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-07392

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 16 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of funding it has provided in each of the last three years and the current financial year to the National Schools for the Deaf and Blind.

The information requested is given in the tables below.

Grant Aid Payments to Royal Blind School and Donaldsons College (£)

Revenue

	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Royal Blind	1,383,376	1,525,660	1,500,000	1,470,000
Donaldsons	886,566	918,530	1,056,208	1,189,136

Note: figures represent the actual grant offer.

Capital

	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Royal Blind	nil	9,000	29,896	n/k
Donaldsons	26,305	158,956	1,067,008	n/k

Final decision on capital awards for 00/01 pending response to Ministerial submission in respect of grant-aid.

Note: figures represent the actual amounts paid.

Question reference: S1W-07594

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 16 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider providing funding for the voluntary sector organisations which it supports and for its Executive agencies on a three-yearly rather than annual basis.

The Scottish Executive has a commitment to creating a more stable funding environment for the voluntary sector, including providing three-year funding packages where appropriate. The Scottish Compact sets out the principles underpinning the relationship between Government and the voluntary sector in Scotland. As part of its implementation, good practice guidance on funding has been consulted on and was published this week. The Scottish Executive and Executive agencies have a responsibility to ensure that they have plans to implement the Compact.

Question reference: S1W-07556

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown of the monies spent by the Scottish Enterprise Network on foreign travel in each of the last two years.

Question reference: S1W-07555

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown of monies spent by the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Network on foreign travel in each of the past two years.

Question reference: S1W-06614

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 15 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4192 by Donald Dewar on 13 April 2000, whether it will provide a breakdown for the First Minister's office of its performance in relation to targets for replying to correspondence from MPs or MSPs for the period 1 November 1999 to 31 January 2000.

Between 1 November 1999 and 31 January 2000, the First Minister's Office replied to 64% of correspondence (36 letters) within the target of 17 days.

The volume and rate at which Ministers receive correspondence continues to increase. In the first nine months since devolution, the number of letters for ministerial reply increased by over 50% compared with the same pre-devolution period. Comparing the last quarter measured, January to end-March 2000 with the same period in 1999 shows an 82% increase.

Question reference: S1W-07410

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimates are of forestry related exports from Scotland in each of the past three years.

Question reference: S1W-07408

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to set up a unit or agency to co-ordinate voluntary international aid efforts from Scotland.

Responsibility for international aid and for the Government's relationship with British voluntary organisations that work overseas lies with the Department for International Development. I recently met with George Foulkes MP at DfID's offices in East Kilbride on 5 June to discuss our common interest in the voluntary sector in Scotland.

A number of international aid/development agencies are based in Scotland. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), which receives support from the Scottish Executive, is assisting them to interface with DfID and to link with each other.

Question reference: S1W-07409

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what has been the number of redundancies in the forestry and related industries since May 1999.

Question reference: S1W-07405

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for tackling unemployment in Kilmarnock and Loudoun.

Question reference: S1W-07412

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to change the categorisation of racing pigeons to make them a protected species.

		Exports to the rest of the UK £ million	Exports to the rest of the world £ million
Forestry Harvesting	1996	75.5	14.2
	1995	52.8	7.7
	1994	27.2	2.3