Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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: S1W-09970

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8687 by Mr Jack McConnell on 21 August 2000, why the #200,000 from last year's environment budget has been allocated to research and publicity; what research and publicity is to be carried out as a result of this additional funding, specifying the estimated cost and purpose of each project, and whether it considered directing this money towards providing relief from water charges for people on low incomes.

The Executive conducts research to support its policy development because effective environment policy needs to be founded on sound science. The additional monies have been allocated this financial year to support research into health effects around landfill sites (about £20,000) and public perceptions of the way in which air quality information is conveyed (about £10,000). In addition £50,000 has been allocated to REMADE, a market development programme to demonstrate uses for recycled materials.

The Executive also recognises that raising public awareness of environmental issues, and of what we as individuals can do to help the environment, has an important role to play in influencing people to act in an environmentally sustainable way. That is why additional funding has been specifically allocated this financial year to help support the work of the Scottish Waste Awareness Group (£15,000); specific campaigns on business and biodiversity (£10,000) and wildlife crime (£10,000); the provision of information on genetically modified organisms (£10,000); training for implementing the new system for dealing with contaminated land (£5,000); and raising awareness of the Water Framework Directive (about £20,000). The remaining £50,000 will be used to fund publications and ad-hoc publicity initiatives.

The Executive is currently considering whether it can improve on the assistance provided to many low income households through the link between water and sewerage charges and council tax bands. We plan to publish a consultation paper on this shortly.

Question reference: S1W-10158

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitment given in the letter of 14 April 2000 by Sarah Boyack to provide a fuller reply to my letter of 19 November 1999 regarding the Scottish Transport Group pension scheme and the handling of surplus funds, when I will get this reply and how the Executive will ensure that this issue is resolved quickly to ensure that people, especially the elderly and the infirm, are able to claim their entitlements.

Question reference: S1W-09119

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 August 2000
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 20 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7079 by Peter Peacock on 24 July 2000, whether the information given on total expenditure per pupil by each local authority can be broken down into net current expenditure per pupil in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools, in 1998-99.

The information requested is shown in the table below. Authorities provide for special educational needs in different ways and there is likely to be some variation between authorities in how they record numbers of pupils and expenditure in the returns made to the Scottish Executive. The significant variations in the figures in the column for the special sector should be viewed in that light.

Net current expenditure on local authority primary, secondary and special schools1998-1999 (at outturn prices)
	Primary Expenditure Per Pupil (£)	Secondary Expenditure Per Pupil (£)	Special Expenditure Per Pupil (£)
Aberdeen City	1,950	3,235	11,012
Aberdeenshire	1,981	2,997	13,190
Angus	2,024	3,065	54,311
Argyll & Bute	2,232	3,236	14,700
Clackmannanshire	1,914	3,170	18,595
Dumfries & Galloway	1,874	3,038	44,720
Dundee City	1,955	3,213	24,436
East Ayrshire	1,726	2,738	17,073
East Dunbartonshire	1,772	2,905	13,843
East Lothian	1,962	2,931	12,110
East Renfrewshire	1,770	2,881	19,076
Edinburgh, City of	1,993	3,278	12,369
Eilean Siar	3,408	4,804	41,028
Falkirk	1,862	2,986	14,087
Fife	1,943	2,932	23,228
Glasgow City	2,100	3,365	11,865
Highland	2,104	3,181	34,242
Inverclyde	1,987	3,177	15,235
Midlothian	2,058	3,157	16,678
Moray	1,888	3,195	23,690
North Ayrshire	2,003	3,132	13,376
North Lanarkshire	2,023	3,059	12,567
Orkney Islands	2,839	4,245	41,810
Perth & Kinross	1,951	2,896	20,000
Renfrewshire	1,890	3,027	11,282
Scottish Borders	1,843	3,000	41,989
Shetland Islands	2,881	6,167	41,545
South Ayrshire	1,838	3,052	10,856
South Lanarkshire	1,877	2,939	13,176
Stirling	2,049	3,161	14,117
West Dunbartonshire	2,003	2,996	15,773
West Lothian	1,961	3,154	9,876
Scotland	1,982	3,117	15,619

Notes1. All figures are net current expenditure excluding costs of home to school transport, school meals, education authority central administration costs, and loan and leasing charges.2. Figures derived from local authority financial returns (LFR 1) for 1998-1999 and the annual school census.

3. Figures in the special column include expenditure on local authority, grant-aided and independent special schools, and special classes in local authority primary and secondary schools.

Question reference: S1W-10169

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any records exist of its quarterly liaison meetings with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) since March 1999 which contain more detailed information than the minutes made available to the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee; whether any such records are held by the Scottish Executive or the SQA, and whether it will place copies of any such records in SPICe.

Question reference: S1W-10170

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in SPICe copies of all the letters or other representations which it received from schools and colleges reporting difficulties with the electronic transfer of information to the Scottish Qualifications Authority or other aspects of the handling of this year's exams, referred to by the Minister for Children and Education in his statement to the Parliament on 6 September (Official Report, col. 21).

I refer Mr Ewing to the written evidence submitted by the Executive to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee as part of its inquiry into this year's exam results, in particular to paragraph 4.17 of the Education Department's Memorandum (which is available through SPICe and the Parliament website). It is not the practice of the Scottish Executive to publish correspondence which falls outwith the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information.

Question reference: S1W-10173

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date Deloitte & Touche were appointed to carry out the independent inquiry into the exams crisis.

Question reference: S1W-10174

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in SPICe a copy of the contract under which Deloitte & Touche have been appointed to conduct the independent inquiry into the handling of this year's exam results.

Question reference: S1W-10171

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in SPICe copies of all the tender documents for the contract to conduct an investigation into the handling of this year's exams, in particular the letter or other document specifying the remit of the inquiry, any other specific instructions and the proposed contract terms.

Question reference: S1W-09386

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 August 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 13 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any decisions taken by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in relation to this year's exams were mistaken and, if so, which decisions.

Question reference: S1W-09392

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 August 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 13 October 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the work of markers in this year's exams has been checked adequately and, if not, what failures it has identified.

I have confidence in the professional judgement of those who undertook the making of scripts this year. The Scottish Qualifications Authority have long-established quality assurance procedures for the marking process. The inquiry, which I have commissioned, will determine whether they were applied fully and correctly this year and make recommendations about how quality assurance on marking should operate in future.