- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answers to questions S2W-1566, S2W-1567, S2W-1568 and S2W-1569 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 6 August 2003, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has any plans to compensate any staff whose personal pension payments and arrangements have been adversely affected by the decision to withdraw from the direct debit scheme and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The SPCB has noplans to compensate any staff whose personal pension payments and arrangementshave been adversely affected by the decision to change the method of paymentand withdraw from the direct debit scheme. The SPCB has complied with itsobligations under the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority and ensuredthat all contributions were and are paid over to pension providers within theset deadlines.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answers to questions S2W-1566, S2W-1567, S2W-1568 and S2W-1569 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 6 August 2003, what steps the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) took to inform MSPs, as employers, of the impact its decision to withdraw from the direct debit scheme would have on their staffs' pension payments.
Answer
As none of the providershighlighted any specific problems prior to the withdrawal of the direct debitscheme and no problems were envisaged, the SPCB felt that it was notnecessary to inform individual MSPs of the change in the method of payment.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answers to questions S2W-1566, S2W-1567, S2W-1568 and S2W-1569 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 6 August 2003, which pension providers (a) responded and (b) did not respond to the correspondence sent to them relating to the ending of the direct debit scheme.
Answer
The table below lists thepension providers who responded to our correspondence within three months ofreceipt and those who did not.
| Did respond within the first three months | Did not respond within the first three months |
| Abbey Life Abbey National Allied Dunbar CIS Friends Provident Guardian Royal Exchange Perpetual Investments Marks & Spencer Scottish Life Scottish Mutual Skandia Life AMP NPI Legal & General Scottish Equitable Scottish Widows Standard Life Clerical Medical Colonial Life Sun Life of Canada | Axa Assurance CGU Equitable Life Halifax Life/Bank of Scotland Investments Lloyds TSB National Westminster Prudential Scottish Amicable |
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answers to questions S2W-1566, S2W-1567, S2W-1568 and S2W-1569 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 6 August 2003, what the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) considers its responsibility to be in relation to the communication of matters, and decisions that it takes, directly affecting staff employed by MSPs and what methods of communication are in place to ensure that such staff are appropriately informed of, and consulted on, such matters and decisions.
Answer
The SPCB hasvarious ways of keeping staff employed by MSPs informed of issues that maydirectly affect them, for example: through the use of e-mail; notices;telephone; letters etc. In this case, however, because these procedural changeswere made in order to comply with legislation, it was not considered necessaryto consult with MSPs staff.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answers to questions S2W-1566, S2W-1567, S2W-1568 and S2W-1569 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 6 August 2003, what steps the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) is taking to address the issues relating to its inability to meet its obligations in relation to compliance with Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) regulations in order that the reintroduction of the direct debit scheme can be considered.
Answer
The only way that the SPCB canensure that it complies fully with the regulations of OPRA is for it to havecomplete control over the payments made to the pension providers. Since thedirect debit system gives the pension provider full control of when and howmuch is collected, the SPCB will not be re-introducing the direct debit system.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 28 August 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answers to questions S2W-1566, S2W-1567, S2W-1568 and S2W-1569 by Mr Duncan McNeil on 6 August 2003, how many staff have been affected by the decision of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) to withdraw from the direct debit scheme.
Answer
Following the decision to withdrawfrom the direct debit scheme there are problems currently outstanding whichaffect eight members of staff all with the one provider. However, the SPCB has nowagreed a way forward with the provider to resolve these.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 27 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether hypertrophic cardiomyopathy will be made a notifiable disease so that all cases must be identified and statistics of its incidence produced.
Answer
The Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency maintains data on the incidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In addition, the General Registrar’s Office has a code to record cardiomyopathy as a cause of death, if it appears on the death certificate. It is the responsibility of the doctor signing the death certificate to record accurately the cause of death.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 27 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide funding to instal defibrillators in shopping malls and supermarkets in line with the action taken by Her Majesty's Government and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1544 on 12 August 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 26 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that gifted children have the opportunity to fulfil their talents, with appropriate access to national initiatives giving support in drama, music, sport or academic pursuits, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland.
Answer
the Scottish Executive currently provides £4.2 million annually to local authorities for nine Centres of Excellence in Highland, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, East Ayrshire, Fife, and East Dunbartonshire. These centres offer specialist provision in music, traditional Scottish music, dance, sport or modern languages.
In addition, the Executive has set up a £5 million trust fund, known as the Dewar Arts Awards, to support exceptionally talented young people across the arts in Scotland who have limited financial resources. The awards aim to foster excellence in the arts and offer talented youngsters from less privileged backgrounds an opportunity to develop their talent to the highest level.
Under the Lottery Sports Fund,
sportscotland operate a Junior Groups Programme, designed to develop Scotland’s emerging talent to ensure international success in sport when the current crop of elite athletes have retired. It provides support to groups of talented young people participating in a co-ordinated programme of coaching and competitive events.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 22 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-704 by Mr Tom McCabe on 27 June 2003, when the information sought on psychiatric specialist posts will be provided and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
The information requested is given in the document Psychiatric Specialist Posts (1998-2002), derived from ISD census data, a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number: 28735).
