- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many adults are assessed as functionally illiterate and what this figure was (a) 10 and (b) 20 years ago.
Answer
Evidence from the 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) suggested that around 800,000 (23%) working age adults in Scotland have low levels of literacy. The Scottish Government has set in hand a further wide ranging survey to update these findings. The results will be available in spring 2010. Currently, the Scotland Performs website measures literacy and numeracy through the use of a proxy indicator. That indicator has shown a steady decrease in the percentage of adults with SCQF Level 4 qualifications or below, to 15% in 2008.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is made for speech and language therapy in each prison establishment.
Answer
I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
A speech and language therapist is contracted from Forth Valley Health Board to work 14 hours in HMYOI Polmont. There is no provision in any other prison.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) adult male prisoners, (b) adult female prisoners and (c) young offenders has been assessed as having (i) clinically significant communication impairment or (ii) difficulties with literacy and numeracy.
Answer
I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The Scottish Prison Service does not assess every prisoner for communication impairment or difficulties with literacy and numeracy and therefore do not hold the information requested.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 4 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the study conducted by AMEY on the Bellfield Interchange.
Answer
It is expected that the study will be published early in December 2009. Transport Scotland has written to you on 29 October with an update and will send you a copy of the final report when it is available.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities operate kerbside collection of separated organic waste and how many of these collections accept food waste.
Answer
Twenty-nine of the 32 local authorities offer an organic waste collection from the kerbside. In addition, 13 local authorities collect food waste either with other organic waste or collected separately.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the report The Food We Waste in Scotland, by WRAP Scotland, what steps being taken to increase the separate collection of organic waste from domestic premises.
Answer
It is the responsibility of each local authority to determine what collection systems are put in place. Food waste trials in Scotland have been supported by the Scottish Government in seven local authority areas. The Scottish Government is supporting councils who wish to introduce food waste collections with assistance from Remade Scotland, Waste Aware Scotland and Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities provide facilities for the disposal of organic waste and how many of these facilities accept food waste.
Answer
All local authorities provide facilities at household waste recycling centres for householders to deposit organic garden waste, however some households may not be conveniently placed to utilise these facilities. At the present time no provision is made for the separate collection of food waste at these facilities.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the most environmentally sustainable way is for households to dispose of food waste.
Answer
Preventing food waste, where possible, is the most environmentally sustainable approach. Prevention saves householders money and helps to reduce greenhouse gases associated with the production, transportation, storage and disposal of food.
Some food waste, however, is unavoidable, for example tea bags, fruit skins and vegetable peelings. Where possible, householders should compost these types of material at home. For households that cannot compost at home, or for the types of waste that it is recommended not to compost at home, such as chicken carcasses and cooked food waste, householders should utilise the food waste collection services where they are provided by local authorities.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 October 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to to make science more accessible to the public in Kilmarnock and Loudoun.
Answer
This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1001-01.htm
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many employers in the Kilmarnock travel-to-work area have registered for participation in the Scottish Government’s Adopt an Apprentice scheme; whether it is taking steps to increase this number, and, if so, what steps.
Answer
Seven employers in the three Ayrshire local authority areas have registered through the Adopt an Apprentice scheme. Across the scheme the majority of employers are in the construction sector and hundreds of redundant apprentices have now been placed with new employers.
Local Authority | No. of Employers |
East Ayrshire | 4 |
North Ayrshire | 1 |
South Ayrshire | 2 |
Total | 7 |
Since the launch of Adopt an Apprentice scheme on 10 June 2009 information about the scheme has been made available through a number of newspaper articles at both national and local level. Information is also available on websites such as Skills Development Scotland http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/redundancy and the Scottish Government http://www.scotland.gov.uk/scotaction.
The Scottish Government continues to work with key partners to build on their communications mechanisms to promote the Adopt an Apprentice scheme to employers. We are working closely with sector skills councils, in particular ConstructionSkills, to promote this new scheme to employers and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils will shortly be circulating details of the Adopt an Apprentice scheme to their employers.