- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 5 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide increased assistance for scientists in charge of monitoring amnesic shellfish poisoning, particularly at this time of year and for increased efforts to identify the root cause of the problem.
Answer
The monitoring programme is undertaken by the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen. The necessary resources to undertake this work are provided by the Scottish Executive. There are no proposals to change the monitoring or research funding arrangements as a result of this incident.The Monitoring and Research programme is routinely reviewed each year, and any necessary changes made to reflect shifts in priorities.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 5 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the annual grant funding received by Inverness College for each year from 1993-94 to 1998-89 in (a) cash terms and (b) adjusted to take account of inflation.
Answer
The recurrent grant funding including bursary, restructuring and strategic funding made available to Inverness College in cash and real terms (at 1997-1998 prices) is set out in the table below.
| | Cash | Real Terms |
| 1993-94 | 6,127,684 | £6,755,693 |
| 1994-95 | 6,527,970 | £7,095,620 |
| 1995-96 | 6,446,217 | £6,808,497 |
| 1996-97 | 6,004,983 | £6,153,340 |
| 1997-98 | 7,210,500 | £7,210,500 |
| 1998-99 | 7,066,400 | £6,894,049 |
Additionally, £1,457,000 in capital grants has been made available to the College over the 4-year period 1993-1994 to 1996-1997.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 5 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the incorporation of further education colleges in 1993 led, in comparison with the previous system, to additional costs and, if so, whether it will outline these costs.
Answer
Colleges incurred certain additional costs as a consequence of incorporation, such as the costs of finance, administration and other services previously provided by local authorities. But there were also cost savings, such as local authorities' central administration recharges, capital financing charges and mandatory rating relief. All of those factors, together with known new expenditure commitments such as inherited property costs, loans, rates etc were fully taken into account in setting colleges' grant allocations for 1993-1994.In addition, grants totalling £2.5 million were provided to the colleges in 1992-1993 to assist them in meeting preparatory costs.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 5 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish in terms of weighted student units of measurement (WSUMs) the annual activity level of Inverness College for each year from 1993-94 to 1998-99.
Answer
Data for 1998-99 is not yet available. The information requested for the years 1993-94 to 1997-98 is set out in the table below.
WSUMs| 1993/94 | 35,568 |
| 1994/95 | 37,285 |
| 1995/96 | 38,949 |
| 1996/97 | 43,992 |
| 1997/98 | 49,824 |
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 5 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make emergency resources available to Inverness College in order to ensure that staffing levels are not further reduced.
Answer
This will be a matter for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council to consider, once the College's Board of Management has prepared a financial recovery plan.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 5 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to investigate the reasons for the present funding deficit at Inverness College and to report to the Parliament with its findings.
Answer
Responsibility for the financial health and funding of all Scotland's further education colleges has, since 1 July, been a matter for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. The Council was recently informed by the College about the scale of the financial position which it faces. It has engaged with the College to consider, as a matter of priority, what action requires to be taken by the College's Board of Management in order to address the situation, including the preparation of a financial recovery plan.I have asked the Council to report to me once it has considered the Board's recovery plan. I shall then write to Mr Ewing and a copy of the correspondence will be placed in SPICe.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 4 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, given that the National Lottery is a reserved matter, the Parliament has any statutory right to be consulted in relation to decisions taken on applications for Scotland by the New Opportunities Fund.
Answer
Arrangements are in place for Scottish Ministers to be consulted about initiatives in Scotland. However, decisions on applications are for the Lottery distributors, of which the New Opportunities Fund is one, and there is no statutory right for either the Westminster or Scottish Parliaments to be consulted on decisions taken on applications by any of the Lottery distributors.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether since 6 May 1999 any meetings with Ministers have taken place which were arranged with, sought by or otherwise followed requests from Beattie Media or any of the staff of that company and, if so, to specify them in a list detailing (a) the Minister (b) the date of the meeting and (c) the person or persons who arranged the meeting or meetings.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer I gave to Dennis Canavan (S1W-1708).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will name those public sector bodies for which it is responsible which have engaged the services of Beattie Media and what payments for what services have been made or are due to be paid to Beattie Media by those bodies.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer I gave to Dennis Canavan (S1W-1708).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that any investigation by the Standards Committee into Beattie Media will have full access to all information which they consider relevant to their inquiries, including Ministers' diaries.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to S1W-1727.
