- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 8 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to introduce legislation to permit class actions.
Answer
There are no plans at presentto introduce such legislation. The issues surrounding multi-party or representativeactions are complex and the arguments for and against the introduction of classaction procedure are finely balanced. There are already ways within existing proceduresby which multi-party actions can be successfully dealt with together, such as byconjoining cases. Informal working arrangements among solicitors representing anumber of parties can also help in co-ordinating claims and negotiating settlementswithout the need for a class action procedure. We will, however, keep this areaunder review.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 6 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive which projects are receiving funding through the Supporting People scheme and how much funding each project has received.
Answer
The Scottish Executive estimates that there are about 3,400Supporting People schemes in Scotland, rangingfrom services to one person to schemes for hundreds of householders. Local authoritieshave put in place agreements with providers to ensure continuity of service followingthe end of Transitional Housing Benefit and the beginning of the new SupportingPeople arrangements.
Whilst the level of funding isknown on a local authority basis, project level funding information is not collectedcentrally. The ScottishExecutive funds local authorities who commission these services from providers.The provisional grants made to local authorities by the Scottish Executive for 2003-04amounts to £287 million. A final reconciliation will soon take place and will resultin the final allocation of grant for Supporting People.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 2 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive in what ways it is supporting the recruitment and training of voluntary coaches and the development of clubs in all sports.
Answer
The Executive attaches greatimportance to the valuable role coaches and clubs make in our efforts to encouragewider participation in sport.
Through sportscotlandwe will have invested over £1.9 million in the three-year period to 2003-04 in acoaching network programme.
It is essential if we are toachieve our aim of encouraging lifelong participation in sport that a strong clubstructure is in place. We will be aiming to develop closer links between schoolsand local clubs as part of the Active Schools Programme and coaching and club developmentissues will be addressed in that context.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 30 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to include energy debt in its debt arrangement scheme.
Answer
We propose to include energydebt in debt payment programmes approved under the debt arrangement scheme. In addition,in order to prevent current liability becoming debt, the cost of current supplywill be taken into account and deducted along with other essential payments whencalculating surplus income available to pay towards settlement of debt. I have writtento the heads of the energy companies operating in Scotland seekingtheir agreement to protocols on the restriction of the use of pre-payment metersto collect arrears of energy debt.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 23 September 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answer to S2W-1861 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003, what steps the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has taken to establish whether any MSPs' staff affected by the change in the payment system for personal pensions have incurred loss as a result.
Answer
As the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has complied with its obligations under theOccupational Pensions Regulatory Authority rules to pay over pension contributionsby the 19th day of each month, it has not deemed it necessary to take steps toestablish whether any MSPs’ staff affected by the change in the payment systemfor personal pensions have incurred loss as a result. If any staff haveincurred a loss they should pursue the matter with the relevant pensionprovider.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 23 September 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answer to question S2W-1866 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003, how many staff were initially affected by the change in direct debit payments in respect of their personal pensions.
Answer
The number of MSPs staff whowere initially affected by the change was 151.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 23 September 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer which of the benefits listed in the leaflet Statement of Employee Benefits, issued by the Parliament's personnel office, applies to MSPs' staff.
Answer
With the exception of thefinal salary pension scheme and access to the corporate good and hardship funds,all the benefits listed in the leaflet are either automatically available toMSPs staff as a minimum or can be implemented at the discretion of theemploying member.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 23 September 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answer to question S2W-1864 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003, on how many occasions the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has communicated specifically with MSPs' staff on matters directly affecting them.
Answer
The Scottish ParliamentaryCorporate Body is unable to quantify on how many occasions it has communicatedspecifically with MSPs’ staff on matters directly affecting them.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 23 September 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answer to question S2W-1865 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003, how many external organisations the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has made payments to under the direct debit scheme
Answer
The total number of externalorganisations that the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has made paymentsto under the direct debit scheme is 24.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 19 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what differences there are between its responsibilities with regard to the education of school-age children at Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre and its responsibilities with regard to the education of other temporary residents in Scotland, such as children of military personnel or travelling people.
Answer
Responsibility for theeducation of school-age children at Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centrelies with Home Office ministers, who are continuing to discuss with the Scottish Executive and South Lanarkshire Council how to take forward the recommendationsof the reports by HMCIP and HMIE on the education and welfare services forchildren in Dungavel.
The exact nature of theresponsibilities of the Scottish Executive in relation to the educationof other temporarily resident children will depend upon whether they areeducated in local authority schools, in independent schools or at home.
