- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 22 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to halt the decline in the number of growers involved in producing soft fruit.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is taking a number of measures to assist the soft fruit industry in its current difficulties. These include assisting a number of grower co-operatives to decide whether to apply for recognition as a Producer Organisation (which is an essential pre-requisite to an EU grant-aided Operational Programme incorporating a marketing element); providing financial assistance to Scottish Soft Fruit Growers' Ltd (SSFG) towards the cost of employing a marketing manager; commissioning of consultants to investigate a future funding strategy for raspberry breeding; with the Intervention Agency, exploring every opportunity for SSFG to maximise the value of grant it is entitled to under the EU Special Scheme for Raspberries intended for Processing (which has been worth almost £8 million over the last eight years), and funding strategic research into plant health problems such as raspberry root rot. There are no plans to subsidise any shortfall in payments to growers by Scottish Soft Fruit Growers Limited.The aforementioned measures should help the Scottish soft fruit industry to ensure that future production is in step with any increased market demand.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 March 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive when the draft National Strategy and Framework arising from on the Youth Crime Review will be published.
Answer
The draft national strategy on youth crime is still being developed and will now be circulated for consultation in the summer. Meantime, councils have been advised to work to the core objectives set out in the Advisory Group report.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 17 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14933 by Allan Wilson on 26 April 2001, whether the Deputy Minister for Sport, the Arts and Culture has (a) received and (b) accepted any invitations to meet representatives of Scottish Ballet, other than at performances, since his appointment.
Answer
I have received no other invitations.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 15 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in providing out of school care places for 100,000 children by 2003, as set out in Making it work together: A programme for government.
Answer
We are making good progress towards the target of out-of-school places for 100,000 children. The number of children benefiting from out of school care is just under 38,000. This includes children who are taking up places created through the New Opportunities Fund (NOF).More places for children will be created as further awards are made by NOF and through the childcare strategy resources made available to local authorities.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 15 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards training 5,000 new childcare workers by 2002, as set out in Making it work together: A programme for government.
Answer
Almost 2,000 workers have been trained to date. We are on target to deliver this commitment.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 4 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Scottish Commonwealth Games Council and Scottish Squash requesting that they reconsider their reported intention to block Peter Nicol's participation in the 2002 Commonwealth Games as an England player.
Answer
This is a matter for the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland and Scottish Squash.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 4 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to investigate the reasons behind Peter Nicol's decision to play for England rather than Scotland; what conclusions any such investigation has reached and, in particular, to what extent any difference in the level of public funding available was found to be a contributory factor.
Answer
sportscotland has contacted the Squash Rackets Association (the sport's governing body in England) and sportengland to ascertain what services Peter Nicol would receive from the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP). The results of these enquiries are set out in the answer to question S1W-14814.The WCPP operated by sportengland and UKSport will allow athletes at the top end of sports, which offer potentially high earnings, to receive lottery funded programmes. In Scotland, it is the policy to support athletes who demonstrate financial need and to cease funding athletes when they become self sufficient through earnings from their sport. As Peter Nicol has not contacted sportscotland with regard to any funding opportunities, since he was offered £15,000 in 1997, it is not possible to infer whether this policy difference was material to his decision.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 4 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if lottery funding from sportscotland for elite athletes is only or mainly available to those participating in Olympic sports, it will instruct sportscotland to reconsider this restriction in order that sportspeople participating in non-Olympic sports or non- Olympic forms of particular sports can receive lottery funding.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-14809.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 3 May 2001
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-14808 on 18 April 2001, when it is anticipated that public information in ethnic and European languages will be made available on the Parliament's website.
Answer
It is anticipated that the information will be available from September 2001.
- Asked by: Irene McGugan, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 30 April 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14288 by Allan Wilson on 4 April 2001, which of the actions referred to in Creating our Future, Minding our Past relate to cultural projects for which it would not in general provide direct support and in relation to which actions it has funding available.
Answer
The actions identified in Creating our Future, Minding our Past depend on a wide range of bodies, both in the public sector and elsewhere, working together within the general framework of the strategy. Overall funding for the strategy and the national cultural bodies was announced by Sam Galbraith in the course of the parliamentary debate on the strategy on 2 November last year.
