- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 29 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all parents are entitled to receive funding towards their children’s nursery education.
Answer
All children are eligible to receive 475 hours of free, pre-school education per year from approximately the term following their third birthday until the end of the term immediately before they are first eligible to attend primary school.
The duty to provide pre-school education lies with local authorities. It can be delivered in a local authority centre or school or in settings in the private, independent and voluntary sectors which are in partnership with the local authority.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 29 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacant local authority-run nursery places there are in Glasgow.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 28 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the legal requirements for the provision of toilet facilities on trains.
Answer
The standards and legal requirement for UK rolling stock design are currently a reserved matter and are therefore the responsibility of the Department for Transport (DfT).
The Scottish Government has no plans to review legal requirements for the provision of toilets on trains.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 28 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors compliance with the legal requirements for the provision of toilet facilities on trains.
Answer
There are no legal requirements for the provision of toilet facilities on trains.
However, Transport Scotland uses the Service Quality Regime (SQUIRE) to enforce First ScotRail''s obligation to maintain on-train toilets where fitted, in good, clean working order. This obligation is placed on First ScotRail through the Franchise Contract.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 28 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal requirements are for the provision of toilet facilities on trains.
Answer
There are no specific legal obligations on train operators to provide toilet facilities on board trains.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change section 23 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations (SSI 2006/1) to include a provision for rejecting tenders on ethical grounds.
Answer
The criteria which can be used to reject potential suppliers from being issued with an Invitation to Tender document are set out in European Directive 2004/18/EC, which is transposed into national legislation through Regulation 23 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The Scottish Government has no scope to amend Regulation 23.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are able to stipulate under environmental legislation that procured services must be locally sourced in order to reduce their carbon footprint.
Answer
No. Public procurement legislation requires open, fair and transparent competition. It would be illegal for any local authority to show a preference for any goods or services because they are to be locally sourced or to any supplier(s) because of where they are located
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing legislation to allow local authorities to take into account non-commercial considerations when awarding and managing contracts.
Answer
Section 17 of the Local Government Act 1988, an act of the Westminster Parliament, prevents a local authority from taking into account non-commercial considerations in relation to contracting matters. What are non-commercial matters is set out in the section and covers a wide range of matters. The Scottish Parliament has no scope to amend this legislation.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are able to stipulate, without breaking UK and EU procurement laws, that procured services must be locally sourced.
Answer
No. Public procurement legislation requires open, fair and transparent competition. It would be illegal for any local authority to show a preference for any goods or services because they are to be locally sourced or to any supplier(s) because of where they are located.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2008
-
Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make representations to the European Commission in respect of changing EU procurement regulations to include a provision for rejecting tenders on ethical grounds.
Answer
There are no plans to make representation to the European Commission in respect of changing procurement Directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC.
