- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 8 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Permanent Secretary was informed by the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism of his personal shareholdings.
Answer
I refer the memberto answer to question S3W-5740 on 8 November 2007. Allanswers 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/wa.search.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28470 by Nicol Stephen on 28 November 2006, whether it still believes that the SNP proposals on student funding would cost £1.7 billion to implement and, if not, how much it now believes they will cost and whether it will publish the costings on which the then Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning based his statement on 14 September 2006 that these proposals would cost £1.7 billion (Official Report, c. 27508).
Answer
It would not be appropriateto publish costings produced under the previous administration. These proposalswere not Scottish Executive policy at the time and the intentions of the then SNPopposition were not fully understood.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28470 by Nicol Stephen on 28 November 2006, whether it stands by its statement that there are “estimated costs of around £150 million to replace loans with grants and around £1.6 billion to write off anticipated student loan liabilities” and, if not, what its reasons are for believing that these estimates are inaccurate and whether it will publish revised costings.
Answer
It would not be appropriateto publish costings produced under the previous administration. These proposalswere not Scottish Executive policy at the time and the intentions of the then SNPopposition were not fully understood.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 2 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the film, An Inconvenient Truth, and supporting materials were assessed against any safeguards that exist to prevent the exposure of children to (a) political bias and (b) scientific inaccuracy or misrepresentation in the classroom before they were sent to schools.
Answer
The responsibilityfor the management and delivery of the curriculum is a matter for education authoritiesand head teachers, or in the case of independent schools, the boards of governorsand head teachers. It is, therefore, for each individual school to decide whetherand if so how, to use the teaching resource developed by Learning and Teaching Scotlandto support pupils’ study of climate change which includes this film.
The prime intentionof the Climate Change Educational Resource, developed by Learning and Teaching Scotlandin conjunction with the Sustainable Development Education Liaison Group, is to encouragediscussion and debate for senior pupils (S5 to S6) on the local and internationalissues surrounding climate change, to raise awareness and stimulate debate.
It should be notedthat all registered teachers in Scotland are subjectto the terms of the revised Standard for Full Registration, published by the GeneralTeaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) in September 2007, which puts in place a frameworkof reflective professional judgement and values combined with compliance with localauthority guidelines and policies. In serious individual instances of deliberatepolitical bias, or exposure of pupils to scientific inaccuracy or misrepresentation,matters could be addressed through existing disciplinary procedures at employerand/or regulatory level.
GTCS will be undertakinga full consultation on a new and wide-ranging Code of Professionalism and Conduct to be introduced in 2008.This will set out the key principles and professional standards for registered teachersin Scotland, embodies the need to comply with the Standardfor Full Registration and any future guidance issued by the GTC Scotland.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-980 and S3W-2155 by Fiona Hyslop on 3 July and 6 August 2007 respectively, why the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning stated on 13 June 2007 “Believe it or not, for the first time since the reformation, there has been a drop in the share of the population studying in higher education in Scotland” (Official Report c. 629), when her source, Prof R D Anderson: Scottish Education since the Reformation, Studies in Scottish Economic and Social History No. 5, Edinburgh 1997, indicates in table 6, page 46 a fall in the population share studying higher education in Scotland between 1800 and 1861 and between 1881 and 1911.
Answer
I admire themember’s dedication and erudition in identifying two exceptions to the broadand unarguable historic trend which I identified previously and am happy to beguided, in terms of detail, by his further research. But the issue of concernto Scottish people in the present century is the capacity to have access tohigher education without encountering financial or other barriers. The positionof the Scottish Government is that it is committed to removing those barriers.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 27 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides for CCTV schemes in town centres to help deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
Answer
£4million Executive funding is available this year to local authority-ledCommunity Safety Partnerships to assist them in identifying and addressinglocal community safety priorities, including CCTV. Other funding streams, suchas quality of life funding, can also be used to fund local CCTV systems.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 25 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on granting funding to voluntary organisations who require that (a) recruits and (b) volunteers be of a particular faith.
Answer
We support voluntaryorganisations to run and develop projects and services which fit our strategic objectives.We do not fund projects which promote one faith nor projects where potential recruits or volunteers are excludedfrom opportunities on the basis of their faith or belief.
In such cases it wouldbe the specific project which would be ineligible for funding – not the organisation.The organisation might still be eligible for funding for other projects which meetthe relevant criteria and where the posts or volunteer placements are open to all.Each application is considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 25 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what rules it applies to (a) local authorities and (b) other public bodies with regard to granting funding to voluntary organisations which require that (i) recruits and (ii) volunteers be of a particular faith and whether it has any plans to revise such rules.
Answer
We apply no rulesto other organisations about recruitment and funding of volunteers in faith situations.
Funding decisions are matters within the discretion oflocal authorities but, like other bodies, they are required to comply with currentequality legislation in offering funding. Our Equality Unit is drafting guidelinesto provide greater clarity to local authorities.
Funding of voluntaryorganisations by non-departmental public bodies is a matter for each body to considerwithin their statutory powers. Such arrangements must comply with current equalitylegislation and be subject to the requirements of their financial framework documentsand the Scottish Public Finance Manual.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 19 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the policy of Project Scotland is on funding placements with religious and faith-based organisations.
Answer
Project Scotland is a company limited by guarantee and registered asa charity whose aims and objectives are to promote the welfare and relieve theneeds of the population in Scotland by encouraging and assisting young peopleto provide their skills and services voluntarily to charitable organisations.
Project Scotland does not fund placements but supports the volunteerdirectly through a package of support which includes expenses, subsistenceallowance and mentoring. Project Scotland’s policywill allow it to support volunteers in placements with faith-based charitiesprovided that the placement is open to all, regardless of faith or belief, thatthe volunteer’s own faith or belief is not compromised and that the placementdoes not require the volunteer to participate in any form of religious promotionor religious activities. Full information about the work of Project Scotland isavailable from its chief executive at 49 Melville Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7HL.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 13 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to reduce class sizes in Primary 1 to 3.
Answer
We will beworking with Education Authorities and Universities delivering initial teachertraining to ensure we can drive down class sizes in a managed and staged waywhich maintains teacher quality, recognises classroom pressures and continuityof class configurations, which will deliver practical progress to classes of 18in P1 to P3.
These factors,together with the Spending Review, will drive the timeframe for delivery, bymaking year-on-year progress towards our target.
This approach hasbeen recognised by teaching professionals as the best way to delivering ourpolicy of class sizes of 18 in P1 to P3 across Scotland.
