- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 29 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why university status is not expected to be conferred upon the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) project for some years and what precisely the UHI project is required to do in order to attain such status.
Answer
UHI, the company promoting the University of the Highlands and Islands project, applied in December 1998 for designation of a new institution. Designation is a necessary first step for any institutions that wishes to apply for university status.
Designated institutions seeking university status must first meet stringent criteria agreed UK-wide by the four Ministers with responsibility for higher education and the Privy Council, which consents to applications for a university title. The criteria cover academic achievement, subject breadth and student numbers, and require the establishment of a track record. UHI, like other institutions seeking university status, would have to fulfil these criteria.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 29 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why it does not always publish detailed summaries to responses to consultation exercises; in particular, why it has not published such a summary in relation to its consultation paper A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism and, in the absence of such a summary, how it intends to demonstrate that all responses were given full consideration.
Answer
Responses to the consultation paper A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism were collated by the Scottish Tourist Board on behalf of the Executive. The STB took all responses into account, and played a significant role in the drafting of the Executive's new tourism strategy. The responses to the tourism consultation exercise are available for public inspection, and were placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 29 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of the new tourist information centre (TIC) at Strontian and whether, following the sale of a number of other tourist information centres in the Highlands and Islands, there are any plans to dispose of the Strontian TIC.
Answer
The estimated cost of the new Strontian TIC is £64,231. This TIC will be owned by Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board, who have no plans to dispose of the asset.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 29 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of what the expenditure of #9.86 million on the University of the Highlands and Islands project has been spent on and on what the further provision of #1 million is to be spent.
Answer
Of the £9.86 million development funding provided to the University of the Highlands and Islands Project over the years 1996-97 to 1999-2000, £3.68 million has been spent on academic development, £4.12 million on information and communication technology investment and development and £2.06 million on the costs of the Project's Executive Office.
The project has yet to provide a breakdown into these categories of the £1 million in the current financial year.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 27 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether as part of its work on the 2000 revaluation it is expected that the Scottish Property network will receive from each assessor an electronic copy of the valuation roll; when this information is expected to be received; whether it will publish or place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a summary of this information, and what the combined rateable value of all properties in Scotland is.
Answer
The Scottish Property Network expect to receive a completed electronic copy of the valuation roll from each assessor by the end of July; a summary is expected to be available in the autumn and will be placed in SPICe. The current estimate of the rateable value of all properties in Scotland as at 1 April 2000 (based on a 10% sample) is £4,189 million.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 26 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Scotland have complained of suffering from organophosphate poisoning in the last five years.
Answer
Expert advice is that it is difficult to establish diagnostic criteria for organophosphate poisoning, other than acute poisoning cases which are rare. Therefore, there has been no central data collection.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate, an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, is currently commissioning work to address the most common patterns of exposure, clinical presentation and subsequent clinical course among people in the UK with chronic illnesses that they attribute to OPs.
An independent scrutiny of case reports involving sheep dip Human Suspected Adverse Reaction Surveillance Scheme database will also be conducted.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 26 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4370 by Mr Jack McConnell on 12 April 2000, whether it will list, in relation to the political activities of individuals appointed to public bodies between 1 April and 31 December 1999, the names of (a) the 18 individuals who fell within category A and (b) the 26 individuals who fell within category B, indicating in each case the nature of their public appointment.
Answer
The information requested is set out in the table below:
| Name andPosition Held | Body | Category A | Category B |
| Mr John FindlayMember | Argyll and Clyde Health Board | | 4 |
| Mr I G Mitchell QCMember | Central Advisory Committee on Justice of the Peace | | 4 |
| Mr W A Ratter Member | Crofters Commission | 4 | |
| Ms Jeanette BurnessMember | Forth Valley Health Board | 4 | |
| Ms Teresa McNallyMember | Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust | 4 | |
| Ms Jane DarnbroughMember | Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee | 4 | |
| Lord Wilson of TillyornMember | National Museums of Scotland | | 4 |
| Ms Christina MacaulayMember | National Museums of Scotland | | 4 |
| Mr Robert MurrayMember | North of Scotland Water Authority | 4 | 4 |
| Mr Stephen HaganMember | North of Scotland Water Authority | 4 | |
| Ms Yvonne AllanMember | North of Scotland Water Authority | 4 | 4 |
| Ms Elizabeth CameronMember | Scottish Arts Council | 4 | 4 |
| Mr Ron PresswoodMember | Scottish Arts Council | 4 | 4 |
| Mr J S MoncrieffMember | Scottish Arts Council | | 4 |
| Mr Harry McGuiganMember | Scottish Children's Report Administration | 4 | |
| Mr Brian SouterMember | Scottish Enterprise | | 4 |
| Mr Ian RitchieMember | Scottish Enterprise | | 4 |
| Ms Christine MayMember | Scottish Enterprise | 4 | 4 |
| Mr Ken CollinsChair | Scottish Environment Protection Agency | 4 | |
| Ms Susan ClarkMember | Scottish Environment Protection Agency | 4 | |
| Mr Bill HowatsonMember | Scottish Environment Protection Agency | 4 | |
| Ms Rowena ArshadMember | Scottish Higher Education Funding Council | 4 | 4 |
| Prof. Colin BellMember | Scottish Higher Education Funding Council | | 4 |
| Ms Christine MayMember | Scottish Homes | 4 | 4 |
| Canon L S SmithMember | Scottish Homes | 4 | |
| Mr Ian Borthwick | Tayside Primary Care NHS Trust | 4 | |
| Mr David HamiltonMember | East of Scotland Water Authority | 4 | 4 |
| Mr Donald CampbellMember | West of Scotland Water Authority | 4 | |
| Ms Rita Miller Member (subsequently resigned) | West of Scotland Water Authority | 4 | 4 |
| Totals | | 21 | 17 |
The total number of appointees coming within the scope of Categories A and B differs from that given in my answer to question S1W-4370. The figures contained within my earlier answer were incorrect. These inaccuracies only came to light when collating the detailed information requested for this answer.I have investigated this matter and instructed that arrangements be put in place to ensure that accurate statistical records are maintained. This has been done.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 23 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether provisions under the Education and Training (Scotland) Bill and any proposed subordinate legislation which may be made under the Bill will allow for a pilot scheme on the operation of individual learning accounts in rural locations and, if so, whether such a pilot will be conducted in each local enterprise area in both the Highlands and Islands and the Borders and whether provisions will allow for remuneration in respect of attendance at learning centres.
Answer
In two pilot areas - the Lochaber and Scottish Borders local enterprise company (LEC) areas - holders of individual learning accounts (ILAs) will be able to seek financial assistance through the ILA scheme towards travel, subsistence and childcare costs. This is being done under the existing powers of the enterprise network. It is intended that regulations to be made under the powers being sought in the Education and Training (Scotland) Bill would enable such pilots to continue.
Reimbursement is likely to relate to the costs of attending local learning centres or other approved learning providers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunity for input it gave to the Parliament with respect to the setting of standards agreed between the water authorities and the Water Industry Commissioner and what opportunity the Parliament was given to specify what these standards and levels of compensation might be.
Answer
The Water Industry Commissioner is consulting on his proposals for new guaranteed minimum standards for water customers. The Commissioner has discussed his proposals with the water authorities, and he now seeks views from all those with an interest before finalising the standards. Members of the Parliament with views should submit them to the Commissioner as part of this process by 1 July.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 22 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of any effect the aggregates tax will have on the capital and revenue budgets for the roads programme for each of the next three years and whether it will detail any amounts involved.
Answer
The aggregates tax announced in the budget comes into effect in April 2002. The capital and revenue budgets already announced for the Motorway and Trunk Roads programme until 31 March 2002 are not affected. Budgets for later years will be announced after the Spending Review now underway.
