- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 4 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation has taken place or is planned to take place on proposed changes to the starting salary for mature graduates beginning a new teaching career.
Answer
The decision on whether or not to accept the proposed changes to pay for probationer teachers is one for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). The SNCT consists of representatives from the Scottish Executive, local authorities and teachers organisations. Scottish ministers will ensure that there is full consultation with our partners on the SNCT and will also consider all representations made to us.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many assessments of carers' needs were made by each local authority in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. The needs of carers may be assessed in different ways, either as part of the assessment of the person they care for or through a separate assessment. We are working with local authorities to develop consistent information on assessment of carers.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what duties it has placed, or plans to place, on local authorities to identify and assess the needs of individual carers.
Answer
Local authorities currently have a statutory duty to carry out an assessment for any carer who requests it, when they are assessing the person the carer looks after. Official guidance makes clear that authorities are expected to ensure that they make carers aware of their right to assessment as a routine part of assessment of the person they care for. New provisions in the Community Care and Health Bill currently before Parliament will extend carers' entitlement to an assessment by giving them the right to request an assessment at any time. We intend to issue clear guidance to local authorities and other agencies to ensure carers are aware of their new independent right to assessment.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 22 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to provide funding to support additional places in women's refuges.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is providing £10 million for a capital Refuge Development Programme to increase and improve refuge provision. Revenue funding is the responsibility of the local authorities and bids under the programme were required to indicate sources of such funding. Twenty-four local authorities have submitted bids and all have complied with this requirement. We have the full support of CoSLA for this programme.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 19 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in increasing the number of NHS intensive care unit beds.
Answer
For the period 1996 to 2000, the average number of funded general adult intensive care beds in Scotland each year was:
1996 | 112 |
1997 | 115.5 |
1998 | 121.5 |
1999 | 125 |
2000 | 132.5 |
Information for 2001 will become available in May 2002.This progressive increase in intensive care bed numbers reflects the priority given by NHS Scotland to critical care. Critical care bed numbers are increased further during winter to respond to peak demand. During winter 2000-01, up to 160 beds were available on this basis. The Scottish Critical Care beds bureau provides online access for all Scottish intensive care units (ICU) to information about ICU beds. This enables different hospitals to share ICU resources should the need arise.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 16 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to allow compulsory repair orders to be served on commercial properties.
Answer
Legislation already exists that enables local authorities to take action in respect of buildings found to be dangerous and buildings which they consider to be in need of repair. The relevant powers may be found in the Building (Scotland) Act 1959; the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982; the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, and the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to establish a Scientific Services Advisory Group.
Answer
A Science Strategy for Scotland, published by the Scottish Executive on 27 August 2001, (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/education/ssfs-00.asp), contained a commitment to establish an independent Scottish Science Advisory Committee under the auspices of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the number of supernumary Grade A clinical physicist training posts.
Answer
There is no change to the number of Grade A funded medical physics training posts funded for the 2001-02 academic year.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether grants have been awarded to local authorities for feasibility studies on the use of mobile CCTV cameras in crime and vandalism hotspots.
Answer
No grants have been made specifically for such feasibility studies. However, Perth and Kinross Council, and Dundee City Council, were awarded grants of £30,000 and £33,000 respectively in 2000-01 for mobile CCTV units through the "Make Our Communities Safer" CCTV Challenge Competition. The conditions of grant attached to each award require the councils to evaluate the effectiveness of the units within 18 months of becoming operational, and to submit the evaluations to the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any representations have been received on proposed changes to the starting salary for mature graduates beginning a new teaching career.
Answer
We have received a number of representations from concerned individuals, and I have met with a number of students who would be affected by the proposed changes. I have also received a letter from the Deans of the Faculties of Education, and we have been in dialogue with the National Union of Students.I am convinced that the improvements we are implementing through the Agreement "A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century" are of significant benefit to probationer teachers and the profession, both now and in the long-term. However, I am aware of the concerns raised by those mature students studying now, and in particular that they have budgeted for their training under certain expectations and assumptions. With our partners in CoSLA and the teacher organisations we will give the issues they have raised our full consideration.
