Parliamentary Questions

Rail Network

S1W-33299 - Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP) :
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with the Borders Railway Forum on whether any private bill on the Borders railway will contain provisions that charge expenditure on the Scottish Consolidated Fund; what agreement it has given to any such expenditure; what advice it has given the forum on the bill not progressing beyond its Preliminary Stage in the Parliament if no such funding is made available, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answered by Lewis Macdonald (29 January 2003):
I refer the member to the answer given to S1O-6230 on 16 January 2003, which is available on the Parliament's web site, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/search.htm

 

Justice

S1W-32396 - Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP) :
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek legal advice on the European Union Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between member states with regard to its implementation in Scots law and the powers it has with regard to the implementation of the Decision.

Holding reply by Mr Jim Wallace (20 December 2002):
I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.

Answered by Mr Jim Wallace (29 January 2003): I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-32395 on 9 January 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's web site, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search.htm

 

Special Education Needs

S1W-33216 - Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP) :
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of any concerns of parents of children with special educational needs that do not wish their children to be placed in mainstream schooling and what action it is taking to address such concerns.

Answered by Cathy Jamieson (27 January 2003):
The decision on which school a child should attend is a matter for agreement between an education authority and parents. Parents have a right to make a placing request for a school of their choice, and to appeal against the decision should this be refused. The new duty on an education authority to provide education in mainstream schools comes into effect in August 2003. However, children can still be placed in special schools where mainstream education is unable to meet their needs. The Scottish Executive has issued guidance on mainstreaming to education authorities which includes the importance of taking account of parents' views.

 

Health

S1W-33219 - Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP) :
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-6086 by Mr Frank McAveety on 12 December 2002, what consideration it has given to adopting a policy in Scotland similar to that of Her Majesty's Government's of placing 700 defibrillators in 72 public places in England and Wales.

Answered by Malcolm Chisholm (24 January 2003):
Our national advisory body on coronary heart disease will continue to keep under review the evidence on the benefits of siting automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places. This need not prevent local initiatives based on local assessments of cost-effectiveness.

 

Young Offenders

S1W-33088 - Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP) :
To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the statement in paragraph 81 of the Audit Scotland report, Dealing with offending by young people, that some children's panel members and reporters had reservations about the capability of children's hearings to deal with persistent offenders in part due to a lack of resources.

Answered by Cathy Jamieson (24 January 2003):
Ministers have made clear that tackling persistent young offenders effectively is a priority. The fast-track children's hearing pilots which will begin soon will deal specifically with this group by offering a guaranteed place on an appropriate programme to help address their needs and prevent re-offending. The Executive is making available significant additional resources to support these programmes and the operation of the pilots in general.

 

Rail Services

S1W-33198 - Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP) :
To ask the Scottish Executive what role rail services will play in the provision of rural transport, in the light of paragraphs 2-9 in section B of the report by the Scottish National Rural Partnership, Implementing Services in Rural Scotland: A Progress Report.

Answered by Lewis Macdonald (24 January 2003):
The Scottish Executive's consultation paper Strategic Priorities for Scotland's Passenger Railway, published in November 2000, included our priorities for rail services in rural Scotland. In particular, the paper outlined the Executive's expectation that the rail industry in Scotland would assist in the development of viable rural communities and the objective of tackling the peripherality of many rural communities through the delivery of reduced journey times from those communities where sufficient benefits can be generated.

 

Special Education Needs

S1W-33117 - Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP) :
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities will be included in the Inclusive Learning Network for children with special educational needs announced by the Minister for Education and Young People on 14 January 2003; how much each local authority will receive from the £150,000 announced for the network, and what formula will determine the amounts received by local authorities.

Answered by Cathy Jamieson (24 January 2003):
The Inclusive Learning Network project is funded through the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Innovation Grants Programme, which is paid to the voluntary sector in support of good practice and new ideas in SEN provision. The Equity Group has been awarded £150,000 to take forward this project in partnership with six local authorities: Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, Scottish Borders and North Lanarkshire. Local authorities, although providing staff and other resources, will not directly receive any of the £150,000 project funding.