- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs it estimates there will be in call centres in each year until 2005.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not produce forecasts of the levels of employment by sector.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what regional selective assistance has been given to call centre employers on an annual basis since 1997 and what criteria and qualifications have been attached to any such assistance.
Answer
The following amounts of Regional Selective Assistance have been paid to call centre projects for the financial years noted below:
| 1997-98 | £1,150,000 |
| 1998-99 | £9,932,000 |
| 1999-2000 | £4,890,000 |
| 2000-01 | £4,009,400 |
Grant offers to call centre projects are subject to the normal criteria of the Regional Selective Assistance grant scheme including location, investment, jobs, need, viability and private sector investment. However, grant offers in respect of call centre projects will typically require the assisted jobs to be maintained for longer periods than are specified for other types of projects assisted under the scheme.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many call centres there were in each year since 1997.
Answer
The table below gives estimates of the number of call centres in Scotland each year since 1997.
Call centres in Scotland 1997-2000| Year | Call centres | Employees | Source |
| 1997 | 119 | 16,000 | Taylor & Bain, 1997 |
| 1998 | 159 | 21,000 | Locate in Scotland |
| 1999 | 170 | 30,000 | Bain & Taylor, 1999 |
| 2000 | 220 | 46,000 | Taylor & Bain, 2000 |
Source: Call Centre Association.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of fuel for fire service vehicles was, broken down by fire board, for the financial years 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
Answer
Information from fire authorities is as follows:
| 1999-2000 | 2000-01 |
| Central Scotland Fire Brigade | £108,236 | £108,860 |
| Dumfries and Galloway Fire Brigade | £35,264 | £39,642 |
| Fife Fire and Rescue Service | £84,250 | £97,445 |
| Grampian Fire Brigade | £120,534 | £121,493 |
| Highlands and Islands Fire Brigade | £95,965 | £110,220 |
| Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade | £214,551 | £251,555 |
| Strathclyde Fire Brigade | £555,973 | £666,166 |
| Tayside Fire Brigade | £110,129 | £130,425 |
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has a strategy to enhance the skills of call centre staff and what arrangements it has with call centre employers to improve the skills and knowledge of their staff.
Answer
The strategy for enterprise "A Smart Successful Scotland" places skills and learning at the heart of the activities of the Enterprise Networks. This strategic focus on raising skills levels and better matching skills and opportunities is relevant in all sectors and industries, including the call centre sector. Higher and further education institutions offer a wide range of learning opportunities and skills training designed to respond to current and future labour market needs.In addition, a number of further education colleges offer tailored call centre training and Local Enterprise Companies use a range of training providers to meet the training needs of call centre employers. This includes specialised training, such as voice coaching, and a professional development award for call centres and employability skills, such as confidence building, team working, and IT skills. Higher education institutions provide language courses and some provide tailored courses for business and industry supporting a wide range of skill requirements. This includes provision aimed at the call centre market linking language and IT training with customer care and technical telephone skills.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of fuel for police vehicles was, broken down by police force, for the financial years 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
Answer
The cost of fuel for police vehicles for each police force in 1999-2000 is shown in the following table. Figures for 2000-01 are not yet available.
| Force | 1999-2000 |
| Central | £280,580 |
| Dumfries & Galloway | £260,547 |
| Fife | £334,836 |
| Grampian | £511,891 |
| Lothian & Borders | £801,331 |
| Northern | £368,205 |
| Strathclyde | £2,220,938 |
| Tayside | £427,450 |
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the new standard grade course in technological studies will proceed in the coming academic year and, if this matter is still under consideration, when a decision will be announced.
Answer
SQA has developed new General and Credit Standard Grade courses in technological studies which will be available from session 2001-02. The Foundation level course will be discontinued and pupils directed into courses more appropriate for their needs. A letter was issued on 2 May to presenting centres informing them of these arrangements.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the new standard grade course in Technological Studies will proceed in the coming academic year and, if this matter is still under consideration, when a decision will be announced.
Answer
SQA has developed new General and Credit Standard Grade courses in technological studies which will be available from session 2001-02. The Foundation level course will be discontinued and pupils directed into courses more appropriate for their needs. A letter was issued on 2 May to presenting centres informing them of these arrangements.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 March 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 14 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what other venues were considered for the Scottish-Nordic Council meeting and why they were not selected.
Answer
In summer 2000, Highlands & Island Enterprise recommended Skibo Castle as the venue for the conference. The conference rate negotiated was comparable with other venues when all costs were taken into account. Of the venues available, Skibo Castle best met the specifications required for a conference involving some 35 senior Nordic officials and 20 of their Scottish counterparts.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 11 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of the recruitment of a new Chief Executive of visitscotland, whether a limit will be set for this expenditure on this and which budget will cover the cost of the recruitment.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15295 on 8 May 2001. visitscotland will cover the cost of the recruitment.
