- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek to invoke the exceptions under the Freedom of Information Code of Conduct to withhold from the Education, Culture and Sport and Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committees access to any of the documents relevant to their inquiries into the exam results and in particular whether it will withhold access to any documents relating to advice or other communication from officials to Ministers, or to communications between the Scottish Qualifications Authority and officials.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-9735.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre details of the recommendations made by the senior member of its IT Directorate following his meeting with the Scottish Qualifications Authority; when this meeting took place, and what steps the Executive took to ensure that all recommendations were accepted and implemented.
Answer
A senior official within the Scottish Executive Communications and Information Services Division met with the Scottish Qualifications Authority on 28 March. Details of the meeting and further action by the Executive have been provided to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the powers of direction granted by (a) section 11 of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 and (b) section 9 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1996 have been exercised.
Answer
The powers of direction granted by section 11 of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 and section 9 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 have never been used.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations were made by officials to Ministers regarding this year's exam results, whether any of these were (a) rejected outright, (b) not acted upon within one month of the date of the recommendation and (c) subject to deferred action, and whether it will place a copy of all relevant documents in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
It is not the practice of the Scottish Executive to make available advice from officials to Ministers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish (a) the minute or other document of 10 May from the Scottish Qualifications Authority and (b) the subsequent Scottish Qualifications Authority paper to a committee meeting referred to in the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Children and Education on 6 September 2000.
Answer
Copies of these documents have been submitted to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 15 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 5 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans and resources it has put in place to allow (a) local authorities, (b) health boards, (c) police forces, (d) fire brigades, (e) the Scottish Ambulance Service and (f) other government agencies to convert their vehicles to use liquid petroleum gas, in particular those organisations which are ineligible to receive Powershift Scheme funding.
Answer
Spending decisions are for the agencies concerned.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 5 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much Scottish public bodies spent on consultancy services in each of the last five years and how much they expect to spend in the current year and the following two years.
Answer
There are a variety of categories of public bodies including Executive, Advisory and Tribunal Non-Departmental Public Bodies, NHS Bodies, state-owned companies and public corporations. They operate at various levels of delegated responsibility, including the way in which they use consultancy services. Information on the use of these services is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 5 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8302 by Sarah Boyack on 22 August 2000, in respect of which lifeline air routes a public service obligation has been imposed; whether it considers that there are any other routes in respect of which a public service obligation should be imposed, in particular whether the Inverness to London Heathrow should be so designated, and, if so, what representations it has made or intends to make, in particular directly to the European Commission, in respect of each such route.
Answer
The lifeline air routes on which public service obligations have been imposed are as follows:
Glasgow-Campbeltown-Tiree |
Glasgow-Barra |
Stornoway-Benbecula-Barra |
Kirkwall-North Ronaldsay |
Kirkwall-Papa Westray |
Tingwall-Foula |
Tingwall-Papa Stour |
Tingwall-Out Skerries |
Tingwall/Sumburgh-Fair Isle |
It is for local authorities to consider whether public service obligations (PSOs) should be imposed on any air routes and to approach the Scottish Executive with economically and socially necessary cases for new PSOs in accordance with the criteria contained within EC Regulation 2408/92. The Scottish Executive has not made, and has no plans to make, representations to the European Commission in respect of new PSOs on any air routes.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 15 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 4 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-emergency ambulance journeys were cancelled in each health board area between: (a) 31 July 2000 and 4 August 2000; (b) 7 August 2000 and 11 August 2000; (c) 14 August 2000 and 18 August 2000; (d) 21 August 2000 and 25 August 2000; (e) 28 August 2000 and 1 September 2000; (f) 4 September 2000 and 8 September 2000; (g) 11 September and 15 September 2000; (h) 2nd August 1999 and 6 August 1999; (i) 9 August 1999 and 13 August 1999; (j) 16 August 1999 and 20 August 1999; (k) 23 August 1999 and 27 August 1999; (l) 30 August 1999 and 3 September 1999; (m) 6 September and 10 September and (n) 13 September and 17 September.
Answer
This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 15 September 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 4 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were cancelled in each health board area between: (a) 31 July 2000 and 4 August 2000; (b) 7 August 2000 and 11 August 2000; (c) 14 August 2000 and 18 August 2000; (d) 21 August 2000 and 25 August 2000; (e) 28 August 2000 and 1 September 2000; (f) 4 September 2000 and 8 September 2000; (g) 11 September 2000 and 15 September 2000; (h) 2 August 1999 and 6 August 1999; (i) 2 August 1999 and 6 August 1999; (j) 16 August 1999 and 20 August 1999; (k) 23 August 1999 and 27 August 1999; (l) 30 August 1999 and 3 September 1999; (m) 6 September 1999 and 10 September 1999 and (n) 13 September 1999 and 17 September 1999.
Answer
Information on the total number of operations cancelled by the NHS in Scotland is not available centrally.
Details of cancellations of planned admissions to hospitals are collected centrally and are published annually in Scottish Health Statistics. The latest edition is available in SPICe (Bib. number 6937).
