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-20795

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 21 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18771 by Mr Jack McConnell on 20 November 2001, how parents who are concerned about the quality of food served in schools can obtain information about nutritional standards, particularly in circumstances where the caterers used by local authorities to prepare school food do not have that information.

Question reference: S1W-20794

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 21 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18772 by Mr Jack McConnell on 30 October 2001, how many education authorities have local arrangements for monitoring the nutritional quality of school meals; what those arrangements are, and how parents may access information about them.

Question reference: S1W-20793

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 21 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18064 by Mr Jack McConnell on 25 September 2001, whether it plans to introduce a statutory obligation on education authorities to provide school food of a nutritional quality which complies with the model nutritional guidelines issued with Eating for Health: Diet Action Plan for Scotland.

Question reference: S1W-20792

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 21 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18770 by Mr Jack McConnell on 22 October 2001, whether it plans to make it a statutory obligation for caterers providing school meals to comply with the Model Nutritional Guidelines for Catering Specifications for the Public Sector in Scotland issued in 1996 as part of the Scottish Diet Action Plan.

I recently announced, together with the Ministers for Health and Community Care and Social Justice, the establishment of an expert panel to make recommendations for wide ranging improvements in the delivery of school meals. Chaired by a Director of Education, the panel's remit will be to provide Scottish ministers with fully costed recommendations, and an implementation and monitoring strategy to:establish standards for the nutritional content of school meals;eliminate the stigma attached to free school meals and improve take up, andimprove the presentation of school meals.The expert panel will include representatives from a wide range of sectors and stakeholders and it will operate in a consultative and participatory manner to ensure that the views of key groups such as parents, children and young people are taken into account. The panel is expected to report in the autumn of 2002 and I look forward to receiving their recommendations, which will be given careful consideration.

Question reference: S1W-20797

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 21 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to fund further new projects in the education sector through the Private Finance Initiative.

Question reference: S1W-20554

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 19 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to apply for EU subsidy for school milk for secondary school children and how much any such subsidy could be in total.

£1.2 million was paid in EC school milk subsidy to primary schools in Scotland in year ended August 2001. The UK has member state discretionary powers to apply for subsidy under the EC School Milk Subsidy Scheme in respect of schoolchildren in secondary schools. It is not possible to give accurate figures on how much subsidy could be paid as this would depend on take-up levels of the scheme both by education authorities and individual schools. However, 100% take-up by secondary schools in Scotland could result in an estimated total subsidy of £2.5 million.

Question reference: S1W-19783

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to direct that there be a full inquiry into the running of the health service throughout the North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust area.

Question reference: S1O-04284

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2001
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 13 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is planning to take in order to improve the financial resources available to Glasgow City Council for tackling poverty and deprivation.

Over this three-year settlement period (2001-02 to 2003-04) we are allocating record levels of grant to Glasgow City Council: £895 million, £958 million and £1,004 million respectively. We are increasing Glasgow's capital allocation by 38% to £40 million by 2003-04. In addition, we have allocated £27 million from the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund and ministers are currently reviewing Glasgow's proposals for spending the first year's allocation. Over the same period, Glasgow will also receive approximately £71 million for the 13 Social Inclusion Partnerships within its area.

Question reference: S1W-19991

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 11 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a consultative committee to consider and report on the registration of same sex partnerships.

Question reference: S1W-19891

Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 26 November 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive when the ballot on housing stock transfer in Glasgow will take place.