Parliamentary questions

Elaine Murray

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

1 Sep 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs within the Scottish Executive, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have been relocated since 1999, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Answer · Tavish Scott: Since 1999, around 650public sector posts have been relocated. The following table details the bodiesconcerned and the number of jobs broken down by parliamentary constituency.<table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td> <…

25 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any legislation prevents a relative of a local councillor from sitting as an independent member on the board of a housing association that has received transferred local authority housing stock.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:There is no legislationspecifically preventing a relative of a local councillor from sitting as anindependent member on the board of a …

25 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether horse passports will be required for equines being shipped to Ireland, or the continent, in 2004.

Answer · Ross Finnie: It will be necessary for horse passports to be obtained for all equines in Scotland from 1 January 2004. The main purpose of the passport is to protecthuman health by recording all veterinary medicines that have been administeredto horses that have been ident…

25 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether horse passports will be signed, or indelibly marked, after being examined at an abattoir.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The declaration on horse passports will have been required to have been signed at least six months before a horse is presented at an abattoir. The passport will be examined at the abattoir before the horse is slaughtered to ensure that the declaration stating…

25 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to resolve the issues raised in petition PE14 from the Carbeth Hutters' Association.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30533 on 7 November 2002. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/we…

22 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase the number of medical students studying in Scotland.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The allocation of places tosubject areas is a matter for the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council(SHEFC). Ministers are precluded by legislation from directing funds or placesto particular courses or institutions.Professor Sir Kenneth Calmanis cur…

22 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each local authority has received to undertake (a) Supervised Attendance Orders and (b) Community Service Orders in each year since 1997.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I have arranged for theinformation on the allocations which, from 1999-2000 (2000-01 in the case ofSupervised Attendance Orders) have been based on historical workloads and arange of needs factors, to be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib.number…

22 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time was for completion of an (a) Supervised Attendance Order and (b) Community Service Order in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Information on the averagetime for completion of Community Service Orders (CSOs) and SupervisedAttendance Orders (SAOs) is not held within the Executive. Audit Scotlandcollect information on average hours and average hours completed per week forCSOs completed…

22 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) Supervised Attendance Orders and (b) Community Service Orders have been completed in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Figuresfor completed orders are available since 1999 for Community Service Orders(CSOs) and since 2001 for Supervised Attendance Orders (SAOs). The breakdown bylocal authority area is given in the following table:<table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cells…

4 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reimburse Dumfries and Galloway Council, or the organisers of galas and events in Dumfries and Galloway, for the costs incurred in implementing Galas and Events on the Trunk Road Network: Draft Guidance to Organisers in respect of the closure of trunk roads.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The draft guidance document,which is currently being used in the Dumfries and Galloway Council area, does not impose any additionalcosts on Dumfries and Galloway Council or event organisers. It seeks toset out the legal position regarding the closure of roads…

4 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisation initiated the production of Galas and Events on the Trunk Road Network: Draft Guidance to Organisers.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The draft guidance documentwas developed in partnership by Dumfries and Galloway Council, Dumfries and GallowayConstabulary, the Scottish Executive and the trunk road operating company, Amey Highways,following concerns expressed by Dumfries and Galloway Const…

4 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Galas and Events on the Trunk Road Network: Draft Guidance to Organisers is being implemented in Dumfries and Galloway only and, if so, what the reasons are for this position.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The draft guidance was developedin partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and Dumfries and GallowayCouncil and has consequently been implemented in that area only. The Scottish Executive is consulting the Association of Chief Police Officers in S…

29 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any outstanding planning issues in regard to Dumfries and Galloway Council's waste management and recycling PPP project and, if so, what the nature of these issues is and when they will be resolved.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: There are three outstanding planning issues relating to Dumfries and Galloway Council's waste management project.1. Aucheninnes landfill site (Dalbeattie): A legal agreement between the council, the applicant and Scottish Natural Heritage in respect of a m…

29 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it now expects to make its final decision regarding Dumfries and Galloway Council's waste management and recycling PPP project.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1711 today. 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/search…

29 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it is considering providing in regard to Dumfries and Galloway Council's waste management and recycling PPP project and what conditions it will place on the awarding of any such funds.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Dumfries and Galloway Council has been offered capped support of up to £1.27 million per annum from the 1998 Level Playing Field Support (LPFS) fund for this project. The conditions attached for this funding are those which were standard to all projects offer…

19 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the scope of the proposed sentencing commission will be.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: A Partnership for a Better Scotland made clear that the Executive would set up a judicially led sentencing commission to review sentencing and make recommendations on: the use of bail and remand;the basis on which fines are determined;t…

19 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors applications for posts within the Executive to ensure that age discrimination is avoided.

Answer · Andy Kerr: In line with best practice, and its equal opportunities and diversity policies, the Executive monitors all applications by age.

19 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is offered to non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies regarding the monitoring of age discrimination amongst employees.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Non-departmental public bodies are responsible for the operation of their own personnel management systems and the monitoring of age discrimination is a matter for them. This discretion is an important element of a public body's "arm's-length" relat…

13 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce its decision on the location of the headquarters of Forest Enterprise.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The review of the location of Forest Enterprise Scotland was announced on 11 December 2002 and is being conducted in accordance with the Executive's relocation policy. When we announced the review, we said that a decision would be taken by the end of this yea…

13 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the bail system.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The laws on bail are under constant review.In 2000 the Parliament enacted the Bail, Judicial Appointments etc (Scotland) Act 2000, which ended the statutory exclusion to the granting of bail by a sheriff, removed the requirement of the accused having to ap…

13 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights has affected conditions that can be imposed on a person accused of serious and violent crimes who applies for bail and, if so, how these conditions have been affected.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: In granting bail, the court or the Lord Advocate is required by law to impose on the accused the standard conditions, and such further conditions as the court or Lord Advocate considers necessary, to secure that the standard conditions are observed and that t…

9 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of its guidelines prevent the issue of small oxygen cylinders under prescription from the NHS and, if so, what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Portable oxygen equipment is not currently available on GP prescription. However, the Minister for Health and Community Care made a policy commitment in October 2002 that small oxygen cylinders would be added to the Scottish Drug Tariff. We are currently work…

3 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances a voluntary sector agency is obliged to register with the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Providers of all the services defined at sections 2 and 8 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, including voluntary sector providers, will, through time, be required to register them with the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. The commis…

3 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued in each local authority area.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-492 on 11 June 2003. 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/weba…

3 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for orthopaedic surgery in each NHS board area and how this compares with waiting times in the previous year.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The median waiting times for orthopaedic surgery, by NHS board area of residence, for the years ended 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 are given in the following table. The increase in the Scotland median wait reflects our focus on reducing the number of pa…

3 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the average weekly wage in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Office for National Statistics publishes data from the New Earnings Survey on an annual basis. The survey takes place in April each year. The following table provides gross weekly earnings of full-time adults for local authorities in Scotland.Average G…

3 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the average weekly household income in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Information on average weekly household income in Scotland is available at national level only. The following table shows median household income in Scotland as a whole in each year since 1996-97.The data sources which the Executive uses for household inco…

28 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any financial burden arising from delays in the purchase of former local authority properties by tenants under the right to buy caused by the transfer of housing stock to a housing partnership should be the responsibility of the tenant or the partnership.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Responsibility for administering the right to buy scheme rests with the landlord. If there are delays in the right to buy process, then under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 tenants may be able to seek a reduction in the purchase price.

28 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether former local authority housing tenants now transferred to housing partnerships maintain the same rights to purchase their properties.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Tenants who transfer retain their previous right to buy entitlement as long as they retain the tenancy they had at the point of transfer. If they change their tenancy, for example, as a result of a voluntary move to another house owned by the same landlord, o…

28 May 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to its Environment and Rural Development Department has been of (a) printing and production of and (b) postage for (i) consultation documents and (ii) guidance documents issued to farmers in each of the last five years.

Answer · Ross Finnie: (i) Consultation documents to farmersWe issue these to representative bodies with an interest, and not as a rule to farmers, although all the documents can be accessed by individuals through the Executive's website. We do not keep a record of the costs of …