Parliamentary questions
Cathy Jamieson
1,344 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to assist local authorities in dealing with derelict properties.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, gives local authorities new powers to take action against properties which are below the tolerable standard, in a state of serious disrepair or in need of repair and likely to deteriorate rapidly and cause damage to other prop…
25 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to assess the number of derelict properties where the owner cannot be traced.
Answer · Alex Neil: Information on the number of derelict properties in Scotland where the owner cannot be traced is not held centrally.</p>
25 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to assess the number of derelict houses where the owner cannot be traced.
Answer · Alex Neil: Information on the number of derelict houses in Scotland where the owner cannot be traced is not held centrally.</p>
25 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to assess the number of vacant and derelict properties.
Answer · Alex Neil: Information on the number of vacant and derelict non-domestic (business) premises is not held centrally. </p> <p >Information on premises liable for business rates is held on the Scottish Assessors Portal, <a href="http://www.saa.gov.uk/">www.saa.gov.uk</a>.…
25 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to assess the number of vacant and derelict houses.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government and the General Register Office for Scotland both collect data annually on the number of empty properties throughout Scotland. Information on derelict homes will be collected as part of this.</p> <p >The Scottish Government also coll…
25 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the number of unsuccessful applications, what plans it has for future rounds of funding from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund.
Answer · Alex Neil: There are no current plans for future rounds of funding from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund.</p>
25 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many projects that met the criteria for the Town Centre Regeneration Fund were unsuccessful.
Answer · Alex Neil: The majority of projects achieved adequate scores in most of the criteria. However, bids that were able to show that they exceeded the criteria were prioritised for funding. In addition, account was taken of the need to achieve a fair geographic spread, with …
25 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to secure alternative funding for projects that met the criteria for the Town Centre Regeneration Fund but were unsuccessful.
Answer · Alex Neil: Whilst we are aware that a number of projects are seeking funding from other sources, it is not our intention to seek to influence grant making bodies in favour of certain applicants to the disadvantage of others. We are, however, considering the practical su…
24 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance there is regarding the sourcing of local products for use in NHS Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There is no specific guidance regarding the sourcing of local products for use in NHS Scotland. Local health boards and national NHS organisations work together to ensure a contract delivery that best suits the requirements of the NHS in Scotland. A commodity…
24 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what weight is given to global carbon reduction in the procurement of NHS equipment and consumables.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The purpose of the recently launched Scottish Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan is to build sustainability, including carbon reduction, into the procurement process. The ten point procurement sustainability plan is being implemented across the pu…
24 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what weight is given to the impact on jobs in the procurement of NHS equipment and consumables.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It would be extremely difficult for procurement organisations to assess the direct causal impact of a contract opportunity on suppliers and it would be problematic to ensure an equity in approach across all suppliers.</p>
24 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide funding to enable further development of housing co-operatives.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28806 on 18 November. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Bu…
24 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has had with individual local authorities regarding its proposals for a Scottish housing trust.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29298, on 9 December 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…
24 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation has taken place with housing associations regarding its proposals for a Scottish housing trust.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29299, on 9 December 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…
24 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings it has had regarding its proposals for a Scottish housing trust; on what date they took place, and who was present in each case.
Answer · Alex Neil: As part of its consideration of further actions for responding to the recession and public finance constraints, the Scottish Government has, in the course of 2009, held numerous meetings on innovative models for providing affordable housing with lower levels …
24 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions regarding its proposals for a Scottish housing trust it has had with COSLA.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has had several meetings with COSLA since May 2009 to discuss innovative ways of boosting housing supply, including the potential for a housing trust model to assist some councils in meeting housing needs. Officials held initial discus…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional support it will provide to small and micro-businesses to prevent job losses and redundancies.
Answer · Jim Mather: Generic business support for small and micro-businesses is provided through Business Gateway. A range of specialised support services also exists. For example, in redundancy situations, the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative provid…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to collect information on the number of people required to use their family homes as security for loans in order to keep small and micro-businesses in operation.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is undertaking an update survey in November on SME Access to Finance, which follows on from the publication of the first survey in July 2009. The survey will examine issues around accessing finance for small and medium-sized businesses…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to increase awareness of the range of support available to small and micro-businesses.
Answer · Jim Mather: The most widely used service for small and micro business is the Business Gateway, for which local authorities are now responsible for local delivery. The Business Gateway service involves extensive marketing programmes to ensure that the services it provides…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the business support services available to small and micro-businesses.
Answer · Jim Mather: An extensive range of support and advice services are available to Scottish businesses of all sizes, from a wide range of public and private sector organisations including: Scottish Enterprise; Highlands and Islands Enterprise; the Business Gateway; local aut…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that public sector agencies give a greater focus to delivering early intervention to small and micro-businesses.
Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29168, on 2 December 2009. The answers to all written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, for which the search facility can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ask local authorities to collect and analyse local labour market intelligence on job losses in small and micro businesses.
Answer · Keith Brown: On 23 June, the Scottish Government established the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) which brought together all agencies with an interest in PACE to oversee a continuous improvement programme to enhance the operation of PACE.</p> <p >As pa…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in light of the recommendations in the report, Research into Job Losses in Small and Micro Businesses, published by the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland.
Answer · Jim Mather: While recognising the limitations of a report based on 12 companies'' experience of the recession, the government welcomes the findings in broad terms as they confirm that improvement work already in hand is targeting the needs of small businesses in Scotland…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Futures Trust regarding shared-campus schools.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: No discussions have taken place between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Futures Trust regarding shared-campus schools. Individual local authorities who are receiving support for a school project through the new £1.25 billion new school building progr…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken to promote shared-campus schools as part of its school building strategy.
Answer · Michael Russell: The new school estate strategy, <i >Building Better Schools: Investing in Scotland''s Future</i>, sets out a clear vision for the school estate in Scotland which signals the high value we place on learning; which people and communities can enjoy using and can…
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Orange Order and Cairde na h’Eireann will be invited to participate in the work on marches and parades announced by the Minister for Community Safety in his statement to the Parliament on the Sectarianism Strategy on Wednesday, 18 November 2009.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Yes.</p>
19 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Community Safety will meet (a) the Orange Order and (b) Cairde na h’Eireann to discuss how further progress can be made in implementing the actions agreed in the 2006 statement on tackling abusive behaviour at marches and parades.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I intend to meet all of the partners who signed the 2006 statement on tackling abusive behaviour at marches and parades, including the Orange Lodge and Cairde na h''Eireann, to consider with them how the statement can be taken forward at a local level.</p>
17 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28621 by Alex Neil on 16 November 2009, what discussions it has had with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and other relevant organisations on producing repossession data at a national and local level.
Answer · Alex Neil: We have regular dialogue with the Council of Mortgage Lenders on this and other issues. We are also in correspondence with the Financial Services Authority, most recently on 11 November 2009, pressing them to require lenders to provide separate Scottish data…
11 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients are waiting for a first outpatient appointment at Glasgow Dental Hospital following referral by a general medical or dental practitioner, broken down by department.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is provided in the following table.</p> <p >Number of patients waiting for a first Outpatient appointment, following referral by a general medical or dental practitioner, at Glasgow Dental Hospital, by department on 30 September 200…
11 Nov 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19618 by Andy Kerr on 4 November 2005, what the average waiting time in weeks has been for treatment at Glasgow Dental Hospital in each quarter since May 2007.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information is available for the median wait for a first outpatient consultation following a referral from a GP or dentist. Data for the three quarters from 30 June 2007 to 31 December 2007 is derived from retrospective outpatient Scottish morbidity data. Inf…