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-06979

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 1 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all those Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership projects for which full business cases have been published since May 1999 and indicate for which projects it anticipates full business cases will be published during the current financial year.

The Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership projects for which full business cases have been published since May 1999 are:

Client Body	Project Name
Highland Primary Care NHS Trust	Psychiatric & Learning Disability Service
South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust	Redevelopment of medicine for the Elderly Services
The Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust	Hospital Information System

*The above Full Business Cases have been placed in SPICe.The projects that the Scottish Executive anticipates will be published during the current financial year are:

Client Body	Project Name
Glasgow City Council	Project 2002 (Glasgow Secondary Schools)
Dumfries & Galloway Acute & Maternity Hospitals NHS Trust	Daycase & Maternity Services
North of Scotland Water Authority	Tay PPP Project

Question reference: S1W-06984

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 1 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what subjects in S1 and S2 are taught using setting procedures, broken down by local authority, and what evidence there is that this procedure improves pupil performance.

The information held is incomplete and is not broken down by local authority.

The HM Inspectors of Schools report Achievement for All published in 1996 drew on the results of international studies on achievement, a review of research literature and the Assessment of Achievement Programme to help inform its findings. There has been no recent specifically Scottish research which examines the effects of class organisation on learning and teaching.

Judgements made during HMI inspections suggest that when used effectively the use of attainment groups, setting or broadband setting, can help improve pupil performance.

Question reference: S1W-06649

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to conduct a multi-modal corridor study covering the A82 between Anniesland and the Erskine Bridge and the A814 between Finnieston and the Erskine Bridge.

Question reference: S1W-06650

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial and technical criteria are used in determining the best value for money solutions for specific schemes needed to meet the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment (Scotland) Regulations 1994.

The Scottish Water Authorities use a range of criteria in determining the best investment solutions for constructing schemes to serve their customers needs, including those schemes needed to meet the requirements of the 1994 Regulations.

These will include financial and technical criteria, but clearly other issues will also come into play, including planning and environmental considerations. At the top end of those projects necessary to meet Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive requirements, are PFI/PPP projects. These are subject to rigorous scrutiny and assessment by the water authorities, using extensive guidance prepared by HM Treasury Taskforce for this purpose. However, the main criterion here is that of a demonstrable saving in project costs over the Public Sector Comparator.

In relation to those schemes which are undertaken directly and funded by the water authorities, the approach generally will be to identify the solution which offers best value for money, using a number of criteria. Scoping exercises will be undertaken to identify possible sites; assessments made of the environmental advantages and disadvantages of the sites, including cost considerations. Some sites will then be chosen for further detailed study, resulting in the identification of a preferred site.

Experienced contractors will then be invited to submit tenders for the required facilities, and that which best satisfies the criteria will be selected. The water authorities have to be satisfied that the requisite statutory standards can be achieved; that the project can be completed in a manner compatible with wider environmental considerations; and that the facilities will offer the most effective long-term cost.

Question reference: S1W-06582

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Angus MacKay on 22 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many child deaths in the past five years were caused by (a) heroin and (b) methadone.

The information available is given in the table below.Deaths involving certain drugs, persons aged under 16, Scotland

	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
(a) heroin (including morphine)	0	0	1	1	0
(b) methadone	2	0	0	1	1

Notes:

1. The table gives the numbers of deaths where the drug specified was recorded as being present at the time of death, either alone or in combination with one or more other drugs. When a number of drugs are identified in a body it is not always possible to tell which of them made the major contribution to death.

2. For the overwhelming majority of cases where morphine has been identified in post-mortem toxicological tests, it is believed that its presence is a by-product of heroin.

3. The information for 1999 is provisional.

Question reference: S1W-06476

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 19 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to ensure the adequate provision of specialist legal advice to asylum seekers and their dependants.

Question reference: S1W-06472

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 19 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it submitted a response to the consultation document by Her Majesty's Government on the main regulations relating to Part (vi) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

Question reference: S1W-06475

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 19 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what input it had in the development of the criteria used to determine to which areas asylum seekers and their dependants are sent in Scotland.

Question reference: S1W-06473

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 19 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether discussions have taken place with local authorities and other interested parties regarding the delivery and management of services which local authorities could be contracted to provide asylum seekers and their dependants.

Question reference: S1W-06474

Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 19 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what translation services are currently available to assist the successful induction of asylum seekers and their dependants into host communities.