- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 07 January 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations were consulted to inform the decision on who should be represented on the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities.
Answer
The Scottish Government establishedthe Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities and its membership in agreementwith Universities Scotland. Representation on the taskforce is from these two parties.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 07 January 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether representatives of the STUC, University and College Union and National Union of Students in Scotland will be included in the membership of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities.
Answer
I have decided that a comprehensiveand labour-intensive independent review which can take years to produce resultswas not appropriate in this case. I have deliberately restricted membership of thetaskforce to university Principals and Scottish Government to ensure a short, sharpexercise that produces tangible results within a short timescale.
Representatives of the STUC,trades unions and NUS all contributed to the higher education futures project in2006. Their views were recorded and will be taken into account by the taskforceas appropriate.
I will also continue to havea dialogue with these and other stakeholders on issues relating to higher education.I have invited the STUC to meet me to discuss the challenges facing the sector.I am also planning to hold a student summit in March to hear the views of students.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 07 January 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor the success of widening access to university programmes over the next year.
Answer
The Scottish Government is fullycommitted to ensuring that access to higher education is available to all on thebasis of ability to learn rather than ability to pay. There are already a numberof access initiatives in place both by individual institutions and collaborativelythrough the regional widening access forums and other programmes.
Progress on widening access ismeasured over time through the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s annual performanceindicators showing the proportion of students from low participation groups in eachhigher education institution. Additionally, for the first time this year, the ScottishGovernment published data on entrants to higher education by areas of deprivationwhich, over time, will allow us to measure whether there has been any improvementin the figures.
Development of widening accesspolicy is being driven by the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Councilfollowing the publication of its Learning for All reportin 2005. The council developed an action plan which is reviewed regularly by a NationalAction Group. The council also holds an annual conference of key stakeholders atwhich progress is reported and actions for the future are identified. This providesan opportunity to influence the development of widening access policies and priorities.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 07 January 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that every Scottish university should be involved in the work to widen access to higher education
Answer
All higher education institutionsare already involved in work to widen access. The government both supports and expectsthis. Each institution is active in promoting access initiatives in accordance withits own priorities. Additionally, each institution is represented on its local WideningAccess Forum which determines local priorities for collaborative projects to widenparticipation by under-represented groups of the population.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 07 January 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that every Scottish university should be encouraged to operate widening access schemes.
Answer
The Scottish Government is fullycommitted to widening access to all of our higher education institutions for everyonewho has the ability to benefit. This is a commitment that is shared by all our highereducation institutions and each has programmes and activities to encourage participationby under-represented groups.
Greater access can be achievedin a variety of ways, through raising aspiration, by outreach to under-representedgroups in the population and by creating opportunities for articulation from onelevel of study to another. There are many examples of widening access activity byindividual institutions and by institutions working collaboratively through theWidening Access Forums and other programmes.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when the new study into options for improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen will be completed.
Answer
The timescales for theconclusion of the Haudagain STAG assessment are currently under reviewfollowing the implications for the third Don crossing in light of the finalisedAberdeen local plan inquiry outcomes.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the publication of the new study of potential improvements in the new year, when it now expects construction to begin on improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.
Answer
No decision on which is the mostappropriate intervention at the Haudagain Roundabout will be reached until the STAGprocess is complete. Consequently, no discussions about how to proceed beyond thishave been held.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council on the timescale for work to begin on improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.
Answer
I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-7803 on 14 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the publication of the new study of potential improvements in the new year, a flyover will be one of the options for consultation on potential improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.
Answer
The Haudagain STAG Steering Group is expected to meet early in the New Year when they will take a view onwhether other options may have to be considered once the implications of therenot being a Third Don Crossing are better understood.
Beyond this the STAGassessment requires to be concluded before any final decision on whether toprogress a design different from the current proposal which was inherited fromthe previous administration.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2007
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what its targets are for its extension of the drug treatment and testing order approach.
Answer
The extension of drugtreatment and testing orders to deal with lower tariff offenders will be the subjectof a pilot exercise. Given that decisions on sentencing in individual cases area matter for the courts, it would not be appropriate to set targets for the numberof orders made as part of the pilot.
