- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 18 February 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer what consultations there will be with trade unions prior to final decisions being reached on the contract for mail services in the new Parliament building at Holyrood.
Answer
There has been no consultation with trade unions because the internal messenger service in the Parliament has been contracted out since 1999. It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to consult with the trade union representing employees of another organisation that is tendering for a contract.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 18 February 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-25368 on 9 May 2002, what consultation there has been with service users in the consideration of the contract for mail services in the new Parliament building at Holyrood
Answer
Quarterly surveys seeking feedback from service users have been carried out over the term of the existing contract and the results incorporated into the specified service requirement, which was issued to all tenderers. Under the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) is given the function of providing the Parliament, or ensuring that the Parliament is provided with, the property, staff and services required for the Parliament's purposes. This places the responsibility for the letting of contracts with the SPCB, and it is the SPCB that would be liable for any legal challenge that ensued as the result of a contract award decision. The members of the SPCB were elected by the Parliament to carry out this function.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 18 February 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer what consultation there will be with service users prior to final decisions being reached on the contract for mail services in the new Parliament building at Holyrood.
Answer
Quarterly surveys seeking feedback from service users have been carried out over the term of the existing contract and the results incorporated into the specified service requirement, which was issued to all tenderers. Under the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) is given the function of providing the Parliament, or ensuring that the Parliament is provided with, the property, staff and services required for the Parliament's purposes. This places the responsibility for the letting of contracts with the SPCB, and it is the SPCB that would be liable for any legal challenge that ensued as the result of a contract award decision. The members of the SPCB were elected by the Parliament to carry out this function.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 18 February 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-25368 on 9 May 2002, what consultation there has been with trade unions in the consideration of the contract for mail services in the new Parliament building at Holyrood.
Answer
There has been no consultation with trade unions because the internal messenger service in the Parliament has been contracted out since 1999. It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to consult with the trade union representing employees of another organisation that is tendering for a contract.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 7 February 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer , further to his answer to question S1W-25368 on 1 May 2002, when the existing contract with the Royal Mail for the provision of mail services in the Parliament will expire and what the effective start date will be for the new contract.
Answer
The existing contract for mail and messenger services expires when the Parliament moves to Holyrood and does not contain provision for extension beyond this.The timetable for the current tender exercise for the new contract should enable the contract to be awarded by early summer. This will allow the successful contractor(s) sufficient time to work with the Migration Team to set up their service provision for delivery to coincide with the Parliament's move to Holyrood.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 7 February 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-25368 on 1 May 2002, whether the new contract for mail services in the Parliament has now been awarded and, if so, to which provider it has been awarded.
Answer
The mail and messenger services contract was first competitively tendered in 1999 when the Parliament was established and subsequently awarded to Royal Mail plc. The decision not to employ an in-house messenger service was taken in 1998, prior to the services being tendered. This contract is now due to be re-let and has been tendered in two lots; the off-site mail screening and the on-site messenger delivery, as these are two discrete service elements. Either one contract for the whole service or a contract for each lot will be awarded depending on the outcome of the evaluation process, which will take account of the quality of the service and best overall value for money.Tender submissions are still being evaluated. The aim is to test not only the financial information in bids, but also to ensure that the high standard of service which members have come to expect, including integrity and security, will be delivered. No decision has been made on the award of either lot and the decision is not expected for some months.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 6 February 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing a successor to the Individual Learning Account scheme and when a new scheme will be in place.
Answer
I announced on 11 February the Executive's Lifelong Learning Strategy which includes plans for a new Individual Learning Accounts scheme. The new scheme will be administered by the Students Awards Agency for Scotland. I wish to be sure that the new scheme takes full account of lessons learned from our experience of the original scheme and I shall make a further announcement when I have had the opportunity to consider Audit Scotland's report on the earlier arrangements, which is due shortly.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring has been carried out into the impact of the appointment of first year probationer teachers under the McCrone agreement on the employment of teachers that had previously been on temporary contracts.
Answer
A research project has been commissioned into supply teaching including probationers who qualified in 2001. The aims of the project are to help develop good practice for local authorities in the use of supply teaching and to examine the dynamics of the supply market. The project started in October 2002 and is expected to report by August 2003.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance will be given to local authorities regarding the advertising of teacher vacancies for the 2003-04 session to ensure that teachers currently on temporary or supply contracts have the same opportunities to apply as those that have just completed their probationer year.
Answer
The recruitment and advertising of teaching vacancies by local authorities is not a matter for the Scottish Executive. However, we understand that local authorities will advertise and fill vacancies in the normal way, thus ensuring equal opportunity for all.
- Asked by: Susan Deacon, MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance exists on the procedures for filling permanent vacancies for teaching posts in schools in the light of the McCrone agreement.
Answer
Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teachers.Under section 4.1 of the agreement, A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century, local authorities own policy is that permanent contracts will only be offered to fully registered teachers.
