- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 13 February 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many audiologists are employed by each NHS board.
Answer
The following tables show the headcount and whole-time equivalents of Audiological Scientists and Audiological Technicians (MTOs) as at 30 September 2002, by NHS Board.
| Audiological Scientists |
| Headcount and WTE at 30 September 2002 |
| NHS Board | Headcount | WTE |
| Argyll and Clyde | - | - |
| Ayshire and Arran | 1 | 1 |
| Border | - | - |
| Dumfries and Galloway | - | - |
| Fife | - | - |
| Forth Valley | - | - |
| Grampian | 1 | 1 |
| Greater Glasgow | - | - |
| Highland | - | - |
| Lanarkshire | - | - |
| Lothian | 1 | 1 |
| Orkney | - | - |
| Shetland | - | - |
| Tayside | - | - |
| Other | - | - |
Source: National Manpower Statistics from Payroll.
| Audiological Technicians (MTOs) |
| Headcount and WTE at 30 September 2002 |
| NHS Board | Headcount | WTE |
| Argyll and Clyde | 17 | 14.54 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 15 | 12.87 |
| Borders | 2 | 1.44 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 6 | 5.85 |
| Fife | 6 | 4.63 |
| Forth Valley | 6 | 4.54 |
| Grampian | 10 | 9.62 |
| Greater Glasgow | 33 | 25.67 |
| Highland | 3 | 2.24 |
| Lanarkshire | 3 | 3 |
| Lothian | 10 | 8.16 |
| Orkney | - | - |
| Shetland | - | - |
| Tayside | 12 | 10.29 |
| Other | - | - |
Source: National Manpower Statistics from Payroll.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 12 February 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5535 by Peter Peacock on 27 January 2004, which primary and secondary schools (a) are and (b) are not broadband-enabled, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The ICT Survey of schools,from which the figures in the answer to S2W-5535 on 27 january 2004 were derived,was undertaken on the basis of a statistical sample only and did not providedetailed figures on a school-by-school or authority-by-authority basis.
All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 12 February 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the regulations are in respect of passenger capacity on trains and, if there are no such regulations, whether it intends to introduce them.
Answer
Under the current franchise,the operator is required to meet obligations relating to managing overcrowding.These obligations have been set by StrathclydePassenger Transport Executive (SPTE) inits area and by the Strategic RailAuthority (SRA) in the rest of thecountry.
In the SPTE area, theoperator is required to plan its services to ensure that no-one should have tostand for more than 10 minutes. The SRA monitors overcrowding on the busiestservices in the rest of the country. On these services, the operator isrequired to plan to ensure that no-one should have to stand for more than 20minutes.
The Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that there is a consistent standard to addressovercrowding across Scotrail’s services. An obligation to plan to meet amaximum 10-minute standing target will therefore be introduced through the nextfranchise for all Scotrail services.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 12 February 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent steps it has taken regarding the high cost of fuel paid by rural drivers.
Answer
This is areserved matter. However, the Executive appreciates that the high cost of fuelin rural areas is a concern to many people. The Executive is, therefore,spending substantial sums on transport through its Rural Transport Fund toreduce the impact on rural communities.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 11 February 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on what organisations will be involved in Scotland Week in Estonia in July 2004; what funding will be made available for the proposed event, and what information it has on events planned for the week.
Answer
Scotland Week in Estonia is being organised by the Honorary Consul for Estonia in Scotland, MrIain Lawson. We understand that the focus of the week will be on raising theprofile of Scottish business in Estonia. The programme is at an early stage of developmentand no decisions have yet been taken about Scottish Executive involvement.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 10 February 2004
To ask the Presiding Officer whether textphone facilities will be made available in all members' offices in the new Scottish Parliament building.
Answer
Whilst we are not planningto install textphones in every member’s office at Holyrood as a standard pieceof equipment, textphone facilities can be installed in any member’s offices onrequest.
To make textphone facilitieseven more accessible to members, we are also considering purchasing a smallnumber of textphones which we would be able to lend to members on a short-termbasis, as required.
Members are also remindedthat the RNID Typetalk operator service enables anyone using a standardtelephone to make calls to, and receive calls from, a textphone user. Aguidance document explaining how to use this service is published on the Parliament’s intranet or available from the Parliament’s equalities manager.
The Parliament already hasits own central textphone number which enables our publication informationservice to accept textphone calls. This provision will also continue atHolyrood.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andrew Welsh on 10 February 2004
To ask the Presiding Officer what role the Parliament will have in Scotland Week in Estonia in July 2004.
Answer
The Presiding Officer willconsider what role may be appropriate for the Parliament in Scotland Week in Estonia whenmore details of the event become available.
The Scottish Parliament hasalready established very productive relations with the Estonian Parliament andMSPs and parliamentary staff have participated in meetings, informationexchanges, and visits.
It is anticipated thatengagement across the Nordic/Baltic region will develop in the future. the Parliament works with a range of bodies, both in the UK and inthe Nordic/Baltic zone to further these links.
The Presiding Officer hasaccepted an invitation to visit the Estonian Parliament later this year.
Register of Members Interest:Shares in a flat and pub in Estonia.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andrew Welsh on 10 February 2004
To ask the Presiding Officer what steps the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is taking to enter into formal relationships with the parliaments of EU accession states.
Answer
The SPCB has taken no stepsto enter into formal relations with other parliaments. However the Parliamenthas established productive informal relationships with many legislatures,including the parliaments of the EU accession states. Of the countries accedingto the EU in 2004, links are developing, in particular, with the parliaments ofEstonia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. To this end, the Parliament works in complimentaritywith a range of bodies, such as, the British Council Scotland, Scottishuniversities, and the Department for International Development.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 9 February 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Home Office in respect of how many work permits for residence will be made available for employment in Scotland; whether, under the Fresh Talent initiative, it will be able to target prospective migrants, such as foreign graduates, and, if so, how it will do this; whether it will offer accommodation and jobs to such migrants and, if so, how such offers will be made, and whether applications for such work permits will still require to be approved by Her Majesty's Government.
Answer
The responsibility for theissue of work permits lies with the Home Office. Work permit arrangements allowemployers based in the UK to employ people who are not nationals of a Europeaneconomic area country and who are not otherwise entitled to work in the UK. In mostcases employers are required to apply for work permits on behalf of a specificperson for a specific post.
Discussions are ongoingbetween the Home Office and Scottish ministers to establish the best possibleway of achieving fresh talent objectives within the UK work permitsystem. I plan to make a statement to Parliament on this soon.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 9 February 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the protocols are in respect of its dealings with OFCOM.
Answer
The Executive expects tohave close working relationships with OFCOM and its Scottish representatives.We are currently discussing the means by which we will establish ournon-statutory relationship with the new regulator. In the meantime, OFCOM iskeeping the Executive informed of its own plans and progress.
