- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24495 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 17 April 2002, whether it will now carry out research to determine what percentage of student debt is a consequence of the introduction of the student loans system.
Answer
We plan to commission a survey of the income and expenditure of Scottish students to take place during academic year 2003-04.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 13 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has consulted the Scottish Police Federation on its plans for community wardens.
Answer
As part of the consultation process, meetings were held with a number of key stakeholders, including the Scottish Police Federation.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 13 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff currently work in its Constitutional Policy Unit.
Answer
Three full-time and two part-time members of staff currently work in the Executive's Constitutional Policy Unit.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32594 by Iain Gray on 31 December 2002, whether tertiary education is subject to liberalisation under the General Agreement on Trade in Services, and, if so, whether it has undertaken, or will undertake, an assessment of any implications for tertiary education of such liberalisation in the light of responses to the consultation by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Answer
The European Commission's initial offer submitted to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) under the current round of negotiations for the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) proposes no new commitments for the education sectors. The initial offer was tabled in the WTO on 29 April 2003 and the full text has been made available at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/sectoral/services/rpldda_en.htm.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 13 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-33605, S1W-33606, and S1W-33607 by Mr Frank McAveety on 14 February 2003, whether it has reflected further on any implications of the BetterCare Group Ltd ruling and, in particular, whether the ruling will have any implications for the provision of public services.
Answer
The Bettercare Group Ltd ruling implies that the Competition Act 1998 may apply to public bodies in certain circumstances, for example where they purchase services. The Competition Act is intended to prohibit agreements between undertakings which are anti-competitive and to prevent abuse by undertakings of a dominant market position. Irrespective of application of the Competition Act, public bodies should avoid anti-competitive behaviour. Furthermore, European Community law places detailed obligations (aimed at promoting fair and open competition) on public bodies when procuring services. As such the Executive does not expect the Bettercare Group Ltd ruling to have significant implications for the provision of public services.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 13 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34693 by Ms Margaret Curran on 25 March 2003, why it has no plans to publish the results of the review by Communities Scotland of financial procedures and practices in relation to the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund (SIP Fund).
Answer
The review referred to was an internal exercise aimed primarily at improving internal programme management. As a result of the review minor changes were introduced to the terms and conditions of SIP Fund grant from 1 April 2003. The current terms and conditions of SIP Fund grant are available on the Communities Scotland website (
www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk).
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 13 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33593 by Mr Jim Wallace on 10 February 2003, who represents it on the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions and which meetings it has attended in the last two years.
Answer
The Deputy First Minister represented the Scottish Executive when it joined the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) at its General Assembly in September 2002. The next General Assembly of the CPMR, at which the Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Services and Parliamentary Business is expected to represent the Scottish Executive, takes place in September 2003.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 28 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether education authorities should take into account the level of funding allocated under its schools estate funding package when formulating Public Private Partnership proposals and whether any education authorities that had formulated, but not agreed, Public Private Partnership (PPP) proposals before the schools estate funding package became available should now revise their proposals in order to take account of it.
Answer
Authorities are free to take account of all the resources available to them in their consideration of funding Public Private Partnership proposals. Preparation of an Outline Business Case is an early stage of the PPP process and there are opportunities as the process progresses for authorities to review the funding sources available to them in reaching decisions about the affordability of their projects. Authorities should also consider the need to ensure that all their schools are maintained to a good standard and to allocate adequate funding for this purpose.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 28 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when substantive answers to questions S1W-32778, S1W-32779 and S1W-32780 will be given.
Answer
All three questions were substantively answered on 24 March 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33593 by Mr Jim Wallace on 10 February 2003, who its representation in the UK delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe is composed of.
Answer
The Scottish Executive representative on the UK delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) is Peter Peacock MSP, Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Services. Mr Peacock's substitute on CLRAE is Ben Wallace MSP.
