- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown of the expenditure to date, including the allowance element, on each New Deal programme other than the New Deal for Young People in Scotland.
Answer
Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government. The Department for Education and Employment, along with the Department of Social Security for some programmes, 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.
The expenditure on each New Deal programme other than the New Deal for Young People in Scotland from April 1998 to July 1999 was:
(a) New Deal 50 plus: Programme not yet commenced. Pathfinders due to start in October 1999.
(b) New Deal 25 plus: £5.6m
(c) New Deal for Partners of Unemployed People: £0.05m
(d) New Deal for Disabled People: £0.3m
(e) New Deal for Lone Parents: £2.3m
The figure for New Deal 25 plus includes spending on employment subsidies. The other New Deal programmes listed do not offer an employment subsidy, but the figures given include various other allowance payments.In addition, there are central running and marketing costs for each programme which have not been included in these figures.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 6 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive to provide details of the expenditure on external contracts for public relations and lobbying activities by each of the Non Departmental Public Bodies for which it is responsible for each of the past two years and their respective budgets for the current financial year.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answers to questions S1W-303 and S1W-304 by Henry McLeish on 29 July 1999, whether the maximum percentage of employers who have signed a New Deal employer agreement in Scotland and have also recruited a New Deal employee is 29%, and if so what steps are being taken to encourage the other 71% to recruit.
Answer
Employment Policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of the New Deal throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive. Many partner organisations at local level also provide New Deal services under contract or provide funds and other resources, including training funds to enhance the quality of new Deal in their areas. The public and voluntary sector organisations which contribute to the New Deal in this way fall within the remit of the Scottish Executive.
Information on the number of employers who have taken on New Deal recruits is not available.There is a range of New Deal vacancies for suitable young people, to offer them a choice. At the same time, a number of measures are being tested. These include the intensification of the Gateway, in order to make New Deal clients more attractive to prospective employers.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 31 August 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what is the number of people in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland currently enrolled in each of the following New Deal options: (a) full-time education and training; (b) voluntary sector, and (c) the environmental task force.
Answer
Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government, which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of the New Deal throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive. Many partner organisations at local level also provide New Deal services under contract or provide funds and other resources, including training funds, to enhance the quality of New Deal in their areas. The public and voluntary sector organisations which contribute to the New Deal in this way fall within the remit of the Scottish Executive.
Information is not available on a constituency basis. The table below shows the numbers in Scotland by Unit of Delivery enrolled (end May figures) in each of the following New Deal options: a) full-time education and training; b) voluntary sector, and c) the Environment Task Force.
| Unit of Delivery | Full Time Education/Training | Voluntary Sector | Environment Task Force |
| Ayrshire | 127 | 91 | 68 |
| Borders | 20 | 17 | 18 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 89 | 21 | 27 |
| Edinburgh, East and Mid Lothian | 123 | 69 | 80 |
| Forth Valley | 132 | 75 | 66 |
| Glasgow | 459 | 180 | 151 |
| Grampian | 62 | 15 | 15 |
| Inverness and Nairn | 14 | 8 | 12 |
| Lanarkshire | 278 | 123 | 168 |
| Renfrewshire | 93 | 68 | 68 |
| Tayside | 164 | 65 | 96 |
| Western Isles | 16 | 6 | 7 |
| Dunbarton | 81 | 26 | 53 |
| Fife | 196 | 56 | 76 |
| Moray, Strathspey and Badenoch | 19 | 15 | 12 |
| West Lothian | 31 | 22 | 22 |
| Argyll and The Islands | 11 | 11 | 1 |
| Caithness and Sutherland | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Lochaber | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Orkney | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Ross and Cromarty | 17 | 4 | 9 |
| Shetland | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Skye and Lochalsh | 5 | 0 | 0 |
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 31 August 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it will make to Her Majesty's Government with regard to expanding supportive employment opportunities for blind and disabled people in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Government Ministers and Departments, including the Department for Education and Employment, on a wide range of issues, including supported employment.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 31 August 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what is the expenditure by each local export partnership for each of the past two financial years and what are their budgets for the current financial year.
Answer
Local Export Partnerships comprise normally of Local Enterprise Companies, Local Authorities and Chambers of Commerce and these constituent bodies provide all funding. There are no details of funding, expenditure or budgets held centrally.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 31 August 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make representations to Her Majesty's Government proposing that the payment of #15.38 per week for 6 months to those on the New Deal's full-time education and training option in Scotland be reviewed, and that those people be paid the equivalent to those on the voluntary or environmental task force option.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Ministers and Departments (including the Department of Education and Employment) on a wide range of issues including the New Deal for Young People.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 30 August 1999
To ask the Presiding Officer whether individuals, organisations and companies to be called to provide evidence to Parliamentary Committees will be required to formally declare any interests which they may have relating to the relevant subject matter prior to being interviewed or questioned by the Committee.
Answer
Standing Orders do not require individuals or organisations giving evidence to Committees of the Parliament to make a declaration of interests before being questioned. It is open to Committees to ask for such a declaration where they consider it relevant.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 August 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what is the average estimated population of peregrines and sparrowhawks in Scotland for each of the past five decades.
Answer
Not all the information requested is available. The most recent reliable population estimate available for the sparrowhawk is the 1988-91 Breeding Bird Atlas Survey. This gives an estimated figure of 7,000 breeding pairs. The most recent full survey of the peregrine was in 1991. This showed a population of 634 occupied territories (occupied territories will generally be occupied by a breeding pair of birds, but not in every case, and single occupancy does occur). The previous figures were: 1961 - 446 occupied territories; 1971 - 365 occupied territories; and 1981 - 489 occupied territories.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 August 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what the arrangements are for counting the raptor population in Scotland, including the relevant qualifications of the personnel involved.
Answer
Arrangements vary for different species. Common species such as the kestrel sparrowhawk and buzzard are monitored by the Breeding Bird Survey organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). In Scotland much work is undertaken by Raptor Study Group members, all of whom are volunteers and undertake the work in their spare time.
Some scarce species (e.g. peregrine, merlin, hen harrier and golden eagle) are surveyed by dedicated professional surveyors who are employed by one of the main bird conservation groups such as RSPB. .All surveyors are familiar with the species concerned and possess good field ornithological skills. Where appropriate, they are licensed by Scottish Natural Heritage, and in this event SNH undertakes checks on all applicants to establish that they are fit and proper persons to undertake such work.
