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 MSPs 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-21130

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many search warrants were issued to Dumfries and Galloway Police in each month from 1 January 2000 to 30 November 2001.

The following table gives details of search warrants issued to Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary during the period July 2000 to November 2001. Figures prior to July 2000 are not available as they were not held centrally.

Month	Number of Warrants Issued
2000
July	7
August	7
September	8
October	8
November	19
December	16
2001
January	17
February	17
March	17
April	28
May	6
June	18
July	6
August	6
September	7
October	13
November	11

Question reference: S1W-21129

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value of sei'ures made by the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency in Dumfries and Galloway was at 30 November 2001.

Question reference: S1W-20706

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 7 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what comparisons exist between the exam results achieved by primary schools of less than 150 pupils and those with more than 150 pupils and what any such comparative results show for each local authority area.

In June of each year, the Scottish Executive conducts a survey to collect information on the highest 5-14 attainment level achieved by publicly funded primary and secondary pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. This survey provides a "snapshot" of the position as at the date of the survey.The following table shows the percentage of pupils in P3, P4, P6 and P7 who had achieved or exceeded the expected 5-14 attainment level for their stage in reading, writing and mathematics, as at June 2001. The results are broken down by those schools that had less than 150 pupils and those with 150 or more pupils, and by local authority.5-14 Attainment of pupils in primary schools with less than 150 pupils and those with 150 or more pupils, in reading, writing and mathematics, by local authority, as at June 2001.Pupils attaining or exceeding expected levels by the end of the stage.Publicly funded schools only.

			Percentage of P3, P4, P6, P7 pupils attaining or exceeding minimum 5-14 levels for their stage
Local Authority	No. of pupils in School	No. of Schools	Reading	Writing	Mathematics
Scotland	<150	959	79.5%	70.4%	78.8%
Scotland	150+	1,258	79.9%	70.3%	79.3%
Aberdeen City	<150	*	*	*	*
Aberdeen City	150+	48	79.2%	69.1%	77.0%
Aberdeenshire	<150	107	80.3%	69.5%	80.2%
Aberdeenshire	150+	49	80.3%	70.2%	79.7%
Angus	<150	36	81.3%	69.8%	80.3%
Angus	150+	24	77.6%	64.7%	73.9%
Argyll & Bute	<150	67	81.2%	73.6%	77.2%
Argyll & Bute	150+	16	83.6%	74.3%	81.2%
Clackmannanshire	<150	5	75.1%	62.2%	73.3%
Clackmannanshire	150+	14	78.5%	67.2%	77.6%
Dumfries & Galloway	<150	80	82.0%	73.7%	80.2%
Dumfries & Galloway	150+	34	74.0%	63.9%	72.7%
Dundee City	<150	*	*	*	*
Dundee City	150+	37	76.5%	66.1%	75.1%
East Ayrshire	<150	11	81.0%	79.5%	84.8%
East Ayrshire	150+	35	77.5%	69.7%	80.3%
East Dunbartonshire	<150	*	*	*	*
East Dunbartonshire	150+	32	90.2%	82.5%	89.5%
East Lothian	<150	13	80.3%	70.7%	79.7%
East Lothian	150+	22	81.4%	74.9%	78.2%
East Renfrewshire	<150	*	*	*	*
East Renfrewshire	150+	22	88.3%	81.0%	89.8%
Edinburgh, City of	<150	14	70.9%	53.9%	70.7%
Edinburgh, City of	150+	87	81.3%	74.2%	78.7%
Eilean Siar	<150	17	87.9%	81.6%	80.9%
Falkirk	<150	11	80.1%	72.7%	82.6%
Falkirk	150+	37	79.8%	74.3%	79.9%
Fife	<150	55	77.0%	71.2%	77.4%
Fife	150+	91	73.3%	62.7%	73.1%
Glasgow City	<150	50	70.5%	58.0%	72.0%
Glasgow City	150+	153	78.0%	67.9%	77.9%
Highland	<150	127	80.9%	76.3%	80.4%
Highland	150+	47	78.8%	69.0%	77.5%
Inverclyde	<150	8	74.6%	65.7%	74.8%
Inverclyde	150+	24	79.7%	69.3%	80.8%
Midlothian	<150	13	73.6%	67.2%	72.3%
Midlothian	150+	23	75.2%	65.8%	72.7%
Moray	<150	24	78.8%	69.7%	76.7%
Moray	150+	22	80.8%	72.9%	79.8%
North Ayrshire	<150	15	82.7%	73.8%	82.9%
North Ayrshire	150+	38	80.0%	69.2%	81.0%
North Lanarkshire	<150	30	80.8%	69.2%	78.9%
North Lanarkshire	150+	99	80.7%	70.2%	81.8%
Orkney Islands	<150	16	87.4%	79.6%	83.5%
Orkney Islands	150+	5	77.9%	72.6%	81.1%
Perth & Kinross	<150	49	84.4%	77.5%	82.7%
Perth & Kinross	150+	28	80.7%	71.9%	80.5%
Renfrewshire	<150	6	78.8%	64.7%	81.9%
Renfrewshire	150+	46	81.7%	71.4%	81.7%
Scottish Borders	<150	47	83.8%	74.0%	82.0%
Scottish Borders	150+	24	82.0%	72.6%	79.1%
Shetland Islands	<150	32	84.9%	70.2%	80.8%
Shetland Islands	150+	*	*	*	*
South Ayrshire	<150	19	79.5%	70.3%	80.4%
South Ayrshire	150+	26	84.1%	75.4%	85.1%
South Lanarkshire	<150	42	81.9%	72.3%	81.8%
South Lanarkshire	150+	82	83.3%	72.8%	83.9%
Stirling	<150	23	86.1%	81.8%	85.2%
Stirling	150+	19	79.8%	71.7%	76.4%
West Dunbartonshire	<150	7	76.3%	69.7%	72.8%
West Dunbartonshire	150+	28	81.5%	69.3%	80.6%
West Lothian	<150	21	79.5%	69.4%	79.5%
West Lothian	150+	44	77.8%	67.2%	75.7%

Sources: National 5-14 Attainment Survey, June 2001 School Census, September 2000.Note: Results based on less than five schools are marked with an * to ensure individual school results cannot be identified.

Question reference: S1W-20707

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has made available to (a) Dumfries and Galloway and (b) Borders Council to offset any increase in registration fees for residential care homes and whether such funding has been ring-fenced.

Question reference: S1O-03944

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 25 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how it assesses the distinct educational needs of children in remote and rural areas to ensure that an appropriate quality of services is provided.

The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 requires that local authorities provide education directed to achieving the fullest potential of the child or young person. The distribution of resources from the Executive to support local authorities takes account of rurality and deprivation indicators. It will therefore be the responsibility of local authorities to assess the educational needs of all children and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education will ensure they are doing this through their inspection programme.

Question reference: S1O-03875

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 4 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current position is in its discussions with CoSLA on the procedures for the closure of rural schools.

Question reference: S1O-03785

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 20 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to compensate farmers whose cattle went over 30 months of age during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and were consequently prevented from entering the food chain.

Question reference: S1O-03769

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 13 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it envisages any changes in the financial assistance available to small businesses following its recent impact study of the effect of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

The Scottish Executive has already announced a number of measures and has made available significant resources to help alleviate the immediate hardship and distress being experienced by individuals and businesses as a result of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. These include an additional £5 million for the Enterprise Networks to ensure that advice and support is made available to affected businesses and individuals.

Question reference: S1W-17543

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 6 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) regarding the payment, as a matter of urgency, of sums owed by DEFRA to auctioneers, valuers and others who were involved in the valuation and cull of livestock during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Question reference: S1W-17267

Asked by: Alex Fergusson, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 5 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what response it made at the European Union Agriculture Council meeting on 19 June 2001 in relation to the proposal of the Netherlands delegation on the transportation of livestock.