- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 6 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue guidelines to local authorities on minimum training requirement guidelines for staff recruited to provide support services to school-age children with special needs.
Answer
There are no plans to issue such guidelines. The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Manual of Good Practice emphasises the need for appropriate training for all staff. All teachers should, as part of their Initial Teacher Education (ITE), receive some grounding in special educational needs. The Ministerial Continuous Professional Development committee is looking at Continuous Professional Development requirements for all teachers (but not support staff). An Education Inclusion sub-group of this committee is considering training requirements of teachers working with pupils with SENs. Teachers specialist qualifications are also being considered as part of the review of The Schools Scotland Code.In addition, the Scottish Executive provides over £5 million annually for in-service training of teachers and other staff working with children who have special educational needs.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 6 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18121 by Ms Wendy Alexander on the 27 September 2001, whether it will give a breakdown of the results of the court actions raised against graduates to recover student loans in (a) 1998-99, (b) 1999-2000 and (c) 2000-01.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18956.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 1 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to local authorities to help reduce the number of injuries resulting from the use of fireworks during this year's Guy Fawkes celebrations.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-03987.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 23 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to provide a "diagnostic centre" for children who are believed to have some form of autistic spectrum disorder, dyspraxia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Answer
The Executive has no such plans.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 23 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to education authorities on permitting children with dyspraxia, autistic spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to be exempted from foreign languages study.
Answer
The Executive has not issued guidance to exempt pupils with these special educational needs from foreign language study. Scottish ministers are committed to taking forward entitlement to language learning for all children and young people. Whether or not particular pupils with special educational needs study foreign languages is a matter for the pupils, parents and school to consider.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 3 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any financial penalties imposed on private sector firms in each of the last five years for failures to deliver in relation to key performance indicators in (a) Private Finance Initiative and (b) Public/Private Partnership projects.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18247.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lanarkshire branch of Scottish Care has rescinded, or intends to rescind, its termination of its contract with North and South Lanarkshire Councils following the recent agreement reached between the Executive, Scottish Care and CoSLA on the funding of private care home places and, if it does not, how many residents in private care homes will need to find alternative accommodation.
Answer
This is a matter for the councils concerned and for Scottish Care.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out an investigation into why the average cost of providing a local authority residential care place for older people and people with dementia in the South Lanarkshire council area in both 2000-01 and 2001-02 was, according to the South Lanarkshire Joint Community Care Plan 2001-04 Summary of Expenditure 2000-01 and Purchasing Intentions 2001-02, more than double that for an independent or voluntary sector residential care place.
Answer
It is for each council to demonstrate to electors and auditors that it is achieving Best Value in its use of resources.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 3 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what standard penalty clauses have been included in its Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts and how many have been invoked since May 1999.
Answer
The Treasury Taskforce Standardisation of PFI Contracts has been available since July 1999. A copy is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 16339). It is broadly indicative of the type of provisions contained within PFI contracts although the Executive's contracts predate it. Payments under a PFI contract are routinely adjusted to reflect performance against it.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 3 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) Private Finance Initiative and (b) Public/Private Partnership contracts have been agreed in each of the last five years; how many were satisfactorily completed, and in how many was compensation (i) claimed from and (ii) paid by contractors, detailing the reason, the amount and the project in each case.
Answer
The following table shows the number of Private Finance Initiative contracts that have been agreed (signed) and satisfactorily completed (operational) in each of the last five years. Information on compensation is commercially confidential and being a matter for the public sector partners for each individual contract, is not held centrally. Relevant information on other forms of Public/Private Partnerships is not held centrally.
Year | Signed | Operational* |
1996-97 | 1 | 4 |
1997-98 | 0 | 8 |
1998-99 | 8 | 7 |
1999-2000 | 8 | 3 |
2000-01 | 6 | 1 |
*The reference date for operational projects has been taken as the date of financial close.
