Parliamentary questions
Elaine Murray
2,411 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take as a result of the responses received to its consultation on legislation relating to organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
Answer · Andy Kerr: We intend to introduce a HumanTissue (Scotland) Bill to update the legislation on organ donation andtransplantation. As I indicated in my letter of 28 February which issued with thereports of the analyses of the responses, the responses to the consultation su…
13 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Transplant Group's report, An Organ Donation Strategy for Scotland.
Answer · Andy Kerr: A great deal of work has beenundertaken to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Transplant Group’s <i>OrganDonation Strategy for Scotland</i> since it was published in July 2002. The OrganDonation Teaching Resource Pack was launched in November 2003;…
30 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what sources of funding the Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches is entitled to apply for.
Answer · Hugh Henry: If the Association of ScottishNeighbourhood Watches were to apply formally to the Executive for funding with aproper business plan we would consider this.</p>
30 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent representations it has received from the Association of Scottish Neighbourhood Watches.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The association has made noformal representations to the Executive. However, Justice ministers andofficials have responded to enquiries from MSPs, members of Neighbourhood Watchschemes and the police about a national Neighbourhood Watch Association for Scotla…
17 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether reminyl and other drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease are to cease to be supplied under the NHS and, if so, what the reasons are for this decision.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently reviewing the clinical and economic evidence on the use of four drugs used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease – donepezil (Aricept), galantamine (Reminyl), rivastigmine (Exelon) and meman…
10 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any restrictions on the nationalities of persons who are eligible to apply for posts in the civil service and, if so, what the reasons are for these restrictions.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The civil service nationality rules are a reserved matter. There are restrictions on the nationalities of persons who are eligible to apply for posts in the civil service, and the Civil Service Management Code states what these restrictions are. The Scottish …
8 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in ensuring that all communities are broadband-enabled and when it expects the process to be completed.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Broadband is currently available to more than 93% of Scottish households. The Executive is in the final negotiation stages of its procurement which aims to deliver broadband access to every Scottish community by the end of this year.</p>
7 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds a record of the annual number of complaints received by each local authority regarding the injurious weeds listed in the Weeds Act 1959 and, if not, how these figures can be obtained.
Answer · Ross Finnie: There is no statutory requirementto collect information on the number of complaints about weeds specified in theWeeds Act 1959, but the Environment and Rural Affairs Department does this on anannual basis, and passes complaints about specified weeds on non-ag…
24 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether community groups using local authority-owned premises are required by law to provide their own insurance and, if so, under what legislation.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The Executive is unaware of any specific legislation that requires community groups, in using local authority-owned premises, to provide their own insurance. Consequently, it would be for individual local authorities, as owners of the property, to determine w…
24 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what sources of funding are available to assist community halls to comply with legislative requirements.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Funding may be availablethrough the Local Capital Grant Scheme, which is a component of the ScottishRural Partnership Fund, and is designed to support local voluntary, youth andcommunity organisations to provide new or upgrade existing community premises. Whi…
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the proposed memorandum of understanding between Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to help address issues of development constraint.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: My officials will meet with ScottishWater and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to progress this issue in thenext few weeks. It is intended that the memorandum of understanding will be in placeby 1 April 2006.</p>
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when Scottish Water's annual report on the network capacity, which will form the basis for Scottish Water's work with local authorities, stakeholders and regulators, will be published.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: From April 2006, Scottish Waterwill be required to publish annually a document outlining their strategic networkcapacity and development plans.</p>
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will be announced which areas will benefit from Scottish Water's essential objective to tackle constraints on new developments from 2006 to 2014 by allowing the building of 120,000 new homes and over 4,000 hectares of land to be commercially developed.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Scottish Water and its environmentaland economic regulators will be dealing with an eight year programme of investmentwith a substantive review before the mid-point to take account of the next strategicreview of charges for the period 2010-14. </p><p>Addition…
21 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how stakeholders will be consulted on Scottish Water's essential objective, announced on 9 February 2005, to tackle constraints on new developments from 2006 to 2014 by allowing the building of 120,000 new homes and over 4,000 hectares of land to be commercially developed.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: A wide range of stakeholderswere consulted last year during the consultation exercises on Investing in and Payingfor Water Services. Key stakeholders including Homes for Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Communities Scotland partic…
16 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether section 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 (Border Rivers) Order 1999 contains provision for the Environment Agency's function in relation to the introduction of rod licences on the Border Esk.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Article 5 of the Border Rivers Order does not make any provision concerning the Environment Agency’s rod licensing functions. It specifically refers to functions of ministers of the Crown, and rod licensing is a duty placed directly on the Environment Agency …
14 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what standards it specifies for the maintenance of A class principal routes.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Each local authority is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the non-trunk road network within its area. The Executive does not specify maintenance standards, but has commended to authorities the use of the Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance…
4 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13882 by Cathy Jamieson on 2 February 2005 on efficiency savings within the Scottish Prison Service, whether the 5% efficiency target has been requested by ministers as part of the Efficient Government programme or whether the target has been determi…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>No; ministers set the funding levels for the Scottish Prison Service as part of their spending reviews, and the Scottish Prison Servi…
2 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities have a duty under the Environment Act 1995 to prevent the emission of air pollutants from parked vehicles.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Section 87 of the Environment Act 1995 allows the Scottish Ministers to make regulations conferring powers on local authorities for, or in connection with, implementing the Air Quality Strategy.</p><p>The regulations referred to in the answer to S2W-14036, an…
2 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action local authorities can take to require drivers to switch off vehicle engines when parked.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (Scotland) Regulations 2003 enable local authorities to issue fixed penalty notices to drivers who allow their vehicle engines to run unnecessarily while parked.</p>
2 Feb 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to crack down on drug dealing in
Answer · Hugh Henry: The Minister for Justice announced in the debate, Tackling Drug Misuse, Protecting Scotland’s Communities on 27 October 2004 that funding from assets seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 would be reinvested to support those communities m…
28 Jan 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to revising its signage strategy on motorways and trunk roads; whether a revised strategy will be issued and, if so, what the likely timescale is for its introduction.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has no plans to revise its general signposting strategy for motorways and trunk roads. However, the Executive is currently reviewing the Trunk Road and Motorway Tourist Signposting Policy document (TRMTSP) which was published in 1998. T…
27 Jan 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Prison Service has been asked to make efficiency savings and, if so, what level of savings has been requested and over what period of time.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SPS needs to become more competitive, to use taxpayers money to achieve better value for money and to make a contribution to buil…
19 Jan 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve the rights of tenant farmers.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 transformed tenant farming. It introduced short limited-duration tenancies and limited-duration tenancies, reflecting the historic agreement reached between the representatives of tenants and landlords. It extende…
17 Jan 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has agreed to the Environment Agency's proposals to impose rod licenses on the Scottish section of the Border Esk.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Environment Agency has a duty under the provisions of Section 25 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 to regulate fisheries for salmon and trout by a system of licensing, and this duty extends to so much of the Border Esk as lies within Scotlan…
17 Jan 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been consulted on the Environment Agency"s proposals to impose rod licenses on the Scottish section of the Border Esk.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The duty to regulate fishing on the Border Esk was placed upon the Environment Agency by Section 25 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975. The Environment Agency has notified the Scottish Executive of how it intends to carry out this obligation.</p>
17 Jan 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it expects to make available to Dumfries and Galloway Council for traffic management and transportation infrastructure projects in each of the next three financial years and what criteria will apply to receipt of these funds.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Under existing financial commitments, Dumfries and Galloway Council has an allocation in 2005-06 of £412,000 from the Public Transport Fund for its southern sector access strategy. The council will also receive cycling, walking and safer streets allocations o…
17 Jan 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has made available to Dumfries and Galloway Council for traffic management and transportation infrastructure projects in each of the last five years and what criteria applied to receipt of these funds.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: No funding has been given by the Scottish Executive to local authorities for specific traffic management projects. The only Executive funding awarded to Dumfries and Galloway Council for specific public transport projects has been from the Public Transport Fu…
17 Jan 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it interprets section 25 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 and the Scotland Act 1998 (Border Rivers) Order 1999 in respect of their application to the upper Border Esk.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Section 25 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 imposes a duty on the Environment Agency to, by a system of licences, regulate fishing for salmon and trout and, except where excused by a Minister of the Crown, apply the same system to regulate fish…
13 Jan 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any announcement regarding funding for a consultation on patient and client involvement and, if so, when the announcement was made; how much funding each NHS board will receive, and what guidance has been given to boards regarding criteria to be used to assess whether …
Answer · Andy Kerr: Informing, engaging and consulting with patients and the public in the design and delivery of health services must be a fundamental part of a modern, 21st century NHS.</p><p>We carried out a consultation during 2004 on involving, engaging and consulting the p…
12 Jan 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding for drug treatment and rehabilitation services is being used effectively.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive worksclosely with local Drug Action Teams to ensure the most effective use of resourcesfor drug treatment and rehabilitation services. Additional funding announced inOctober 2004 will be allocated according to proposals submitted from e…