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-01241

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed account of the role, remit and responsibilities of the Building and Land Committee of Enterprise Ayrshire, particularly in relation to the identification, processing, funding and contractual arrangements for initiatives and projects supported by Enterprise Ayrshire or Scottish Enterprise.

Question reference: S1W-01244

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a list of (a) those Local Enterprise Companies whose Articles of Association preclude board members serving more than eight years and (b) board members of these Local Enterprise Companies who have served in excess of eight years.

Question reference: S1W-01240

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 14 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the disqualification of people aged 60 or over from being members of children's' panels.

Question reference: S1W-01207

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Frank McAveety on 13 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that East Ayrshire Council has successfully implemented the new financial management system for its DLO-related activities as recommended by the Audit Commission.

Question reference: S1W-01209

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 13 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current status is of plans for A71 by-passes in the Irvine valley.

Question reference: S1W-01035

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S1W-304 by Henry McLeish on 29 July 1999, how many employers have been involved in recruiting the 2,530 young people who have joined the New Deal employer option.

Question reference: S1W-01036

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of young people who have completed their 6 month period on the New Deal were in the same employment 13 weeks later.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government, which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing Scottish organisations, as indicated in the answer to S1W-1031.The Employment Service Research and Development database is client-based and will not track whether a person's employment is the same or if they have moved to a different employer. The database can only track New Deal clients returning to Jobseekers' Allowance/New Deal. Figures to the end of June 1999 show that, a total of 10,120 people had secured sustained employment through New Deal. A sustained job is one from which the participant does not return to claim benefit, or transfer to another option, within 13 weeks. This includes those who have been in employment for less than 13 weeks, but who have not yet returned to JSA.

Question reference: S1W-01034

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S1W-302 by Henry McLeish on 29 July 1999, how many employers recruited the 5,570 people who obtained employment through the New Deal Gateway and how many of these employers had not signed a New Deal employer agreement prior to this recruitment.

Question reference: S1W-01032

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive to publish, by option, the latest available destination statistics for the New Deal for Young People and the other New Deal programmes.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing Scottish organisations, as indicated in the answer to S1W-01031.

The latest available destination statistics (end June statistics) for the New Deal for Young People,New Deal 25+, and the New Deal for Lone Parents are set out in the tables below. The New Deal for Disabled People is still at the pilot stage and no figures have yet been published for the New Deal for Partners of Unemployed People.

New Deal 18-24 (leavers from New Deal, January 1998 to June 1999)

	Total Number	% Unsubsidised Jobs	% Other Benefits	% Other Known	% Not Known
From Gateway	13546	47%	16%	9%	28%
From Subsidised Employment	498	62%	2%	1%	35%
From Full-Time Education and Training	710	34%	13%	16%	37%
From Voluntary Sector	336	42%	15%	7%	36%
From Environment Task Force	322	43%	13%	7%	38%
From Follow-Through	2394	31%	10%	7%	52%

New Deal 25+

Leavers from Advisory Interviews Process (July 1998 to June 1999)

There were 7,352 leavers between the above dates, of whom:

Left to unsubsidised jobs	877
Left JSA for other reasons	1870
Returned to normal JSA activity	3489
Left to subsidised jobs	460
went onto Training for Work	587
went into Education and Training	71

New Deal for Lone ParentsLeavers from Advisory Interviews Process (October 1998 to May 1999)There were 2,060 leavers between the above dates, of whom:

moved into employment	600
transferred to other benefits	30
became ineligible	210
declined to join the caseload	240
withdrew for other reasons	820
unknown destination	170

In addition, over the same period, 980 lone parents have moved into employment and 330 have moved into education or training and are continuing to receive support from a New Deal for Lone Parents Personal Adviser.

Question reference: S1W-01033

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what are the performance and impact measurements in place to monitor the success of the New Deal for Young People and the other New Deal programmes.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish executive and contributing Scottish organisations, as indicated in the answer to S1W-1031.

The performance of the New Deal for Young People is measured in each Unit of Delivery by 9 Core Performance Measures. These are as follows:-

The number of New Deal participants and the proportion of each cohort moving into

i) unsubsidised jobs, ii) subsidised jobs and iii) all jobs;

The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort moving from the Gateway and each of the options into unsubsidised jobs;

The unit costs of the outcomes covered in 1 and 2 above;

The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort remaining in jobs 13 weeks, 6, 12 or 18 months after leaving New Deal, as measured by the renewal or otherwise of claims for JSA and other benefits;

The numbers and proportions of participants who are disabled, from ethnic minority backgrounds and who are men and women achieving the outcomes in 1, 2 and 4 above;

The numbers of subsidised jobs made available by employers and the level of employer satisfaction;

The level of satisfaction among participating young people;

The number and level of qualifications achieved by New Deal participants; and

The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort leaving the New Deal for known destinations.

In addition to these measures a comprehensive programme of evaluation is underway. The other New Deal programmes are assessed in similar ways.