Questions and answers

Question reference: S1W-10598

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be a criterion for the building of new schools that they have suitable facilities and premises to offer technological studies.

Question reference: S1W-10600

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the age profile of technological studies teachers is currently and was in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S1W-10595

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were presented for examination in technological studies at each level in each of the last five years in each local authority area.

Information on the number of pupils who were presented for examination in technological studies at standard grade and higher grade in each of the last five years in each local authority area is presented below.

Table: Presentations in Technological Studies at Standard Grade and Higher Grade: 1995 to 1999

	Standard Grade Presentations					Higher Grade Presentations
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Scotland	5,978	5,258	4,897	4,282	3,649	1,191	1,190	1,142	976	992
Aberdeen City	236	188	207	215	221	58	47	45	53	59
Aberdeenshire	354	283	289	285	299	83	91	81	101	86
Angus	154	139	107	98	106	26	30	47	26	41
Argyll & Bute	132	115	130	116	99	27	36	36	24	12
Clackmannanshire	68	60	58	42	70	30	23	23	17	22
Dumfries & Galloway	173	140	164	107	99	30	33	22	22	9
Dundee City	139	156	111	82	96	24	37	23	19	14
East Ayrshire	113	104	107	120	58	3	17	19	23	22
East Dunbartonshire	200	197	179	214	135	54	63	49	47	63
East Lothian	60	70	58	56	49	26	31	26	28	28
East Renfrewshire	85	63	50	54	36	8	9	7	12	7
Edinburgh, City	205	184	153	151	135	65	71	63	46	49
Eilean Siar	58	30	28	40	19	6	10	11	5	14
Falkirk	153	172	111	142	132	29	23	33	25	25
Fife	363	305	334	245	215	80	82	74	82	79
Glasgow City	543	485	394	333	260	77	71	60	38	61
Highland	327	279	263	275	205	68	54	63	59	74
Inverclyde	143	113	109	73	79	34	27	26	9	5
Midlothian	120	92	63	72	65	40	33	33	26	25
Moray	101	120	134	74	60	13	22	18	32	8
North Ayrshire	217	175	180	145	101	34	41	53	29	24
North Lanarkshire	458	437	360	252	237	75	50	47	33	29
Orkney Islands	30	36	49	32	29	17	14	16	9	8
Perth & Kinross	179	130	151	128	105	52	39	49	31	42
Renfrewshire	259	284	282	195	135	34	21	41	15	19
Scottish Borders	158	112	110	102	88	34	39	14	34	25
Shetland Islands	29	34	5	16	9	8	7	15	8	9
South Ayrshire	112	101	110	83	69	34	19	31	17	17
South Lanarkshire	400	330	323	294	211	71	84	51	46	53
Stirling	102	105	88	69	54	19	28	28	27	21
West Dunbartonshire	144	108	101	94	87	12	10	16	17	20
West Lothian	163	111	89	78	86	20	28	22	16	22

Question reference: S1W-10464

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance is available to promote Scotland as a venue for international conferences.

Question reference: S1W-10466

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available about the modes of travel to Scotland of conference delegates attending international conferences at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Question reference: S1W-10512

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the operation of IR35 in the information technology sector in Scotland and its effect on growth and employment in this sector.

Question reference: S1W-09636

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2000
Current Status: Answered by Angus MacKay on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the public bodies for which each Department and Minister is responsible, giving the level of accountability to the Minister for each one.

The list of public bodies, including Executive, Advisory and Tribunal Non-Departmental Public Bodies, NHS Bodies, state owned companies and public corporations, and the sponsor departments is given below. Under section 57 of the Scotland Act, the Scottish Executive operates on the basis of collective responsibility of the Executive as a whole.

Details of ministerial powers of control for each of these bodies is not held centrally but is contained within the management documentation for each body and, where appropriate, the legislation which established the organisation.

PUBLIC BODIES

Development Department

Executive NDPBs

Accounts Commission for Scotland

Scottish Homes

Advisory NDPBs

Building Standards Advisory Committee

Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland

Scottish Valuation and Rating Council

Tribunal NDPBS

Rent Assessment Panel for Scotland

State Owned Companies

Scottish Transport Group

Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd

Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd

Education Department

Executive NDPBs

Community Learning Scotland

Learning and Teaching Scotland

National Galleries of Scotland

National Library of Scotland

National Museum of Scotland

Scottish Arts Council

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration

Scottish Screen

Sportscotland

Advisory NDPBs

Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland

General Teaching Council for Scotland

Historic Buildings Council for Scotland

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland

Tribunal NDPBS

Children's Panel

Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department

Executive NDPBs

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Scottish Enterprise

Scottish Further Education Funding Council

Scottish Further Education Unit

Scottish Higher Education Funding Council

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Scottish Tourist Board

Advisory NDPBs

Scottish Industrial Development Advisory Board

State Owned Company

Students Loan Company Ltd.

Health Department

Executive NDPBs

National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for Scotland

Scottish Hospital Endowments Research Trust

Scottish Medical Practices Committee

Advisory NDPBs

Health Appointments Advisory Committee

Post Qualification Education Board for Health Service Pharmacists in Scotland

Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards

Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse

Scottish Advisory Committee on the Medical Workforce

Scottish Dental Practice Board

National Health Service Bodies

Clinical Standards Board for Scotland

Common Services Agency for the NHS in Scotland

Health Boards

Health Education Board for Scotland

Health Technology Board for Scotland

Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland

National Health Service Trusts

Scottish Ambulance Service Board

Scottish Health Advisory Service

Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education

Scottish Hospital Trust

State Hospitals Board for Scotland

NHS Tribunals

NHS Tribunal

Justice Department

Executive NDPBs

Parole Board for Scotland

Scottish Conveyancing and Executry Services Board

Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

Scottish Legal Aid Board

Advisory NDPBs

Central Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace (Scotland)

Justices of the Peace Advisory Committee

Scottish Law Commission

Scottish Police College Board of Governors

Scottish Records Advisory Council

Tribunal NDPBS

Horserace Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal for Scotland

Lands Tribunal for Scotland

Pensions Appeal Tribunal for Scotland

Rural Affairs Department

Executive NDPBs

Crofters' Commission

Deer Commission for Scotland

Hannah Research Institute

Macaulay Land Use Research Institute

Moredun Research Institute

Rowett Research Institute

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

Scottish Agricultural Wages Board

Scottish Crop Research Institute

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Scottish Natural Heritage

Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland

Advisory NDPBs

Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Fisheries (Electricity) Committee

Hill Farming Advisory Committee for Scotland

Scottish Standing Committee for the Calculation of Residual Values of Fertilizers and feeding Stuffs

Public Corporations

East of Scotland Water Authority

North of Scotland Water Authority

West of Scotland Water Authority

Question reference: S1W-10300

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail, with regard to the proposals for Pacific Quay as a centre for creative industries, (a) what funding has been and is being made available; (b) who will be resident and in occupation at the centre; (c) what the projected si'e is of the project; (d) what the intended start and completion dates are; (e) how it is proposed the centre will interact with a distribution or marketing network for the industry, and (f) what interaction the centre will have with the film industry and academic bodies.

Pacific Quay is one of the key infrastructure developments associated with the Creative Industries Cluster Strategy. £2.6 million has been identified in the operating plan for 2000-01 for infrastructure development on the part of the site owned by Scottish Enterprise. This is subject to Scottish Enterprise's annual budget approval process. It is planned that Scottish Enterprise will expend on infrastructure such as site clearance, telecoms, and access and egress solutions over the next three to five years.

It is envisaged that development of office and incubator facilities on the site will be undertaken in partnership with private companies with an interest in the digital media industries. Discussions are ongoing with a number of interested parties. Work is also being done in conjunction with Locate in Scotland to identify and target relevant potential inward investors to the site.

Scottish Enterprise, in conjunction with its partners in the Creative Industries Cluster, has agreed that the vision for Pacific Quay is one that brings together broadcasters, facilities/post-production companies, interactive software/media companies, independent producers, internet/web designers etc.

The cluster as a whole includes links with academic institutions, in relation to training and skills development and the commercialisation of research projects through the Proof of Concept Fund.

Discussions regarding the film industry's potential involvement with Pacific Quay are ongoing.

Question reference: S1W-11005

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 20 November 2000

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answer to question S1W-10467 by Sir David Steel on 6 November 2000, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will provide a breakdown of the gradings and level of seniority of the staff currently on secondment from the Scottish Executive.

The grading of the Scottish Executive secondees working in the Scottish Parliament are set out below. The ranking is from most senior (C2) to most junior (A3). The list does not include the Directors. The terms and conditions of service of the Directors (with the exception of the Director of the Holyrood Project) have not yet been agreed and the individuals are, therefore, still subject to the transitional arrangements for the provision of staff from the former Scottish Office. This situation will be resolved in the context of the current grading, structure, efficiency and pay review for all Corporate Body staff.

Grade	Number of staff in post
C2	3
C1	9
B3	9
B2	8
B1	11
A4	2
A3	7
Total	49

Question reference: S1W-06795

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what incentives it proposes to introduce to encourage recycling by individuals and local authorities and what is the proposed financial expenditure thereon.

The National Waste Strategy: Scotland, which we adopted in 1999, outlines the ways in which we intend to change the way waste is dealt with in Scotland. A basic principle of the strategy is that local solutions will be developed to deal with the problem of local waste. Eleven groups called Waste Strategy Areas have been set up to investigate the best practicable environmental option for dealing with waste in each area. Each group includes local authorities, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, waste industry representatives, local enterprise companies and other interested parties. The findings of these groups will be presented in Area Waste Plans.

The Executive is committed to a more sustainable future for waste management in Scotland and, as Sarah Boyack explained in answer to question S1W-10588, has made available considerable resources for the implementation of Area Waste Plans by local authorities, including a Strategic Waste Fund of £3 million this year and £50.4 million over the three years 2001-02 to 2003-04. I expect that recycling will play a major role in the solutions identified in these plans.

Sarah Boyack also announced in question S1W-10588 that we are contributing £2.1 million to the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) over three years. WRAP will have a business focus and will concentrate initially on market facilitation, promoting investment in recycling, research and information management and the provision of guidance, advice and technical support. In addition, the Executive will continue to fund the Recycled Markets Development (ReMaDe) Scotland programme which takes a hands-on, local approach to identifying and developing markets for recycled materials.

By tackling the barriers to recycling through WRAP and ReMaDe we aim to lay a sound foundation upon which we can improve Scotland's poor recycling record.

Chamber and committees