak | 9.00 |
| Non-Member Off Peak | 13.60 |
| Scotstoun Leisure Centre (City of Glasgow) |
| Adult Advance Booking | 11.25 |
| Concession Advance Booking | 7.55 |
| Adult Walk-On Rate | 5.85 |
| Concession Walk-On Rate | 4.05 |
| Gorbals Leisure Centre (City of Glasgow) |
| Adult Winter Rate | 12.50 |
| Concession Winter Rate | 7.55 |
| Adult Summer Rate | 11.00 |
| Concession Summer Rate | 6.50 |
| Allander Sports Complex (East Dunbartonshire) |
| Adults | 7.75 |
| Concessions | 5.00 |
The City of Aberdeen Council also has discounted rates for holders of its Access To Leisure card.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to target 3 in the tourism, culture and sport section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys, whether it will define "under-represented groups" and how many people from such groups are currently estimated to be participating in cultural and sporting activity.
Answer
Technical Notes setting out the detail for each target in Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys will be available shortly. The Technical Notes will include information on definitions, who will gather the data, how the data will be gathered, the time period covered, trends, baseline data, and milestones.Under Target 3 for Tourism, Culture and Sport, the definition of under-represented groups includes: children (under 16 years old), young people (16 to 24 years old), disabled people, people from minority ethnic communities, women, older people (over 65), people living in rural areas, socially excluded people. Different under-represented groups are target priorities for different cultural organisations.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 4 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will inquire into the appointment by the Scottish Arts Council of John McTernan as a consultant; whether a public tendering process was used for this post and, if so, what process was involved and, if not, what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
This is a matter for the Scottish Arts Council. Recruitment practice is a matter for public bodies themselves although they are required to comply with employment legislation and the framework of guidance that is made available to them.In this case, Mr McTernan has been appointed in line with Scottish Arts Council's established practice for appointing on a temporary basis to fill short-term skills gaps. Scottish Arts Council policy is that posts for periods of six months or less are not tendered for or advertised because it could be several months before anyone was available to take up the post.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that, where action is taken by local authorities in respect of allegations against teachers of violence against pupils, no action for defamation may be brought by the teacher except against the authority.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is aware of the need for pupils to be able to raise matters of concern. This must be balanced with the need to protect individual teachers against malicious allegations. This balance would not be served if local authorities were inhibited from investigating or acting on allegations due to the fear of being sued for defamation. The concept of qualified privilege operates when there is a duty on a person to speak openly. Qualified privilege means that a defamation action can only be successful if a court finds that the allegation was false and was made with malicious intent. We consider that this generally provides sufficient protection for pupils making allegations in good faith.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the recent case at Dumfries Sheriff Court that resulted in damages for defamation being awarded to a teacher accused of violence towards two pupils.
Answer
Defamation actions are a matter for the courts, and an appeal has now been marked by both former pupils. It would be inappropriate for the Executive to comment on a individual case.
