Parliamentary questions
Elaine Murray
2,411 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to take forward the results of the consultation on a science and innovation strategy for Scotland and, if so, how.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4458 on 1 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise networks’ local enterprise companies will cease to exist.
Answer · Jim Mather: Local enterprise companieswill continue to operate until the end of the current financial year.</p>
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether transferring responsibility for the delivery of Business Gateway to 32 councils instead of 12 local enterprise companies will increase complexity.
Answer · Jim Mather: No. The transfer ofresponsibility to local authorities from the delivery of the Business Gateway contractwill assist in developing greater coherence in the delivery of local business support.</p>
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the national Business Gateway website will be maintained after responsibility for Business Gateway passes to local authorities and, if so, who will be responsible for such maintenance.
Answer · Jim Mather: In order to ensurenational consistency of the Business Gateway website, Scottish Enterprise will continueto have responsibility for its maintenance after the transfer of the managementof the local Business Gateway contracts to local authorities.</p>
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether public sector involvement in Katalyst Projects Ltd will be transferred from Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway to Dumfries and Galloway Council.
Answer · Jim Mather: Work is underway byScottish Enterprise, in consultation with the Scottish Government, to restructureand to refocus its activities. Scottish Enterprise is working closely with its customers,partners and stakeholders, to ensure the delivery of day to day busine…
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to realign community planning partnerships with the boundaries of the new enterprise regional organisations and VisitScotland.
Answer · John Swinney: The government believes community planning partnerships have the central role to play in joining up the design and delivery of services at local level.</p> <p >There are no plans at present to change the boundaries of community planning partnerships.</p>
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities will receive additional funding for the responsibilities transferred to them under the recent review of the structures and functions of the enterprise network and whether this funding will be ring-fenced for economic development activities.
Answer · Jim Mather: All budgets are subjectto change pending the forthcoming Spending Review. There is likely to be some alterationin the budgets of the enterprise networks and local authorities budgets to takeaccount of the reforms but no changes will be made until the next fin…
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) which local authorities and local enterprise companies are currently in the process of co-locating.
Answer · Jim Mather: This is an operationalmatter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.</p>
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor whether the new enterprise structure increases regional GDP.
Answer · Jim Mather: The forthcoming GovernmentEconomic Strategy will set out national targets for monitoring progress towardsincreasing sustainable economic growth. This will form the top level of thegovernment’s new performance framework, focussed on delivery of thegovernment’s…
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor whether the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise increases productivity.
Answer · Jim Mather: The government’s newperformance framework, focussed on delivery of the government’s purpose andfive strategic objectives, will be published shortly with the StrategicSpending Review.</p><p>The nationaloutcomes and indicators that accompany the spending review…
5 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what decision-making and spending powers the new regional organisations for enterprise will have.
Answer · Jim Mather: These will beoperational matters for the enterprise networks.</p>
1 Oct 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how members of the public may obtain copies of the local inquiry report into the planning application by ScottishPower for a wind turbine development at Harestanes.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Public Local Inquiryreport on the Harestanes wind farm application is available on the Scottish GovernmentEnergy Consents website <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/enterprise/energy">www.scotland.gov.uk/enterprise/energy</a>.The report is also available…
24 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances an individual may acquire the birth or marriage certificate of another individual without their consent.
Answer · Jim Mather: The registers of births,deaths and marriages, from which birth, death and marriage certificates (formallycalled “extracts”) are drawn, are public documents. The Registrar General, and localregistrars, have a statutory duty, under the Registration of Births, D…
24 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is available to workers, such as those employed in slaughterhouses, who have been laid off as a result of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
Answer · Jim Mather: As far as I can determinethere have been no lay-offs in the vast majority of abattoirs in Scotland as a resultof the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The exception to this is the export-onlyabattoir at Annan. Any workers who find themselves in the u…
24 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association will be involved in the Housing Task Force
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish RuralProperty and Business Association is not one of the organisations represented onthe “core” Housing Supply Task Force. However, there is scope for it and other organisationsto be involved in the task force process by contributing to work on p…
24 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what role it believes that the private rented sector can play in the provision of affordable housing in rural areas and how it supports such involvement.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The private rented sectorplays a vital role in the provision of housing in rural areas, accounting forabout 11% of all rural households. </p><p>The Scottish Governmentprovides support for the private rented sector in rural areas through rural emptyproperties …
17 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether grants are available for the installation of renewable energy to energy suppliers who participate in the Renewables Obligation Certificate scheme.
Answer · Jim Mather: Grants areavailable to householders and a wide range of community organisations throughthe Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI).</p><p>Grants for privatesector developers and consortiums are being provided via the ScottishGovernmen…
17 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to alter the commission payable to park home site owners on the completion of the sale of a private park home.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: We have nocurrent plans to alter the rate of commission payable to park home site owners.</p>
17 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any changes to the commission payable to park home site owners on the completion of the sale of a private park home.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The commissionpayable to park home site owners has not changed. The maximum rate remains at10%, as prescribed by the Mobile Homes (Commissions) Order 1983.</p>
10 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will improve understanding of testosterone deficiency and its treatment.
Answer · Shona Robison: The understandingof testosterone deficiency and its treatment is under active consideration bythe scientific community and professional bodies.</p><p> </p>
10 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidance is made available to NHS boards on the diagnosis and treatment of testosterone deficiency.
Answer · Shona Robison: The ScottishGovernment has not issued specific guidance to NHS boards on the diagnosis andtreatment of testosterone deficiency. The Scottish Medicines Consortium issuedguidance in 2004 on testosterone replacement therapies for men with primary orsecondary hyp…
10 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the male population suffers from testosterone deficiency.
Answer · Shona Robison: This informationis not held centrally.</p>
10 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of the possible benefit of using testosterone therapy when treating co-morbid patients.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scientificevidence suggests that in men with specific causes of testosterone deficiency(such as trauma) testosterone therapy can be helpful as opposed to men withrelative testosterone deficiency where the benefits of treatment have a weakerevidence base. As w…
10 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the use of the free androgen index to establish hormone health in men to be reliable.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scientific evidencesuggests that the free androgen index is not a reliable indicator of hormone healthin men.</p>
10 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any research suggesting that lower than normal levels of testosterone can cause type 2 diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, ischemic heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis in men.
Answer · Shona Robison: We are aware thatthere is substantial evidence of an association between lower levels of testosteroneand some of these conditions. There is no scientific evidence to suggest whetherthis is a cause and effect relationship.</p>
10 Sep 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of the report in 2002 by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists on adult male hypogonadism.
Answer · Shona Robison: We are aware of thisreport which deals with particular approaches regarding the diagnosis and managementof those who may benefit from treatment with testosterone. NHS boards are responsiblefor the planning and provision of NHS services and for ensuring the tr…
29 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided to agencies in Dumfries and Galloway from the Changing Children’s Services Fund in 2006-07 and how much will be provided in 2007-08.
Answer · Adam Ingram: Dumfries and Galloway Council received a total of £1,963,000from the Changing Children’s Services Fund in 2006-07 and will receive £1,943,000in 2007-08. The slight reduction in the 2007-08 allocation reflects the formulaagreed with the Convention of Scottish …
29 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided to agencies in Dumfries and Galloway by the Executive for services for looked-after children in 2006-07 and how much will be provided in 2007-08.
Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Governmentprovides general financial support for Scotland’s local authorities’ core services, including looked after children, butit is the responsibility of each individual local authority to allocate its totalresources, including collected coun…
29 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided to agencies in Dumfries and Galloway from the Choose Life suicide prevention programme in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06 and (d) 2006-07 and how much will be provided in 2007-08.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following tableis a summary of allocation of the Government’s Choose Life funding by the localCommunity Planning Partnership to local agencies in Dumfries and Galloway for theyears 2003-04 up to the current financial year:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0…
29 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided to agencies in Dumfries and Galloway from the New Futures Fund in 2006-07 and how much will be provided in 2007-08.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Dumfries and Galloway Community Planning Partnershiphas been given £210,000 New Futures Successor Funding in each year for 2006-07 and2007-08.</p>