Cathy Jamieson

2 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the guidance on responsibility for provision of specialist health care services to pupils in independent residential special schools as outlined in NHS HDL (2004) 15: NHSScotland: Guidance on Establishing the Responsible Commissioner has been updated.

Answer · Shona Robison: Further guidance on responsibility for the provision of specialist health care services to pupils in independent residential special schools was issued to NHS boards on 6 December 2004. The guidance stated that specialist health services should be provided by…

2 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of provision of specialist health care services to pupils in independent residential special schools.

Answer · Shona Robison: The assessment of the effectiveness of provision of specialist health care services to pupils in independent residential special schools is a matter for each school in partnership with the NHS boards providing the services, the home NHS board and home local a…

1 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to offer vaccinations to prevent shingles in older people.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended that a herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination programme be introduced to vaccinate people aged between 70 and 79, if a licensed vaccine is available at cost effective price. </p> <p >The Scott…

28 Jan 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with East Ayrshire Council with regard to the council’s capital spending programme.

Answer · John Swinney: Discussions on local government finance are taken forward through COSLA, acting on behalf of all local authorities. The Scottish Government is in regular contact with COSLA to discuss a range of issues, including provision for capital spending.</p>

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities insist on seatbelts being fitted to all vehicles used for school transport.

Answer · Keith Brown: This information is not collected centrally. Local authorities may, through contract specifications, insist on seatbelts being fitted to vehicles used for dedicated school transport. However, there is no requirement in law for all buses to be fitted with seat…

27 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities place an age restriction on vehicles used for school transport.

Answer · Keith Brown: This information is not collected centrally. There is no age restriction on vehicles provided they are roadworthy. All buses are checked annually by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and, in between these annual checks, operators are legally obliged to…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what areas in the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency it considers unsuitable for (a) new and (b) additional wind farm developments.

Answer · Jim Mather: This is a matter for the relevant planning authorities to consider when preparing their spatial policies.</p>

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount is of community benefit funding allocated to local organisations as a result of wind farm developments, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is not held centrally. Community benefit agreements for wind farms are a private matter between the developer and communities concerned. The Scottish Government has no legal powers to compel parties to disclose the commercial details…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of jobs related to wind farm developments is located in Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency.

Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is not held centrally. </p>

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs have been created by wind farm developments.

Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is not held centrally.</p> <p >However, analysis for the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills suggests that there are around 8,000 jobs in the wind energy sector in Scotland. </p>

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the total number of wind turbines is located in the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question to S3W-31066 on 9 February 2010. 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/A…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the total number of wind farms is located in the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency.

Answer · Jim Mather: Applications for onshore wind farms in excess of 50 megawatts (MW) are considered by Scottish ministers under Section 36 of the Electricity Act (1989) and a total of 30 wind farms in Scotland have been consented in this way.</p> <p >Information on such devel…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether there is a maximum number of wind farms that local communities can sustain.

Answer · Jim Mather: Planning authorities should set out in development plans a spatial framework for onshore wind farms of over 20 megawatts generating capacity. This should identify areas where the cumulative impact of existing and consented wind farms limits further developmen…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that guidance on the cumulative impact of wind farm developments is being considered in relation to applications for new wind farms.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31063 on 9 February 2010. 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/Apps…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that guidance on the cumulative impact of wind farm developments is being considered in relation to applications for extensions to existing wind farms.

Answer · Jim Mather: It is for planning authorities to ensure that, where relevant, applicants adequately address the cumulative impact that their proposal would have on the area. When doing so, authorities should take account of existing wind farms, those which have permission a…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support businesses in Ayrshire involved in green tourism.

Answer · Jim Mather: Sustainable tourism or green tourism is critical to the development and maintenance of any successful tourism destination. VisitScotland encourages businesses across Scotland to take part in the GTBS and Going Green Schemes. They are also about to launch a pr…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support green tourism in Ayrshire.

Answer · Jim Mather: Sustainable tourism or green tourism is critical to the development and maintenance of any successful tourism destination. VisitScotland encourages tourism businesses to take part in the GTBS and Going Green Schemes. It is also about to launch a programme of …

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support the transfer of freight from road to rail in Ayrshire.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: My officials are in regular discussion with all the main rail operators about rail freight opportunities throughout Scotland, including Ayrshire. We operate three rail freight mode shift grant schemes which encourage the transfer of freight from road to rail.…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that all rural communities in Ayrshire are adequately served by public transport.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Public transport provision is a matter for the local authorities, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and individual transport operators in the first instance.</p> <p >The Scottish Government is supporting bus operations in a number of ways, including the …

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of primary school pupils has access to a school-based credit union savings scheme.

Answer · Michael Russell: This information is not held centrally.</p>

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of secondary school pupils has access to a school-based credit union savings scheme.

Answer · Michael Russell: This information is not held centrally.</p>

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is providing for the establishment of credit unions in schools.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Centre for Financial Education is actively encouraging pupils'' understanding of the role of credit unions through the provision of teacher support materials, training events and conferences. The credit union movement is represented on the Nation…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools in (a) Scotland, (b) East Ayrshire and (c) South Ayrshire have a dedicated school nurse.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the number of schools in Scotland with a dedicated school nurse is not held by the Scottish Government. However, each school in Scotland has a named nurse with whom the school will liaise on health issues. Figures recently published show an inc…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the operation of the trunk road maintenance contracts in light of the recent severe weather and whether it plans to take any action as a result.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The performance of trunk road operating companies is monitored continually by the independent Performance Audit Group (PAG). During the recent severe weather PAG has been monitoring the delivery of winter service operations across the trunk road network. This…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £547,000 awarded to East Ayrshire Council from the Zero Waste Fund can be used for any purpose other than making progress toward meeting the 2013 Landfill Directive.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: East Ayrshire have been awarded a total of £674,000 for 2010-11 from the Scottish Government for Zero Waste, this includes the Zero Waste Operational Grant, Zero Waste Capital Grant and the consolidated funding from the former Strategic Waste Fund. Funding to…

26 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether awards to local authorities from the Zero Waste Fund are intended to be used only to make progress toward meeting the 2013 Landfill Directive.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31042 on 4 February 2010. 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/Apps…

21 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost would have been of providing free prescriptions for cancer patients in 2009-10, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30968 on 4 February 2010. 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/Apps…

21 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost would be of providing free prescriptions for cancer patients in 2010-11, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information required to answer this question is not held centrally. Actual costs would depend on the definition and criteria used to determine eligibility as well as uptake of the exemption following any change to the list of eligible conditions. </p> <p…

21 Jan 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that the co-operative business model is included in the Determined to Succeed programme.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government, through its Determined to Succeed (DtS) strategy, has provided £60,000 funding for Co-operative Education Trust Scotland (CETS) during its two-year pilot stage (July 2005-07) to support the work and future development of educational r…

20 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional support it will provide to (a) East Ayrshire and (b) South Ayrshire to deal with the effects of the recent adverse weather conditions on local roads.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3O-9221 on 21 January 2010. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the official report can be viewed at: </p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/busines…