- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 20 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what its total spending has been on external consultants and contractors since 1 July 1999 broken down by department.
Answer
The information requested is set out below broken by department (with executive agencies shown in brackets). Total expenditure by Scottish Executive departments, plus their executive agencies, with external suppliers, including external consultants, over the period from 1 July 1999 to 29 February is estimated as £200 million, of which it is estimated that £1.6 million was in respect of external consultants.
| Development Department | £43.9 million |
| Education Department (Historic Scotland, Scottish Public Pensions Agency) | £26.6 million |
| Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department (Student Awards Agency for Scotland) | £3.1 million |
| Health Department | £3.2 million |
| Justice Department (Scottish Prison Service, Scottish Court Service) | £72.6 million |
| Rural Affairs Department (Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, Scottish Agricultural Science Agency, Fisheries Research Services) | £21.2 million |
| Central Support * | £20.1 million |
| Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service | £6.6 million |
| General Register Office for Scotland | £0.9 million |
| National Archives of Scotland | £0.5 million |
| Registers of Scotland | £0.9 million |
* Includes Corporate Services, Executive Secretariat and Finance.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 17 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the changes being proposed by Renfrewshire Council to the social inclusion partnership contracts and their potential impact on the recruitment of participants for social inclusion partnership boards.
Answer
We are aware of the issues and these are presently being discussed with Renfrewshire Council.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 17 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to undertake a review of the construction sector in Scotland and, in particular, whether it intends to take steps to address the skills shortages currently being experienced in this sector.
Answer
The "Pathfinders to Parliament" initiative was launched at the start of 1999 to give businesses in Scotland the opportunity to develop business agenda ideas for early consideration by the Scottish Parliament. As part of that initiative, the Construction Pathfinders Group was asked to review the problems and opportunities facing this sector. The Group's recommendations have informed the Executive's thinking and strategy over the last year.
Comprehensive and regular market information is the key component in ensuring that sectors have the qualified people they need both today and in the future. The Scottish Executive is currently working with Scottish Enterprise to set up a Scottish Labour Market Unit (SLMU) from May 2000. Workshops are taking place with a wide range of interests to assess organisations' present and future data requirements.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 17 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many rehabilitation workers for the visually impaired are currently employed by it, its executive agencies and local authorities.
Answer
No rehabilitation workers for the visually impaired are employed by The Scottish Executive or its Executive Agencies. Information on the number of rehabilitation workers for the visually impaired employed by local authorities is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 17 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the funding it and its executive agencies have provided to lone parent support groups in each of the last three years and in the current financial year.
Answer
One Parent Families Scotland have received the following funding under section 10(1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968:
1996-97 | £32,340 |
1997-98 | £32,340 |
1998-99 | £32,340 |
1999-2000 | £33,310(plus an additional one-off allocation of £10,3000 in August 1999 to meet short-term pressures) |
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 17 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the operational targets set for the Accounts Commission, including the response times for replying to enquiries from MSPs.
Answer
At present no targets are set, although this matter is under consideration. The Accounts Commission do have their own, published in their annual report, but these do not include a specific target for response times to enquiries from MSPs.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the number of escapes and escapees from each prison since May 1999 and of the number and type of re-categorisation of prisoners for each prison since May 1999.
Answer
There has been one escape from a Scottish prison since May 1999. The categorisation information is not collected centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 15 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to address the situation where local authorities are increasing council tax to pay for shortfalls in local authority pension schemes and whether it has allocated an amount in respect of this issue in the central government support for local authority capital expenditure in its settlement for next year.
Answer
It is a matter for authorities themselves to ensure that adequate provision is being made towards local authorities' pension funds. The cost of pension funds are met from current expenditure and do not have any implications for local authority capital budgets. Next year's settlement provides for local authority current expenditure to rise by 3.7% which is an increase in real terms and includes provision of £38.5 million to meet the costs arising from the abolition of Advanced Corporation Tax credits.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 10 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the validity of the methodology employed by the Hawk and Owl Trust research project on the impact of raptors on racing pigeons prior to accepting any of its conclusions or recommendations.
Answer
I refer Mr Neil to my answer to question S1W-4163 in which I indicated that I had asked SNH for advice on the recommendations contained in the UK Raptor Working Group Report and how they might be implemented in Scotland. The Scottish Executive has no plans to review the validity of the methodology employed by the Hawk and Owl Trust research project on the impact of raptors on racing pigeons.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 9 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4210 by Henry McLeish on 18 February 2000, how many of the 3,480 lone parents helped into jobs were still in the same job 13 weeks after their completion dates on the New Deal for Lone Parents programme.
Answer
Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of the New Deal for Lone Parents throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive.The information requested is not at present available from the Employment Service New Deal Evaluation Database.
