- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 8 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to question S3F-191 on 4 October 2007 indicating the Executive’s commitment to match the previous administration’s school building programme brick for brick and not to use the private finance initiative for this purpose (Official Report c. 2465), how it intends to finance its school building programme and when the necessary finance will become available.
Answer
The Scottish Budget and the concordatsigned by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authoritiesprovide revenue resources which include support for PPP projects, as well as significantgrowth in the capital resources being made available to local authorities. Thereis almost £3 billion over the three year period 2008-09 to 2010-11 to secure investmentin schools and other local government infrastructure, including an extra £115 millionin 2008-09 which can be invested in schools if authorities so choose. The localgovernment capital budget represents an average increase of 15% in each year of the settlement compared to 2007-08 figures.
The overall local governmentsettlement enables the government to match the previous Executive’s school buildingprogramme brick for brick.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 7 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure the future success of the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe and what discussions the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice about future public safety at the Festival and Fringe.
Answer
A high-level Festivals Forumhas been established and is currently implementing the first of the 14 recommendationsfrom the
Thundering Hooves report. In addition to this, Festivals Edinburghwas created by the Director’s of Edinburgh’s 12 major festivals to look at the strategic developmentof all of Edinburgh’s festivals and over-arching areas of mutual interest.The aim is to secure the on-going pre-eminence of Edinburgh’s festivals and thiswill include the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe.
I have had no specific discussionsabout public safety at the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe sincethese matters are dealt with by the Scottish Government’s Emergency Room CabinetSub-Committee, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, which keeps under reviewthe Scottish Government’s policy for preparing the major disruptive incidents inScotland.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 31 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will safeguard economic and transport links between Fife and the Lothians from now until the new Forth Bridge is completed.
Answer
Detailed planningwork is being undertaken by officials from Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, and the Forth Estuary Transport Authority to maintaineffective cross-Forth transport links across all travel modes which will supportand sustain economic activity in Fife and the Lothians.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 30 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates it has made from the efficiency savings from combining the Community Regeneration, Working for Families, Changing Children’s Services (social inclusion element), Community Voices, Financial Inclusion, Workforce Plus and More Choices, More Chances funds into the Fairer Scotland Fund.
Answer
The replacement of seven individual funds, each with its own individualmonitoring regime, with the Fairer Scotland Fund will bring real benefits forCommunity Planning partners in terms of reduced bureaucracy, and monitoring andreporting requirements. Consolidation of these funding streams will also givelocal partners more flexibility to allocate funds to meet local needs andpriorities. It will be for each individual Community Planning Partnership toestimate and manage any resultant savings.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 30 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Fife Council regarding the building of new schools in Fife.
Answer
The Scottish Governmenthas periodic meetings with all local authorities to discuss their school estatemanagement and investment plans detailed decisions on the deployment of capitalresources and plans for new schools are matters for the local authorities.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 30 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis funds were distributed to each local authority area under the (a) Community Regeneration, (b) Working for Families, (c) Changing Children’s Services (social inclusion element), (d) Community Voices, (e) Financial Inclusion, (f) Workforce Plus and (g) More Choices, More Chances funds.
Answer
These fundingprogrammes did not share a common allocation methodology. Each was allocated basedon the key principle of up-to-date objective evidence of levels of need inlocal areas.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 30 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to provide access to funding over and above its three-year settlement to Fife Council for new school buildings in each of the next three financial years.
Answer
The concordat signedwith COSLA on 14 November 2007 set out the resources being made availableby the Scottish Government to local authorities over the next three years. Underthe terms of the concordat, we will be providing local authorities with almost £3billion of capital resources over that period to secure investment in schools andother local authority infrastructure.
Allocations of capital resources within the three-yearsettlement are set out in Annex I of Finance Circular 6/2007, which can be foundon the Scottish Government website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/11203.It is now for FifeCouncil to determine what proportion of those allocations will be spent on new schoolbuildings.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 28 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-5123 by Stewart Stevenson on 5 November 2007, whether Fife Council has submitted its proposed revisions to the Fife Structure Plan and, if so, when it did so.
Answer
Proposed housing modifications to the Fife Structure Plan were submitted to Scottish ministers on 27 December 2007.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 28 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on advertising Project Scotland during the recent festive period.
Answer
ProjectScotland is a companylimited by guarantee and registered as a charity whose aims and objectives are topromote the welfare and relieve the needs of the population in Scotland by encouragingand assisting young people to provide their skills and services voluntarily to charitableorganisations.
Full information about the workof ProjectScotland is available from its Chief Executive at 49 Melville Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7HL.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 24 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in addressing antisocial behaviour.
Answer
Much progress has been made bylocal partnerships to address antisocial behaviour since the Antisocial Behaviour(Scotland) Act was introduced in 2004. We are currently reviewing the national strategyto see where it can be strengthened, and will report our findings to Parliamentby the end of 2008. I am always happy to receive representations from members onthese issues.
