- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 15 April 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget was for the Get Ready for Work programme in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 and what the throughput was in each year.
Answer
This information is not held centrally as operational responsibility for Get Ready for Work is a matter for Skills Development Scotland. However, we do on this occasion have the statistics requested and have attached them below for your convenience:
| Year | Annual Budget (£) | Number of Participants |
| 2006-07 | 22,846,297 | 10,168 |
| 2007-08 | 24,605,479 | 8,423* |
Note: *Statistics are not yet available for the fourth quarter (31 December to 31 March) of 2007-08 so the number of participants reflects statistics for the first three quarters of that financial year only.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 15 April 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when the review of work-based mentoring projects by Eddy Adams Consultants Ltd will be published; which minister has responsibility for such projects, and when the report will be made public.
Answer
The Review of Work-based Mentoring Approaches report was undertaken by Eddy Adams Consultants Ltd to provide a better understanding of the role work-based mentoring can play in developing the skills and employability of young people in Scotland. This report and the wider policy review of the Get Ready for Work programme, within which this research sits, falls within the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop''s, portfolio. It is our intention to publish this report shortly.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 April 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed the commitments made by the UK Government to the United Nations prior to the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1192 (1998); what the implications are of these commitments, and what recourse it or any third party individual or organisation has to the courts to ensure that these commitments are fully adhered to by it and the UK Government.
Answer
It would be inappropriate to refer to any issue in the case which is before the courts. We have reviewed the commitments made by the UK and United States Governments in their letter of 24 August 1998, as referred to in the preamble to Security Council Resolution 1192 (1998) which were obviously given in order to secure the surrender of the two accused for trial. We have reminded the UK Government of those commitments, in particular the commitment that anyone convicted of the Lockerbie bombing would serve their sentence in the UK.
The Scottish Government has no plans to depart from those commitments, but will need to consider the position in the event that an application for repatriation is made under any future Prisoner Transfer Agreement concluded between the UK and Libyan Governments. The commitment of the UK Government is a matter for it to confirm.
Opportunities for recourse to the courts are ultimately a matter for the courts to determine, having regard to the facts and circumstances of any case presented to them.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 14 April 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the volume and value of orders by the Ministry of Defence for procurement from Scottish companies, including orders for kilts and trews.
Answer
The Ministry of Defence have confirmed that they have placed orders to the value of £950 million in 2005-06 (the latest year figures are available for) with Scottish companies. This figure covers both equipment and non-equipment orders. The MoD has placed an order for kilts with one Scottish company in March 2007 to the value of £1.2 million. The contract to supply trews was not awarded to a Scottish Company.
The MoD also advise that they cannot break down the total number of contracts they have with Scottish companies due to the number of contracts involved. Any exercise to identify the country each contractor is based in would necessitate reviewing every contract and checking either with the branch who let the contract or tracking down the information by some other means; this would amount to disproportionate cost.
Scottish companies may also receive subcontracts from other companies of which the MoD has no visibility.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 April 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the changes to council tax benefits, announced in the UK Budget on 12 March 2008 and effective from October 2009, will have on household incomes in Scotland.
Answer
Approximately 7 per cent of households will be affected by the changes in council tax and housing benefit announced at Budget 2008. The average Scottish household''s income is estimated to increase by 35p a week during 2010-11 as a result of these reforms.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 7 April 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made, or will make, an assessment of the impact on the Scottish economy, particularly on the whisky industry, of the tax changes announced in the UK Budget on 12 March 2008.
Answer
Whisky and the wider spirits industry make a vital contribution to the Scottish economy. The effect on the whisky industry and the wider Scottish economy of the increase in excise duty announced at budget 2008 will not be known fully for some time. We are exploring ways to assess the long-term impact of this announcement.
The Scottish Government works very closely with the Scotch whisky industry and we will continue to express our support for the taxation of spirits based on their alcohol content.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 27 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a community infrastructure levy or any similar measure.
Answer
Following the withdrawal by the UK Government of its proposals to introduce a planning gain supplement the Scottish Government is undertaking a review of the operation of the systems of planning agreements in Scotland. This review will aim to ensure that we have a system that strikes a balance between allowing the public to benefit from planning gain and facilitating development necessary to support sustainable economic growth in Scotland at a local and national level. We will present options for change in the summer.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 27 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish its Infrastructure Investment Plan.
Answer
An Infrastructure Investment Plan which sets out the government's intentions for investment in the fabric of Scotland will be published today and can be accessed on the Scottish Government Website at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/Recent.
A copy of the document is also available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45134).
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Mike Pringle on 18 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many complaints, other than those concerning constituent representation, the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has dealt with since responsibility for complaints about constituent representation was transferred to the Presiding Officer.
Answer
The SPCB does not hold this information but we have been advised by the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner that between May 2007 and February 2008 inclusive he received 22 complaints, 17 of which related to matters other than constituent representation.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Mike Pringle on 14 March 2008
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many hits there were on Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner’s website in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07.
Answer
The number of hits on the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner's website was 23,267 in 2005, 20,339 in 2006 and 23,463 in 2007.
The number of visitors to the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner's website was 1,575 in 2005, 1,580 in 2006 and 1,579 in 2007.
Definitions:
Hit - A request for any file (page, image, etc).
Visitor - The number of visitors is determined by the IP addresses. If a request from an IP address came after some time (timeout) since the last request from this IP, it is considered to belong to a different visitor. The timeout is set to 1,440 minutes. Visitors from large organisations may share the same IP address so actual visitors may be higher than the statistics reflect.
