Parliamentary questions

Christine Grahame

3,532 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

31 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the energy performance of a building will be expressed in CO2 emissions and, if so, whether any other indicators will also be used.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard,Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. Hisresponse is as follows:It is proposed that the principalindicator of energy performance of buildings will be expressed in terms of CO2</…

31 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has obtained legal advice into the definition of a public building under Article 7.3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard,Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. Hisresponse is as follows:The SBSA works closely with theOffice of the Solicitor to the Scottish Executive (OSSE) on all matters concerningScott…

31 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will interpret Article 7.3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in respect of the definition of a public building.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard,Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. Hisresponse is as follows:Proposals for the descriptionand characterisation of “public building” will appear in the forthcoming publicconsultati…

31 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the energy performance certificate for Scottish buildings, as required by Article 7 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, will refer to an asset rating or an operational rating, or both.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:It is proposed that assetratings are adopted for the purpose of implementing Article 7.To rely solely on the us…

31 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consult the public on its plans for implementation of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard,Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. Hisresponse is as follows:Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 of theDirective have been implemented using existing Scottish building legislation andalso guid…

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was allocated by Careers Scotland for recruitment events organised in conjunction with the British armed forces in each year since 1999.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Details about funding forspecific events or activities is an operational matter for Careers Scotland.The information requested is not held centrally.

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many recruits joined the British armed forces at events or recruitment visits organised in conjunction with Careers Scotland in each year since 1999.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Details about the number ofrecruits that joined the British armed forces at recruitment events or visitsis an operational matter for Careers Scotland. The information requested is notheld centrally.

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance ministers have issued to schools regarding the facilitation of recruitment and other visits by members of the British armed forces.

Answer · Peter Peacock: None. It is for local authoritiesand schools to consider how and by whom careers advice should be offered to pupils.

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it offers to the British armed forces in respect of recruitment in Scotland.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Careers Scotlandoffer a number of services and products to the armed forces in Scotland. These include: Higher Education conventions; jobfairs and recruitment events; “Make it in Scotland”; and signposting through the Careers Scotlandwebsite and careers advis…

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the statistics it holds indicate any reduction in deprivation levels in communities experiencing increased recruiting activity by representatives of the British armed forces.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive does not hold informationon armed forces recruiting activity by community which would be required in orderto provide the analysis requested.

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact a reported drop in recruitment levels in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, resulting in a possible reduction from five battalions to four within a year, would have on the Scottish economy over the same period.

Answer · Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24794 on 18 April 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact a reported drop in recruitment levels in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, resulting in a possible reduction from five battalions to three in five years, would have on the Scottish economy over that time period.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Defence is a reserved matter.The Ministry of Defence have not announced any plans to reduce the number of battalionsfrom Scotland beyond the five battalions that will be created by themerger of The Royal Scots Battalion and The King’s Own Scottish Borderers o…

28 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the farms which have been affected by emergency prohibition orders related to the Chernobyl incident in each year since 1995.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I am advised by the Food StandardsAgency that the following table indicates the number of farms in Scotland whichhave been subject to restrictions as a result of the Chernobyl accidentin each year since 1995.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <t…

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of pensioners who have claimed council tax benefit in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · George Lyon: The information requested,where available, is shown in the following table:CouncilTax Benefit Recipients Aged 60 and Over (Thousands)<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=179> Local Authority Area </td> …

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of pensioners who have been entitled to claim council tax benefit in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · George Lyon: The information requested isnot available. This data is available only at Great Britain level.Latest estimates of thenumber of pensioners in Great Britain who are entitled to Council Tax Benefit, along withPension Credit, Minimum Income Guarantee and H…

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners have spent more than 10% of their disposable income on council tax in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · George Lyon: The following table presentsresults from the Family Resources Survey on the number of pensioner householdswhich have paid more than 10 per cent of their gross income on council taxbetween 1999-2000 to 2004-05.Table: Estimates of the numberof pensioner …

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken a comparison of the cost-effectiveness of its public service broadcasts in the south of Scotland and the rest of Scotland and, if so, what the conclusion was.

Answer · Tom McCabe: We continually review the cost-effectivenessof all of our media platforms to ensure that we use the right media to reach therelevant audience for each of our campaigns.The south of Scotland is coveredin a number of ways including television (Channels 4…

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the cost-effectiveness of its public information broadcasts.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive procurestelevision and radio airtime through its contracted media buyer, Mediacom, who areresponsible for purchasing cost effective media pertinent to the target audiencefor the campaign in question.

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of issuing Executive strategy documents in each year since 1999, broken down by ministerial portfolio.

Answer · George Lyon: The Scottish Executiveissues a wide range of policy, strategy, consultation and other documentselectronically, in print and in other formats. No central record is kept of thecosts of issuing these documents for each ministerial portfolio.

23 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many strategy documents it has issued in each year since 1999, broken down by ministerial portfolio.

Answer · George Lyon: Links to strategy, policy,consultation and other documents issued by the Scottish Executive in each yearsince 1999 are available on the Scottish Executive website. Each document isidentified against a policy heading (which may cover the interests of more than…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30754 by Mr Andy Kerr of 7 February 2003, what the cost was of each of its public information campaigns in each year since 2002-03, broken down into (a) press, (b) radio (by network), (c) TV (by region), (d) production, (e) ambient and (f) cinema adv…

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15204 on 12 April 2005 which details the reconciled spendfor 2003-04, to answers S2W-1857 and S2W-2481 for 2002-03 spend by department andcampaign and the answer to question S1W-26485 on 3 July 2002 providing i…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to exempt people diagnosed with cancer from prescription charges.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No decision on whether to changethe current criteria for exemption on medical grounds will be taken until the ScottishExecutive’s review of NHS prescription charges and exemption arrangements is complete.The consultation phase of thereview is under way…

21 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recently reported allegations anent plans to undermine the Wilson government in the 1960s, whether it holds any intelligence regarding potential subversive activity to undermine the democracy of Scotland by (a) senior British military officers and (b) the British Security Ser…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: In line with established practice,it would not be appropriate to comment on operational matters relating to the Securityand Intelligence Service.