- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 23 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether provisions under the Education and Training (Scotland) Bill and any proposed subordinate legislation which may be made under the Bill will allow for a pilot scheme on the operation of individual learning accounts in rural locations and, if so, whether such a pilot will be conducted in each local enterprise area in both the Highlands and Islands and the Borders and whether provisions will allow for remuneration in respect of attendance at learning centres.
Answer
In two pilot areas - the Lochaber and Scottish Borders local enterprise company (LEC) areas - holders of individual learning accounts (ILAs) will be able to seek financial assistance through the ILA scheme towards travel, subsistence and childcare costs. This is being done under the existing powers of the enterprise network. It is intended that regulations to be made under the powers being sought in the Education and Training (Scotland) Bill would enable such pilots to continue.
Reimbursement is likely to relate to the costs of attending local learning centres or other approved learning providers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunity for input it gave to the Parliament with respect to the setting of standards agreed between the water authorities and the Water Industry Commissioner and what opportunity the Parliament was given to specify what these standards and levels of compensation might be.
Answer
The Water Industry Commissioner is consulting on his proposals for new guaranteed minimum standards for water customers. The Commissioner has discussed his proposals with the water authorities, and he now seeks views from all those with an interest before finalising the standards. Members of the Parliament with views should submit them to the Commissioner as part of this process by 1 July.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 22 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of any effect the aggregates tax will have on the capital and revenue budgets for the roads programme for each of the next three years and whether it will detail any amounts involved.
Answer
The aggregates tax announced in the budget comes into effect in April 2002. The capital and revenue budgets already announced for the Motorway and Trunk Roads programme until 31 March 2002 are not affected. Budgets for later years will be announced after the Spending Review now underway.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will specify what the new guaranteed minimum service standards for water customers across Scotland are; what are the circumstances whereby water authorities must compensate customers who receive poor service; whether the standards apply to the drinking quality of water; whether standard compensation will be listed for planned interruptions, delays in restoration of supply, response to complaints and reply to enquiries, failure to maintain appointments and flooding sewers; whether there is compensation payable for the contamination of a water supply, and, if compensation is not available in any of these circumstances, whether it will explain the reasons.
Answer
The Water Industry Commissioner is currently consulting on his proposals for new guaranteed minimum service standards for water customers, which cover the various circumstances listed in your question. The details of the proposals are available directly on the Commissioner's website (
www.watercommissioner.co.uk). I welcome the Commissioner's commitment to work with the water authorities to increase their standards of service to customers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that persons who live in the Highlands and Islands, or who have local knowledge of the issues and problems relating to ferry transport in the Highlands and Islands, are considered for the vacant positions on the Board of Caledonian MacBrayne.
Answer
The current vacancies for the posts of Non-Executive Director on the Board of Caledonian MacBrayne were openly advertised in accordance with the Guidance on Appointments to Public Bodies. The criteria for the posts include one, categorised as highly desirable, relating to an interest in, or local knowledge of, Highlands and Islands issues. Candidates for the current vacancies were assessed against this and the other criteria for the post(s), and an announcement on the outcome of the recruitment process was made today.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what will be done with the proceeds from the sale of the tourist information centres in the Highlands and Islands; whether such proceeds will be reinvested in the tourist industry, and whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a breakdown of the proceeds from the sale of each tourist information centre and details of to which budget the proceeds will be or have been credited.
Answer
This is a commercial matter for HIE. Proceeds from the sale of the TICs, along with receipts from other property sales and rentals, form part of HIE's overall budget management process and is reinvested in new economic development throughout the area. The TICs were sold as a package and prices are therefore not available for individual units. The properties referred to, however, are still being leased to the Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board for use as Tourist Information Centres.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from local authorities to be allowed to reduce or eliminate discounts on second or holiday homes and retain the income generated as a result and, if so, from which local authorities and what measures does it intend to take as a result.
Answer
Yes, representations have been received from the Highland Council. We have no plans to make changes to the local taxation system at present.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will increase its targets of 1,000 modern apprenticeships by 2003 in the tourism industry given that the number of persons employed within the industry is between 170,000 and 180,000 and, if not, why not.
Answer
I believe that the target is realistic taking into account the age range for Modern Apprenticeships, which is 16-24, the range of occupations in the tourist industry and the current level of uptake of Modern Apprenticeships in the industry.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in respect of the pension scheme surplus of the Transport Operation Pension Scheme (TOPS), it will provide all information and assistance requested to the trade union representatives representing the workforce and support the efforts of the workforce in campaigning for distribution to them of the surplus from the pension scheme.
Answer
Information about the administration of the Transport Operatives Pensions Scheme is a matter for the Trustees of the Scheme until such time as the scheme is wound up. The distribution of any surplus is governed by the Trust Deeds, the Scottish Transport Group (Pension Schemes) Order 1996 approved by the UK Parliament in 1996 and the provisions of the Bus Group disposal programme prepared under section 1 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 1989 and published in 1990.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 19 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a detailed record of the visit to Finland by the Minister in charge of the Digital Scotland Task Force, including any outcomes resulting from the trip.
Answer
I visited Finland on 13, 14 and 15 October 1999, to see at first hand examples of the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to education and learning there. I combined this, in the context of the Digital Scotland initiative, with discussions about Finland's approach to wider information society issues. The programme included meetings with educational researchers, teachers and schools students, with elected representatives and officials of the Finnish Education Ministry and of the Ministry for Communications, and with representatives of Finland-based companies.
I was impressed with the degree of consensus within Finland that active participation and collaboration in and leadership of the information society were critically important to economic and social wellbeing.
The visit informed and deepened our understanding of a wide range of ICT issues which are relevant to the Digital Scotland initiative. A particular result of the visit is that a team of Finnish education researchers visited Scotland from 31 May to 2 June to share with us their knowledge about applying ICTs to education and learning.
