- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the time period required for notice of bankruptcy proceedings to be served.
Answer
In terms of section 12(2) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act, it is provided that "where a petition for sequestration of a debtor's estate is presented by a creditor or a trustee acting under a trust deed, the court shall grant warrant to cite the debtor to appear before it on such date as shall be specified in the warrant, being a date not less than 6 nor more than 14 days after the date of citation, to show cause why sequestration should not be awarded".In his statement to Parliament on the 30 May 2002, the First Minister confirmed his intention to consult on a draft bill to modernise personal bankruptcy law in Scotland. The period of notice is not within the scope of the proposals and is unlikely to be changed.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether plans for safeguarding goods in the ownership of third parties are robust and effective enough to ensure that such goods are not detained for lengthy periods of time as a result of poinding and other actions for the recovery of commercial debt.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29971 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa. The procedures in the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 for the protection of articles owned by third parties from poinding and warrant sale are well established. They are designed to be straightforward and for any disputes over ownership to be resolved quickly. I understand that experience has shown that they work well in practice.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to target 3 in the tourism, culture and sport section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys, whether it will define "under-represented groups" and how many people from such groups are currently estimated to be participating in cultural and sporting activity.
Answer
Technical Notes setting out the detail for each target in Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys will be available shortly. The Technical Notes will include information on definitions, who will gather the data, how the data will be gathered, the time period covered, trends, baseline data, and milestones.Under Target 3 for Tourism, Culture and Sport, the definition of under-represented groups includes: children (under 16 years old), young people (16 to 24 years old), disabled people, people from minority ethnic communities, women, older people (over 65), people living in rural areas, socially excluded people. Different under-represented groups are target priorities for different cultural organisations.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it currently provides for the promotion and development of women's sport.
Answer
The national strategy for sport, Sport 21, has a target to increase the participation of women in sport.Sportscotland are represented on the UK Co-ordinating Group for Women in Sport. This group has the aim of forming a collective strategy for changing sporting culture in the UK for women and girls. Research will be done to gather statistical evidence which will help Scotland (and other UK countries) identify what needs to be done.Sportscotland are currently supporting the following projects with specific women in sport targets: Jogscotland; the Scottish Football Association's women and girls football, and the Talented Athletes Programme (since June 2001, 45% of funding has gone to female athletes).
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of Education Action Plan funding; whether it will give any examples of how such funding is used; which local authorities have received such funding in each year since the funding was introduced, and what level of funding was received in each case.
Answer
The Education Action Plan programme came to an end on 31 March 2002. The purpose of the funding was to provide additional time-limited support to help education authorities to raise standards in schools facing major challenge.A total of £14.1 million was made available over the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2002. Following a bidding process, funding over the three-year period was offered to 16 authorities. East Ayrshire, Falkirk, Renfrewshire and South Ayrshire Councils each received £100,000 per year; Aberdeenshire, East Lothian, Fife, Inverclyde, Perth and Kinross and West Lothian Councils each received £200,000 per year; North Lanarkshire Council received £300,000 per year; Aberdeen City, Dundee City, City of Edinburgh and West Dunbartonshire Councils each received £500,000 per year, and Glasgow City Council received £800,000 per year.The funding has been used in a variety of ways. These include providing behaviour support bases and pupil support teams; developing alternative curriculum provision; enhancing early intervention programmes; improving in-service training in relation to discipline; extending use of information and communication technology, and establishing partnerships with parents.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have taken early retirement in each year since 1995.
Answer
The table shows how many teachers have retired early from the Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Scheme.
| Year | Premature(under 60) | Ill-health |
| 1995-96 | 1,071 | 467 |
| 1996-97 | 1,277 | 424 |
| 1997-98 | 2,183 | 435 |
| 1998-99 | 464 | 367 |
| 1999-2000 | 423 | 367 |
| 2000-01 | 300 | 323 |
| 2001-02 | 178 | 267 |
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 8 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many indoor tennis facilities are managed by each local authority and what the average hourly cost is of hiring such facilities.
Answer
The City of Aberdeen Council has four indoor courts, the City of Edinburgh Council has six indoor courts, Glasgow City Council has eight indoor courts at Scotstoun Leisure Centre and four indoor courts at Gorbals Leisure Centre, and East Dunbartonshire Council has two indoor courts.The hourly standard charges for each are set out in the table.
| £ |
| Aberdeen Indoor Tennis Centre (City of Aberdeen) |
| Adult Peak Winter | 16.75 |
| Adult Off Peak Winter | 13.40 |
| Adult Walk On Winter | 8.65 |
| Adult Peak Summer | 13.65 |
| Adult Off Peak Summer | 10.70 |
| Adult Walk On Summer | 8.65 |
| Junior Peak Winter | 9.40 |
| Junior Off Peak Winter | 6.95 |
| Junior Walk On Winter | 5.85 |
| Junior Peak Summer | 7.45 |
| Junior Off Peak Summer | 5.35 |
| Junior Walk On Summer | 4.35 |
| Family Peak Winter | 13.30 |
| Family Off Peak Winter | 10.20 |
| Family Walk On Winter | 7.25 |
| Family Peak Summer | 10.60 |
| Family Off Peak Summer | 7.85 |
| Family Walk On Summer | 6.50 |
| Craiglockhart Sports and Tennis Centre (City of Edinburgh) |
| Adult Member Peak | 14.00 |
| Junior Member Peak | 9.00 |
| Non-Member Peak | 16.00 |
| Adult Member Off Peak | 9.00 |
| Junior Member Off Peak | 9.00 |
| Non-Member Off Peak | 13.60 |
| Scotstoun Leisure Centre (City of Glasgow) |
| Adult Advance Booking | 11.25 |
| Concession Advance Booking | 7.55 |
| Adult Walk-On Rate | 5.85 |
| Concession Walk-On Rate | 4.05 |
| Gorbals Leisure Centre (City of Glasgow) |
| Adult Winter Rate | 12.50 |
| Concession Winter Rate | 7.55 |
| Adult Summer Rate | 11.00 |
| Concession Summer Rate | 6.50 |
| Allander Sports Complex (East Dunbartonshire) |
| Adults | 7.75 |
| Concessions | 5.00 |
The City of Aberdeen Council also has discounted rates for holders of its Access To Leisure card.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 4 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will inquire into the appointment by the Scottish Arts Council of John McTernan as a consultant; whether a public tendering process was used for this post and, if so, what process was involved and, if not, what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
This is a matter for the Scottish Arts Council. Recruitment practice is a matter for public bodies themselves although they are required to comply with employment legislation and the framework of guidance that is made available to them.In this case, Mr McTernan has been appointed in line with Scottish Arts Council's established practice for appointing on a temporary basis to fill short-term skills gaps. Scottish Arts Council policy is that posts for periods of six months or less are not tendered for or advertised because it could be several months before anyone was available to take up the post.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what means of measuring the distance between a pupil's home and the school he or she attends it recommends to local authorities.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has not made recommendations to local authorities on this matter. When required to measure the distance between a pupil's home and school, local authorities are responsible for doing so in a way that is accurate and reasonable.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the use of Global Positioning Satellites and associated software to measure the distance between a pupil's home and the school he or she attends is satisfactory, given that such measurement may take no account of any topographical variations which may increase any distance so measured.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is aware that all methods of measurement may require checks, safeguards and other factors to be taken into account to ensure an accurate and reasonable result.
