- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 13 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include, in the guidance given to schools about their curriculum, guidance in support of lessons about personal financial planning and debt avoidance.
Answer
The Scottish Executive in partnership with Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Financial Services Authority and The Royal Bank of Scotland has already provided education authorities and schools with advice and teaching materials on a range of issues relating to personal finance, including financial planning and debt avoidance.This existing guidance will be supplemented by the launch later this month of a CD-ROM, Facing up to Finance, for use in S3/S4 classes.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to legislate to treat incitement to sectarian violence as a crime in the same way as incitement to racial violence is dealt with in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
Answer
No. Existing criminal law is sufficiently robust and flexible to respond to crimes of violence and incitement to violence. In addition, guidance has been issued that any evidence of religious motivation or hostility should be brought to the attention of the Procurator Fiscal and the court. The court can consider this as an aggravating factor in sentencing.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or the Scottish Office issued guidance relating to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to parallel the guidance issued in England by the Home Office.
Answer
The Scottish Office issued guidance on the Scottish provisions on racially aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in September 1998, prior to the Act coming into force. Further guidance on the main Scottish provisions in the Act was issued in October 1998.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 13 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what facilities exist in each health board area for the diagnosis of developmental dyspraxia and how many adults have been assessed as suffering from developmental dyspraxia in each health board area in each of the last five years.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 13 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many adults diagnosed with developmental dyspraxia are currently (a) awaiting treatment and (b) undergoing treatment in each health board area.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 12 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will arrange to visit and assess the 44 private training providers which were not visited as part of its Study of the Full-Time Education and Training Option in Scottish Colleges and Private Training Providers.
Answer
Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.There are no plans to extend the study to the 44 private training providers.To build on the strengths identified in the Full-Time Education and Training (FTET) Report, three regional good practice dissemination events are being held in Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh this month to enable the expertise established by private training providers and FE colleges to be shared between New Deal specialist staff in both sectors. These will be workshop-led events. Each workshop has an identified theme which will maximise the opportunity to highlight good practice in key areas related to the New Deal programme.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 12 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it expects the roadworks related to the construction of the Holyrood Parliament building to cost.
Answer
The road works related to the construction of the Holyrood Parliament fall into two categories. The first involves the upgrading of the roads in Holyrood Park around the Parliament site to carry the traffic which will be displaced by the closure of the eastern end of Holyrood Road. This work, which is now underway, is being funded through Historic Scotland, the managers of Holyrood Park, at an estimated cost of £1.420 million inclusive of fees and VAT.The second area of road works involves traffic calming measures to Horse Wynd and Reid's Close. This work is being funded by the Scottish Executive through the City of Edinburgh Council, who are responsible for the roads outwith the park and is at detailed design stage. There will be further discussions with the council about the cost of these works.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 12 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to include an element of training on special educational needs as part of the core training requirements of new undergraduate teachers.
Answer
Components within the core of courses of initial teacher education already consist, where appropriate, of inter-related units in special educational needs. Guidelines for initial teacher education in Scotland require teacher education institutions to prepare teachers to be responsive to the needs of all pupils in respect of special educational needs.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 12 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the management of Holyrood Park has to give notice of road closures in the park and what the reasons are for this position.
Answer
I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Holyrood Park is a Royal Park managed on behalf of the Scottish Ministers by Historic Scotland. Historic Scotland normally aim to provide one week's notice of forthcoming road closures to local radio stations, emergency services, the City of Edinburgh Council and motorists' organisations. Occasionally, roads are closed at short notice for emergencies.The roads within the park are classed as Crown roads and are not formally part of the local public road network. The Holyrood Park Regulations grant powers of closure to the Royal Parks Constabulary.Because the Parliament development will close the east end of Holyrood Road, with traffic being diverted through the park, Historic Scotland and the City Council are currently discussing an agreement which will govern future road closures in the park.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many poinding applications have been made by or on behalf of each local authority, in each of the last five years.
Answer
Poindings proceed on the authority of the extracted warrant. No applications for poinding are therefore made. The table sets out the number of poindings effected under the summary warrant procedure for Council Tax arrears and Community Tax arrears for the years 1995 to 1999 in Scotland which are the latest available. The data collected does not specify the numbers of poindings effected by each local authority.
| | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
Council Tax: |
| Poindings effected | 5,115 | 6,850 | 12,046 | 10,260 | 10,029 |
Community Charge: |
| Poindings effected | 2,193 | 946 | 916 | 747 | 587 |
