Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S1W-08005

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 29 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet Brian Duffield of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) project and what information it will seek from him regarding (a) the future of the UHI project and (b) any barriers which prevent the UHI from securing university status.

Officials wrote to UHI on 6 April setting out issues for UHI to resolve with its Academic Partners before we can reach a decision on whether to approve the application submitted on behalf of a new institution, called UHI, to be designated as a provider of higher education, eligible for funding by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. These are, broadly, technical issues surrounding service level provision, and constitutionaI issues concerning the respective responsibilities of UHI and its Academic Partners. I met Sir Fraser Morrison, Chairman of UHI, the company promoting the University of the Highlands and Islands Project, on 9 June, and he was able to give me an encouraging report of progress in addressing the outstanding issues. I have no plans to meet Professor Duffield.

Designation is a necessary first step for all higher education institutions seeking university status. In addition, they must satisfy rigorous academic, breadth and numeric criteria. These have been agreed by all four UK Ministers with responsibility for higher education and the Privy Council, which is responsible for authorising use of the word "university" as part of an institution's title. UHI would be expected to meet these criteria.

Question reference: S1W-08006

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 29 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of what the expenditure of #9.86 million on the University of the Highlands and Islands project has been spent on and on what the further provision of #1 million is to be spent.

Of the £9.86 million development funding provided to the University of the Highlands and Islands Project over the years 1996-97 to 1999-2000, £3.68 million has been spent on academic development, £4.12 million on information and communication technology investment and development and £2.06 million on the costs of the Project's Executive Office.

The project has yet to provide a breakdown into these categories of the £1 million in the current financial year.

Question reference: S1W-07882

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 27 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether as part of its work on the 2000 revaluation it is expected that the Scottish Property network will receive from each assessor an electronic copy of the valuation roll; when this information is expected to be received; whether it will publish or place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a summary of this information, and what the combined rateable value of all properties in Scotland is.

Question reference: S1W-06545

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 26 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Scotland have complained of suffering from organophosphate poisoning in the last five years.

Expert advice is that it is difficult to establish diagnostic criteria for organophosphate poisoning, other than acute poisoning cases which are rare. Therefore, there has been no central data collection.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate, an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, is currently commissioning work to address the most common patterns of exposure, clinical presentation and subsequent clinical course among people in the UK with chronic illnesses that they attribute to OPs.

An independent scrutiny of case reports involving sheep dip Human Suspected Adverse Reaction Surveillance Scheme database will also be conducted.

Question reference: S1W-06338

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 26 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4370 by Mr Jack McConnell on 12 April 2000, whether it will list, in relation to the political activities of individuals appointed to public bodies between 1 April and 31 December 1999, the names of (a) the 18 individuals who fell within category A and (b) the 26 individuals who fell within category B, indicating in each case the nature of their public appointment.

The information requested is set out in the table below:

Name andPosition Held	Body	Category A	Category B
Mr John FindlayMember	Argyll and Clyde Health Board		4
Mr I G Mitchell QCMember	Central Advisory Committee on Justice of the Peace		4
Mr W A Ratter Member	Crofters Commission	4
Ms Jeanette BurnessMember	Forth Valley Health Board	4
Ms Teresa McNallyMember	Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust	4
Ms Jane DarnbroughMember	Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee	4
Lord Wilson of TillyornMember	National Museums of Scotland		4
Ms Christina MacaulayMember	National Museums of Scotland		4
Mr Robert MurrayMember	North of Scotland Water Authority	4	4
Mr Stephen HaganMember	North of Scotland Water Authority	4
Ms Yvonne AllanMember	North of Scotland Water Authority	4	4
Ms Elizabeth CameronMember	Scottish Arts Council	4	4
Mr Ron PresswoodMember	Scottish Arts Council	4	4
Mr J S MoncrieffMember	Scottish Arts Council		4
Mr Harry McGuiganMember	Scottish Children's Report Administration	4
Mr Brian SouterMember	Scottish Enterprise		4
Mr Ian RitchieMember	Scottish Enterprise		4
Ms Christine MayMember	Scottish Enterprise	4	4
Mr Ken CollinsChair	Scottish Environment Protection Agency	4
Ms Susan ClarkMember	Scottish Environment Protection Agency	4
Mr Bill HowatsonMember	Scottish Environment Protection Agency	4
Ms Rowena ArshadMember	Scottish Higher Education Funding Council	4	4
Prof. Colin BellMember	Scottish Higher Education Funding Council		4
Ms Christine MayMember	Scottish Homes	4	4
Canon L S SmithMember	Scottish Homes	4
Mr Ian Borthwick	Tayside Primary Care NHS Trust	4
Mr David HamiltonMember	East of Scotland Water Authority	4	4
Mr Donald CampbellMember	West of Scotland Water Authority	4
Ms Rita Miller Member (subsequently resigned)	West of Scotland Water Authority	4	4
Totals		21	17

The total number of appointees coming within the scope of Categories A and B differs from that given in my answer to question S1W-4370. The figures contained within my earlier answer were incorrect. These inaccuracies only came to light when collating the detailed information requested for this answer.I have investigated this matter and instructed that arrangements be put in place to ensure that accurate statistical records are maintained. This has been done.

Question reference: S1W-07806

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunity for input it gave to the Parliament with respect to the setting of standards agreed between the water authorities and the Water Industry Commissioner and what opportunity the Parliament was given to specify what these standards and levels of compensation might be.

Question reference: S1W-07807

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 23 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether provisions under the Education and Training (Scotland) Bill and any proposed subordinate legislation which may be made under the Bill will allow for a pilot scheme on the operation of individual learning accounts in rural locations and, if so, whether such a pilot will be conducted in each local enterprise area in both the Highlands and Islands and the Borders and whether provisions will allow for remuneration in respect of attendance at learning centres.

In two pilot areas - the Lochaber and Scottish Borders local enterprise company (LEC) areas - holders of individual learning accounts (ILAs) will be able to seek financial assistance through the ILA scheme towards travel, subsistence and childcare costs. This is being done under the existing powers of the enterprise network. It is intended that regulations to be made under the powers being sought in the Education and Training (Scotland) Bill would enable such pilots to continue.

Reimbursement is likely to relate to the costs of attending local learning centres or other approved learning providers.

Question reference: S1W-05712

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 22 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of any effect the aggregates tax will have on the capital and revenue budgets for the roads programme for each of the next three years and whether it will detail any amounts involved.

Question reference: S1W-07504

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will specify what the new guaranteed minimum service standards for water customers across Scotland are; what are the circumstances whereby water authorities must compensate customers who receive poor service; whether the standards apply to the drinking quality of water; whether standard compensation will be listed for planned interruptions, delays in restoration of supply, response to complaints and reply to enquiries, failure to maintain appointments and flooding sewers; whether there is compensation payable for the contamination of a water supply, and, if compensation is not available in any of these circumstances, whether it will explain the reasons.

The Water Industry Commissioner is currently consulting on his proposals for new guaranteed minimum service standards for water customers, which cover the various circumstances listed in your question. The details of the proposals are available directly on the Commissioner's website (www.watercommissioner.co.uk). I welcome the Commissioner's commitment to work with the water authorities to increase their standards of service to customers.

Question reference: S1W-04920

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will increase its targets of 1,000 modern apprenticeships by 2003 in the tourism industry given that the number of persons employed within the industry is between 170,000 and 180,000 and, if not, why not.