- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals' 16th Annual Report 2000-2001 and, in particular, to the committee's Special Report on Education Appeal Committees of June 2000, what steps have been taken in order to ensure that its main recommendations in respect of (a) independence of the hearing venue, (b) difficulties for unrepresented appellants and (c) the need for committees' deliberations to be more structured with greater adherence to the provisions of the regulations are being implemented.
Answer
The Scottish Executive will conduct a review of education appeal committees, and in this context, it will consider the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals' recommendations. Following that review, the Scottish Executive will consider implementation of these recommendations.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 22 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints were registered with the Scottish Committee on the Council of Tribunals in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001-02.
Answer
None. The Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals, which operates under the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992, has no authority to investigate or adjudicate on complaints about the handling of individual cases by tribunals or inquiries under its supervision.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 21 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding similar to that used for the management buyout of Viasystems, North Tyneside was made available for the management buyout of Signum Circuits, Selkirk and, if so, what (a) UK and (b) European sourced funding was provided in each case.
Answer
No funding was provided by the Scottish Executive in support of the management buyout of Signum Circuits Ltd. However, £450,000 in Regional Selective Assistance was paid to Signum Circuits Ltd by the Scottish Executive, prior to the company's receivership.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding Enquire has received in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 to date.
Answer
Enquire received (a) £213,937 in 1999-2000, (b) £207,239 in 2000-01 and (c) £220,541 in 2001-02. Enquire has not yet received any funding for 2002-03.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many enquiries have been received by Enquire in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 to date.
Answer
Enquire received (a) 360 enquiries from November 1999 to March 2000, (b) 840 enquiries in 2000-01, (c) 1,018 enquiries in 2001-02 and (d) 87 enquiries in April 2002.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals' 16th Annual Report 2000-2001, (a) what its response is to this report and (b) when the wide-ranging consideration of appeal committees by its Education Department, which the council was informed was being undertaken, will be made public.
Answer
(a) The Scottish Executive welcomes the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals' (SCCT's) Special Report on Education Appeal Committees in Scotland, which it refers to in its 16th Annual Report 2000-2001. The Scottish Executive will consider the findings of the SCCT's work in a review of education appeal committees before formalising a response to the SCCT's recommendations. (b) The Scottish Executive is committed to undertaking a review of education appeal committees in light of the SCCT's report, but the timescale for that review has yet to be identified.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals' 16th Annual Report 2000-2001, (a) how many local authorities are aware of the committee's Special Report on Education Appeal Committees and (b) what action it is taking in order to ensure that the recommendations in the special report are followed universally.
Answer
(a) The Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals has informed the Scottish Executive that it has sent a copy of its Special Report on Education Appeal Committees to each Director of Education and Head of Legal Services in Scotland.(b) The Scottish Executive has committed to undertaking a review of Education Appeal Committees which will consider the recommendations of the Committee of the Council on Tribunals' Special Report on Education Appeal Committees and identify an appropriate course of action.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis the application by Independent Special Education Advice (ISEA) for funding under the Special Educational Needs Innovation Grants Programme was refused, given that ISEA has a current caseload of 1,056 live cases and represents parents with children with special educational needs throughout Scotland.
Answer
There was strong competition for Special Educational Needs Innovation grant funding. The ISEA's application was considered alongside all others received and evaluated by a team of assessors, the majority of which were drawn from outside the Executive. ISEA's application was not considered to adequately meet all of the criteria.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many uniformed police patrol officers were recruited in each police force area in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 to date.
Answer
The recruitment and deployment of police officers to particular tasks such as uniformed patrol is an operational matter for chief constables.The number of police officers recruited in each police force area in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, the latest year for which figures are available, are shown in the following table:
| No. of Officers Recruited | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 |
| Central | 26 | 39 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 11 | 46 |
| Fife | 40 | 50 |
| Grampian | 24 | 115 |
| Lothian and Borders | 62 | 189 |
| Northern | 23 | 45 |
| Strathclyde | 250 | 503 |
| Tayside | 38 | 66 |
| Total | 474 | 1,053 |
Information on the numbers of officers recruited in a given year is included in HM Inspectorate's Annual Statistical Returns from forces. The returns for 2001-02 will not be available until the end of May.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many uniformed police patrol officers there were in each police force area in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001-02 and how many there are currently.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. The deployment of police officers to particular tasks such as uniformed patrol is an operational matter for chief constables.The number of officers in each force in 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 are shown in the following table. The latest figures available are at 31 March 2002.
| | No. of Officers at 31 March |
| Force | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Central | 721 | 733 | 719 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 451 | 478 | 482 |
| Fife | 837 | 852 | 912 |
| Grampian | 1,215 | 1,273 | 1,258 |
| Lothian and Borders | 2,584 | 2,670 | 2,700 |
| Northern | 653 | 668 | 683 |
| Strathclyde | 7,101 | 7,318 | 7,327 |
| Tayside | 1,137 | 1,157 | 1,170 |
| Total | 14,699 | 15,149 | 15,251 |
