Parliamentary questions

Elaine Murray

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

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average time and (b) cost is for a local authority or registered social landlord to evict a tenant under anti-social behaviour legislation.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a registered social landlord is permitted to transfer a tenant to what it considers to be more suitable accommodation, without the tenant requesting the transfer, and what legislation permits or disallows a transfer of this nature.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A registered social landlord cannot transfer a tenant without that tenant’s consent unless it obtains a court order. The legislation governing the grounds for recovery of possession of a house by a registered social landlord is contained in Part 1 of Schedule…

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many homeless people received housing support through the Supporting People programme in each local authority area in 2003-04 and what percentage of the total Supporting People client group this represented in each local authority.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The percentage of people who were homeless or sleeping rough and who received housing support funded through the Supporting People programme is shown in table 4 of the Statistical Bulletin People assisted through Supporting People funding: 2003-04. The…

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of local authority and registered social landlord vacancies in 2003-04 were offered to households presenting as homeless under section 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Section 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 allows a local authority to request that a registered social landlord provide accommodation for a homeless applicant who the local authority has a duty to house under the legislation. Local authorities submit a let…

22 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of households presenting as homeless in 2003-04 under section 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 were offered a secure tenancy by the local authority or registered social landlord operating in that authority's area, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Local authorities submit an HL1 return to the Scottish Executive for each application made to them under the homeless persons legislation: this return reports on the action taken by local authorities to discharge their statutory duties. Section 5 of the Housi…

9 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a bowel cancer screening programme involving issuing home testing kits to people over 60.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18315 on 31 August 2005. 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/webapp…

18 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the responsibilities are of local authorities to assess whether residents in care homes are receiving the level of personal and nursing care which is appropriate to their individual needs and what sanctions the Executive can take if these responsibilities are not fulfilled.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-17934 answered on 9 August 2005. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, thesearch facility for which can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliame…

18 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that residents in care homes are receiving the level of personal and nursing care which is appropriate to their individual needs.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Local authorities haveduties under sections 12 and 12A of the Social Work (Scotland)Act 1968 to assess the needs of adults who appear to need community care and,in the light of the assessment, to provide appropriate services. For peoplerequiring care in a car…

18 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what budget has been set by each local authority for the provision of (a) free personal care in care homes (b) free nursing care in care homes and (c) free personal care at home for the current financial year.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not heldcentrally. Local authorities have notified the Executive of their totalbudgeted expenditure for 2005-06 but this information is not broken down to thelevel of detail requested.

1 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many salaried dental posts it has agreed to fund in each NHS board.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Approval for salaried dentist posts was devolved to NHS boards with effect from 1 April 2005. NHS boards are required to advise the Executive of posts approved locally. The number of salaried dentist posts approved by Scottish ministers prior to 1 Apri…

1 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many salaried dentists have now been appointed by each NHS board.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The appointment of salaried dentistsis a matter for NHS boards. The most up-to-date information on appointments is notheld centrally but will be available from NHS boards. The number of salaried dentistposts approved by Scottish ministers prior to 1 April 200…

1 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill will provide any additional protection to intensively farmed chickens.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The draft Animal Health and Welfare Bill will not provide any additional protection for intensively farmed chickens. However, a draft EU Council Directive based on the EU Report The Welfare of Chickens kept for Meat Production (Broilers), propos…

1 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations protect the welfare of intensively farmed chickens.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2000 sets down the minimum welfare standards for farmed animals including poultry. Additional requirements for the welfare of laying hens are set out in the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Amendment Re…

1 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any legal or auditing restrictions which would prevent a local authority from making compensation payments to a survivor of child sex abuse suffered while in the care of that authority.

Answer · Robert Brown: Each case has to be considered on its own facts and circumstances. It is for local authorities to take legal and other advice in the light of the particular circumstances.

29 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of culling livestock in Dumfries and Galloway during the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Answer · Ross Finnie: It is not generally possibleto specify the costs of the response to the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreakto a particular area of Scotland as many of the resources used were mobile orformed part of the wider British disease control response. The National Au…

29 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a list of the compensation payments made to each livestock owner in Dumfries and Galloway during and after the 2001 foot-and-mouth-disease outbreak, without disclosing the identity of the owners concerned.

Answer · Ross Finnie: A list of total values of compensationpayments made in Scotland for animals compulsory slaughtered as part of the2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak will be published on the ScottishExecutive website by the end of July.

29 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of patients on a GP list is in each NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The average number of patients on a GP list in each NHS Board Area as at 1 April 2005 is contained in the following table. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> NHS Board</td> <td> Average (mean) Number of Patients…

23 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in developing its revised strategy for the relocation of public sector jobs.

Answer · George Lyon: We are making good progress with a more strategic implementation of the relocation policy. As ministers have discussed with the Parliament’s Finance Committee, we are determined to speed up the implementation process and to make it more transparent and consis…

22 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will exercise any sanctions against Amey Highways Ltd for any failure to repair serious road defects on the A7 in Langholm.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The defects which haveappeared on the surfacing scheme carried out by Amey at Skippers Bridge,south of Langholm, are programmed to be repaired overnight on 10 and 11 July.This work will be carried out at no cost to the Executive.

22 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking following the accident atThe Wrae on the A7 north of Langholm on 17 June 2005.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The circumstances of thisaccident have been investigated and discussed with Dumfries andGalloway Police. It has been established that this accident was not caused byany physical characteristic of the trunk road. Therefore the Executive, astrunk road authority…

22 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the programme to realign approximately 3km of the A7 at Auchenrivock, south of Langholm, has now been prepared and what the estimated cost is of the realignment.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The detailed design for the works in the A7 Auchenrivock Improvement is still underway. Ground Investigation works are on-going at present and the preferred road alignment has been adopted. I anticipate that draft orders will be published in late 2005 and, su…

17 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what sections of the draft Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill apply to circus animals.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The draft bill makes no distinctionbetween circus and other animals. The animal health provisions in part 1 of thebill will apply to any circus animal which is susceptible to one of the listed diseases.All of the animal welfare provisions in part 2 of the bil…

17 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what current legislation applies to the protection of circus animals.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act1912 and the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925.

19 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4103 by Mr Tom McCabe on 26 November 2003, what guidance is available to NHS boards on applying to Scottish ministers for approval of schemes to assist eligible patients with travel expenses to access primary care NHS dental treatment.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Any board wishing to set up such a scheme can seek guidance from the Executive.

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, following the introduction of the five-in-one vaccine in August 2004, whether parents of children who previously received the separate oral version of the polio vaccine will be offered the oral vaccine and the previous four-in-one vaccine when a booster is due, in order to alleviate conc…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The new five-in-one vaccine is the only vaccine available via the NHS against the serious diseases of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and polio. The previous and new vaccines are compatible, so child…

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16283 by Ross Finnie on 10 May 2005, what the regulations are which came into force on 12 January 2005.

Answer · Ross Finnie: These were the Waste Management Licensing Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004, amending the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. Composting is dealt with in regulation 14 of the 2004 regulations, enforcement of which is a matter for the Scottish Env…

3 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to introduce a charge on equine manure heaps, similar to that to be introduced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in England and Wales on 1 July 2005.

Answer · Ross Finnie: In Scotland the storage of horse manure, pending its collection, at the site where it is produced, does not require payment of a charge. Whether composting horse manure attracts a charge depends on the scale of the activity, and the method by which it is unde…

21 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has committed for the protection and promotion of the Scots language in this year and the next two financial years.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive has not earmarked a specific budget for Scots language development. It provides funding for Scots activities through the general resources which it makes available to cultural and educational bodies, local authorities and the enterprise…

21 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has committed for the protection and promotion of the Gaelic language in this year and the next two financial years.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive provides funding for the protection and promotion of the Gaelic language through funding for the Gaelic Media Service, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and funding for Gaelic medium education. Funding for the years 2005-06 to 2007-08…

13 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated to NHS Dumfries and Galloway, including funding allocated to the former primary care and acute services trusts, in each year since 1999.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The funding allocated to NHSDumfries and Galloway, including the former NHS trusts, in each year since 1999is as follows:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Year </td> <td> £000 </td> </t…