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-14460

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 March 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 15 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many classroom assistants were employed in primary schools in each of the last four years, broken down by local authority area.

Funding for the classroom assistants initiative was established in 1999 as part of the Excellence Fund. As at April 2001, 2661.69 FTE classroom assistants have been employed in Scottish primary schools. A breakdown of the number of classroom assistants expressed in FTE's employed through the Excellence Fund in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 is set out in the table.

		Classroom Assistants
Authority		No. Employed in 1999-2000(FTE)	No. Employed in 2000-01 (FTE)
Aberdeen City		108.4	124
Aberdeenshire		75	108
Angus		35	49
Argyll & Bute		14.87	23
Clackmannanshire		13	21
Dumfries & Galloway		55.7	64.1
Dundee		34	64
East Ayrshire		30	69
East Dunbartonshire		36	80
East Lothian		25	31
East Renfrewshire		36	70
Edinburgh		80.08	147.1
Eilean Siar		5	5
Falkirk		61	88.4
Fife		77.7	156
Glasgow		233*	358*
Highland		25	79.2
Inverclyde		28	60
Midlothian		24.2	42.29
Moray		47.5	51
North Ayrshire		52.8	80.7
North Lanarkshire		133	186
Orkney		3.5	3.5
Perth & Kinross		26	54
Renfrewshire		82.5	130.7
Scottish Borders		20	48.9
Shetland Islands		3.5	4.5
South Ayrshire		48	60
South Lanarkshire		84.7	203
Stirling		20	27
West Dunbartonshire		44	64
West Lothian		40.2	109.3
TOTAL	1,602.65			2,661.69

* Includes 30 and 35 trainees with WISE Group respectively.

Question reference: S1W-15370

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what restrictions there are on the sale of sweetbreads from calves, lambs or bullocks.

I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that the sale of the thymus, commonly known as sweetbread, is dictated by EU BSE controls legislation. The thymus is considered Specified Risk Material (SRM) in all cattle aged over six months and cannot be sold. Thymus is not considered SRM in sheep. The pancreas (sometimes known as "gut sweetbread") from calves, lambs and bullocks is not considered SRM and can therefore be freely sold.

Question reference: S1W-15337

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Angus MacKay on 10 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13058 by Angus MacKay on 25 March 2001, whether it will provide details of the one Scottish Executive post that has been transferred to the specified local authority areas since July 1999.

Question reference: S1W-15144

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial impact the loss of Crown Exemption for police properties in respect of payment of non-domestic rates is expected to have on Central Scotland Police in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Question reference: S1W-15145

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial impact the loss of Crown Exemption for police properties in respect of payment of non-domestic rates is expected to have on Fife Constabulary in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Question reference: S1W-15146

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial impact the loss of Crown Exemption for police properties in respect of payment of non-domestic rates is expected to have on Tayside Police in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Question reference: S1W-14896

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 4 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce legislation or any other measures regarding the placement of non-Roman Catholic pupils at Roman Catholic denominational schools.

Question reference: S1W-14897

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 4 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the compatibility of the denial of a place at a Roman Catholic denominational school to a non-Roman Catholic on the grounds of faith with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Question reference: S1W-15070

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 3 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7436 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 26 June 2000, whether it will give details of any additional task forces, working groups, review groups, action groups and similar committees established since June 2000 by the ministers with policy responsibility for children, education, culture and sport.

The following groups have been set up:-The Working Group on the Reintegration of Pre-school Grant - Has met three times and has now concluded its business. The Working Group on Teacher Involvement in Pre-school Education - Set up in January. Has met three times; its work should be concluded within two or three further meetings.The Child Protection Thematic Review - Announced March 2001. Will report by June 2002. The Discipline Task Group - Set up in January 2001. Will report in June 2001.Time Intervals Monitoring Group - Inaugural meeting June 2001. Will report to Ministers annually Adoption Policy Review Group - Setting up announced on 4 April 2001. First meeting due to take place in May.Internet Safety review group - Group has, as yet, not met.Devolved School Management Review Group - Set up November 2000. Due to report in Summer 2001.A Teaching Profession for the 21^st Century Implementation Group - Set up September 2000. Agreement reached 12 January 2001.Ministerial Strategy Group for CPD - first met October 2000; to oversee CPD framework until August 2003.Short-term working group on planning for children's services - First meeting scheduled for 4 May 2001. Expected to finish in September 2001.Gaelic Advisory Group - Set up the in December 2000National Qualifications Steering Group - Set up in January 2001.

Question reference: S1W-15071

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 April 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 3 May 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7436 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 26 June 2000, which of the four groups are still in existence and which have been wound up.