- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 9 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts are being made to ensure the best diagnosis and treatment for sufferers of organophosphate exposure.
Answer
As indicated in my answer to question S1W-6780, the Chief Medical Officer wrote last year to health boards, NHS Trusts and general practitioners to provide guidance on responding to patients suffering from, or claiming to suffer from organophosphate poisoning. The need for further guidance is kept under continuing review.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any Scottish Minister could allow his or her name to be associated with any particular company or businesses by authorising the use of his or her photograph on its products.
Answer
Scottish Ministers are expected to behave in accordance with the provisions of the Scottish Ministerial Code. One of the provisions is that they are expected to order their affairs so that no conflict arises or is thought to arise between their private interests (financial or otherwise) and their public duties.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 5 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a progress report on the Digital Scotland Task Force.
Answer
The Digital Scotland Task Force published its report on the Internet on 22 May, and invited public comments on its recommendations. The public consultation period lasts until 30 June. The Scottish Executive will respond to the task force report as soon as possible thereafter, in the light of the results of the consultation.Full details of the task force report, relevant links, and arrangements for public consultation can be found on the Digital Scotland website at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/digitalscotland/.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 5 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive in what ways it supports the work of Young Enterprise Scotland and what measures it will introduce to allow secondary school pupils to gain experience in business.
Answer
The Executive is highly supportive of the work of Young Enterprise Scotland in its efforts to promote enterprise in schools and support the development of "core" skills. We are particularly encouraged by the degree of private sector involvement in the organisation. Education for Work and Enterprise in schools is delivered in a variety of ways and by a wide range of bodies. The agenda includes programmes offering practical work experience for secondary school pupils, curriculum guidelines on delivering enterprise education and support for the National Centre: Education for Work and Enterprise which provides strategic direction to the agenda.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 2 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has already taken to make enterprise education available to every primary school child and what steps it will take to make it available in the school year 2000-01.
Answer
At least one teacher in 80% of primary schools in Scotland has undertaken some training in delivering enterprise education. There are currently no plans to make enterprise education available to all primary schools in 2000-01. The curriculum in Scotland is not prescribed by statute but enterprise education can be delivered as part of a number of areas of the curriculum including, in particular, Environmental Studies.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 2 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology it uses in calculating the number of new businesses and whether bank statistics and VAT registration are taken into account in the calculation.
Answer
Although the Scottish Executive itself does not publish estimates for the number of new businesses in Scotland, a number of measures are used by the Executive to monitor the business birth rate in Scotland including bank statistics and VAT registration statistics.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 2 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor which indicates that an increased incidence of entrepreneurship among the total population of a country leads to a higher level of economic growth, what measures it will take to increase the level of entrepreneurship in Scotland and whether any such measures will be targeted at school pupils.
Answer
We have a number of positive measures in hand to encourage and increase the level of entrepreneurship in Scotland, including initiatives targeted at school pupils. The Education for Work and Enterprise agenda covers a wide range of school-based and other activities which are designed to raise awareness of the role of enterprise and entrepreneurship. For example, Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire Business Partnership has supported a range of enterprise activities designed to support the 5-14 curriculum. These include a "Mini Enterprise" programme for primary schools in Lanarkshire. In addition, the Achievers International programme supports the development of entrepreneurial skills through the innovative use of information technology.
Scottish Enterprise has also published a discussion paper detailing the progress made under the Business Birth Rate Strategy since its launch in 1993, and we are continuing to work with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in improving their support for enterprise and business creation.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 2 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive in what ways it supports the work of The National Centre: Education for Work and Enterprise at Strathclyde University and whether it will offer further assistance.
Answer
The Executive were very heavily involved in the establishment of the National Centre in 1998. It came into being following an initiative by Brian Wilson MP who was then Minister for Education and Industry at the Scottish Office. The Executive continues to support the centre through core funding. There are no immediate plans to offer further financial support. Officials are in regular contact with the centre management to discuss on-going strategic and operational matters. It is anticipated that the good working relationship which exists between the Executive and the centre will continue.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 2 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the number of jobs created or preserved by each of its task forces since July 1999.
Answer
Of the eight task forces set up or continued by the Scottish Executive, only the Knowledge Economy and the Digital Scotland Task Forces have aims which include encouraging economic development. However in neither case would it be appropriate to link the activities of the task forces directly with particular numbers of jobs created or safeguarded.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 2 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure protection for public bodies and businesses against problems resulting from possible computer viruses similar to the recent "love-bug" computer virus.
Answer
The Scottish Executive's virus protection system has been enhanced to cope with the "Iloveyou" virus and all its known variants and clones.
The Executive continue to liaise with other Government agencies regarding all IT security issues including viruses but is not directly responsible for the physical protection of their IT systems.