Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-11780

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what revenue was earned from international students attending Scottish universities in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Question reference: S4O-01628

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to tackle smoking.

Question reference: S4W-11784

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2012
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Russell on 11 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what information it can provide regarding the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning’s recent visit to Malawi.

I visited Malawi from 28 October 2012 – 3 November 2012. The main purpose of my visit was to strengthen and renew the relationship between the Scottish Government and the Government of Malawi which is particularly important as we approach the bicentenary of the birth of Dr David Livingstone next year.

My official visit began on Sunday 28 October 2012 when I attended an informal briefing with the British High Commissioner.

On Monday 29 October 2012, I visited New State House Primary School in Lilongwe to observe a Scottish Government funded project. During the visit, I launched the extension of a digital learning programme and had the pleasure of presenting new iPad devices to a class of young learners. The Scottish Government provided £285,000 of funding to language learning specialists, Eurotalk, in 2010 to deliver a wide range of primary education through interactive digital software to 30 rural schools in Malawi. New State House Primary has 1275 children with 16 teachers – highlighting the education challenges facing Malawi including a lack of teachers, which Scotland is helping to tackle.

Later that morning I travelled to State House to meet with Her Excellency President Joyce Banda, to reinforce the bond of friendship between Scotland and Malawi. I presented Her Excellency with a letter from the First Minister inviting her to visit Scotland in 2013 for the David Livingstone Bicentenary Celebrations.

President Banda welcomed my announcement that the Scottish Government will provide £100,000 for David Livingstone Bicentenary Scholarships in Malawi. This will fund 50 postgraduate scholarships in priority areas highlighted by the Government of Malawi, to provide more opportunities for women and young people in Malawi, to enhance their knowledge and skills.

In the evening, I attended a round table meeting with Government of Malawi Ministers from the offices of Foreign Affairs; Education; Environment and Climate Change; and Energy. We discussed areas of policy priorities for the Government of Malawi and how the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund and other Scottish support can align with those. Also present were representatives from the British High Commission and the Department for International Development (DFID).

I took a tour of the Scottish Government funded JANEEMO project and associated permaculture demonstration training centre on Tuesday 30 October 2012 and planted a Msangu tree, known locally as “the magic tree”, as it is renowned for its resistance to drought, its nitrogen-fixing properties, and for protecting soil.

I then opened a round table meeting of the Malawi Renewable Energy Acceleration Programme (MREAP). Reaffirming that Scotland will assist Malawi to develop a renewable energy strategy – with one energy and one climate change policy expert from the Scottish Government seconded to Malawi from next year to support the work of the Government of Malawi in this field. This initiative follows discussions between Scottish and Malawian Environment Ministers at the Rio+20 Conference in June 2012.

I travelled to the British High Commission in the afternoon to attend a round table meeting with Education Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the Malawi Education Minister. We discussed the scope for greater collaboration within the education sector in Malawi. I indicated that I was keen to develop a “strategic partnership for education” between Scotland and Malawi, with some specific areas for collaboration identified, including on school inspection and improvement.

That evening I hosted the Malawi-Scotland Partnership (MaSP) Board Members’ dinner. I underlined the Scottish Government’s commitment to supporting development through civic society initiatives and emphasised the partnership and reciprocal nature of Scotland’s relationship with Malawi.

In Dedza, on Wednesday 31 October 2012, I visited a school participating in a district level performance enhancement programme, part of a Link Community Development (LCD) project funded by the Scottish Government. The Headteacher of the school emphasised the value of the link it has to East Craigs Primary School in Edinburgh.

That afternoon I took a tour of Mandala House and St Michael’s and All Angels Church as part of a Historic Scotland heritage visit, in order to learn about Historic Scotland’s developing project to support Government of Malawi attempts to protect Malawi’s heritage.

Thursday 1 November 2012 saw me undertaking a visit to a Scottish Government funded Mary’s Meals’ project. The Scottish Government is providing £400,000 funding to Mary’s Meals to support its School Meals Programme from 2010-2013 and a further £400,000 to support its Under-Six Feeding Programme from 2012-2015. I visited an under six centre, and later, took a tour of a Mary’s Meals’ distribution warehouse in Blantyre where rucksacks filled with educational materials by Scottish school children are delivered, before being distributed to schools in Malawi. I thanked those involved in the Scottish rucksack distribution and emphasised how delighted I was to see the difference that support from Scotland is making in Malawi.

Then on a visit to Zomba, I gave a short speech at a University of Malawi round table meeting with senior academics and heads of departments and heard how Scottish Government funding, including to the Scotland Malawi Partnership, contributes to and strengthens university links between Scotland and Malawi.

On Friday 2 November 2012, I represented the Scottish Government and co-chaired the Joint Permanent Commission of Co-operation meeting with the Malawian Foreign Secretary. This is the formal mechanism which was established to review the progress on implementation of the Scotland Malawi Cooperation Agreement, including Scottish Government funded projects in Malawi. Discussions took place around what was delivered over the previous year and on funding priorities for the coming year. These priorities are the focus of the Scottish Government’s most recent Malawi Development Programme funding round, which opened on
7 November 2012.

Question reference: S4O-01602

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the environmental benefits will be for Scotland of the Green Investment Bank.

Question reference: S4T-00104

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 November 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to resolve any backlog in student loan applications.

Question reference: S4O-01402

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many business improvement districts have been established and are in development.

Question reference: S4O-01309

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has conducted on whether there is a relationship between obesity and mental health.

Question reference: S4O-01116

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to encourage sustainable economic growth.

Question reference: S4O-01064

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how the operation of the concessionary travel scheme has developed since 2006.

Question reference: S4O-00903

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve transport infrastructure in the west of Scotland.

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