Parliamentary questions

Elaine Murray

2,411 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

17 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25525 by Rhona Brankin on 16 May 2006, when copies of the findings of the Review of Urban Gulls and their Management in Scotland will be made available to local authorities.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The report of the review waspublished on the Scottish Executive’s website on 18 May 2006 and printed copieswere circulated to local authorities during the week beginning 22 May.

17 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-20474 and S2W-25525 by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005 and 16 May 2006 respectively, why it did not issue new guidance to local authorities on best practice measures on the control of urban seagulls early in 2006, as stated in the answer to S2W-2…

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Chapter 7 of the Review ofUrban Gulls and their Management in Scotland outlines the wide range of powersavailable to local authorities to deal with the various problems caused by urbangulls. Chapter 8 provides best practice recommendations, including g…

11 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what sanctions can be applied to dental practices that levy a charge on NHS patients for dental check-ups.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No dentist whose name appearson an NHS board dental list and who has accepted a patient for care and treatmentunder NHS general dental services (GDS) may charge that patient a fee for a dentalexamination. To do so would breach their GDS terms of service. The …

8 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has given any consideration to trunking the A709 from Dumfries to Lockerbie and de-trunking the A75 from Dumfries to Gretna.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Yes. A route following the corridorof the A709 was assessed in 1996. It was not taken forward on cost and environmentalgrounds. That decision was confirmed by a recent STAG Appraisal carried out by Dumfries and GallowayCouncil.Transport Scotland hasthe…

4 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) for 2006-07 and whether the Energy Savings Trust (EST) continues to distribute SCHRI grants in the south of Scotland and the central belt and, if so, what funds have been made available…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The original allocation of fundingto the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) for 2006-07was £2.2 million. On 16 May, I announced an additional £3 million for SCHRI foryears 2006-07 and 2007-08. This will ensure that the Energy Sav…

4 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the level of payments made for free personal and nursing care.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We are currently consideringthe evidence for a change in the level of payments.

4 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17526, whether the draft orders for the realignment of the A7 at Auchenrivock were lodged in late 2005 and when it now expects construction work to commence and to be completed.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Draft Orders for the A7Auchenrivock scheme were published on 12 May. Subject to these being wellreceived and no objections being returned by 23 June, the earliest thatconstruction could start would be summer of 2007, with completion in summer2008.Trans…

2 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20474 by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005, what consideration it has now given to the recommendations of the research project, Review of Urban Gulls and their Management in Scotland, undertaken for the Executive by BTO Scotland and the Centre for Co…

Answer · Rhona Brankin: I will be writing shortly tothe Parliament’s Petitions Committee with the findings of the Review of Urban Gullsand their Management in Scotland. I also propose to make available copies of the reportto local authorities and to publish the report on the Executi…

26 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether signposting to advertise lorry parks is permissible on motorways.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Traffic Signs Regulationsand General Directions 2002 contains all prescribed road signs which can be usedon roads throughout the United Kingdom. It does not prescribe any road signs giving directionsto lorry parks from motorways.Scottish ministers …

26 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23272 by Tavish Scott on 15 March 2006, when it expects the response to the consultation on its review of the trunk road and motorway tourist signposting policy to be published.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The last local authorityconsultation response referred to in my answer to question S2W-23272 was not receiveduntil 28 April 2006. Responses are being considered and it is now hopedto publish the results of the consultation in early June 2006.Transport …

20 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are permitted to charge peppercorn rents to voluntary organisations and, if so, under what circumstances and what legislation regulates the conditions under which this may be done.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Under Section 74(2) of the LocalGovernment (Scotland) Act 1973 as currently in force, local authorities requireministerial consent to dispose of any land for a consideration that is less thanthe best that can reasonably be obtained on the market. Under curren…

18 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government about the legality in Scotland of the (a) sale and (b) use of personal protection sprays such as Farb-Gel-Spray.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive and the HomeOffice have regular discussions on a variety of topics of mutual interest. We have had no discussions with the Home Officeabout the legality in Scotland of personal protection sprays such as Farb-Gel.

12 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding is available to assist students to pay for vaccinations in order to enable them to travel abroad as a compulsory part of their academic course.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Figures from the regulator(Ofgem) indicate that the total cost of the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order has been just over£109 million from its introduction in 2002-03 to 2004-05. The Executive doesnot hold information on the value t…

12 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding is available to assist students to pay for vaccinations in order to enable them to travel abroad as a compulsory part of their academic course.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Student Awards Agencyfor Scotland does not provide funding for such vaccinations as itis a “course related” cost and not one to be met from the student supportbudget.In general, if a student isfacing particular financial hardship then it is possibl…

5 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a local authority is required under the provisions of Part 6 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 to take into account the financial circumstances of applicants for improvement and repair grants and whether an authority is committing an offence if it fails to do so.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Improvement and repairgrants must be given subject to the provisions of Part 13 of the Housing (Scotland)Act 1987, as amended by Part 6 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. One ofthose provisions is that the amount of grant is based on an assessment of thefina…

5 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the UK Government in respect of the use of e-counting for the 2007 Scottish Parliament election.

Answer · George Lyon: The Scottish Executive and theScotland Office are working closely together to assess the suitability of e-countingfor the 2007 combined elections.Any decisions regarding the countingof votes for the Scottish Parliament elections will be taken by the Se…

5 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to the use of e-counting for the 2007 local government elections, in particular to the number and locations of e-counting centres should this method be adopted.

Answer · George Lyon: In August 2005, the ScottishExecutive, in partnership with the Scotland Office, issued an invitation to tenderfor the provision of e-counting facilities for the 2007 combined elections. Bidderswere asked to provide costings for the provision of between six an…

4 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why Working for Families funding was removed at short notice from two projects in north-west Dumfries being undertaken by the Maxwelltown Umbrella Group, namely the Grow Your Own project and the Building Healthy Communities project.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The decision was taken at a locallevel following a period of review of all Working for Families projects. The Workingfor Families Steering Group in Dumfries and Galloway, which includes internal council members and externalrepresentatives, made a collective d…

3 Apr 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria apply to voluntary groups wishing to apply for funding from the Working for Families Fund.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Working for Familiesprojects must meet the following criteria to be considered for inclusion. Each projectmust: offer good value for money in terms of cost against return for client outcomes;meet the aims of the fund by contributing to the overall goal of rem…

29 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Enterprise will continue to be able to provide funding for young people up to the age of 25 to obtain an SVQ at level 2 when age discrimination regulations come into effect in the United Kingdom and whether employers will thereafter be required to offer the same training …

Answer · Allan Wilson: This is a matter of operationalresponsibility for the Enterprise Networks. We will continue to work with the EnterpriseNetworks and colleagues in the DTI to ensure that all Government training programmescomply with the forthcoming age discrimination legislati…

22 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-22921 and S2W-22923 by Colin Boyd QC on 14 March 2006 and Hugh Henry on 27 and 23 February 2006 respectively and following its news release on 14 March 2006 on re-investing the proceeds of crime, whether funding obtained from criminal gains recover…

Answer · Hugh Henry: As outlined in the newsrelease on 14 March 2006, we have decided to target initial reinvestment ofassets recovered under the Proceeds of Crime legislation in the six localauthority areas which suffer most serious violent crime, Edinburgh,Glasgow, Inverclyde, …

20 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances a plea of culpable homicide can be accepted when an individual has been charged with murder.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The crime of murder is committedwhere the accused has acted either with the intention to kill the deceased or hasbeen wickedly reckless as to the consequence of those actions that resulted in thedeath. The crime of culpable homicide applies in cases where the…

10 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23041 by Hugh Henry on 23 February 2006, where the guidance on resolving disputes without going to court is published; how it may be accessed by members of the public, and how the public can find out about the mediation and advice services available.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The guidance is contained ina booklet entitled Resolving Disputes Without Going to Court, which was producedby the Scottish Executive Justice Department in 2004 and updated last year. Theelectronic version of the booklet can be accessed through the Scottish E…

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider additional financial support to enable the upgrading of the Digital Access Carrier System to provide exclusive telephone lines for broadband access where the cost is greater than BT’s current £1,000 maximum per customer.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: It is not appropriate for the Executive to subsidise the upgrading of Digital Access Carrier System (DACS) lines,as the process for their removal is within the scope of reserved regulation andoverseen by the UK telecoms regulator, OFCOM.

6 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the SCOTSIM training programme is offered to truck drivers over the age of 50 and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Answer · Tavish Scott: No upper age restrictions havebeen placed on the age of trainees - it is important for the aims of the researchproject to assess the effectiveness of training by simulation across a range ofdifferent driving conditions and environments, and age groups of driv…

28 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether an officer, as referred to in section 5 (9) of the Solway Firth Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 2006 as authorised by the Solway Shellfish Management Association, may include officers from the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and how s…

Answer · Ross Finnie: The reference to an “officer” in section 5(9) of the proposed Solway Firth Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 2006 is to an officer of the Solway Shellfish Management Association and not to officers from the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency or Dumfries an…

28 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Solway Shellfish Management Association is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in respect to its authority to issue licences on behalf of Scottish ministers to dredge, fish for or take cockles within the Solway Firth regulated fishery.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Solway Shellfish Management Association is not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

28 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to scrutinise the issuing of licences to dredge, fish for or take cockles under the Solway Firth Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 2006.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Section 4(5) of the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967 (the 1967 Act) requires that where the grantee of a Regulating Order does not propose to issue a licence to all applicants then it must notify the Scottish ministers of its intention. In such circumstance…

20 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how family contact centres, as provided for in the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, will be funded.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 makes no provision for family contact centres. A number of contact centres run by voluntary sector organisations operate to facilitate contact between children and non-resident parents or other close family members, and are …

20 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to make local authorities aware of the changes arising from the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 which will affect family support services and their funding.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 makes no changes to the funding of family support services. I announced during the Stage 3 debate on the Bill on 15 December 2005 that a further £300,000 would be made available in 2006-07 for capacity building, infrastructu…