Parliamentary questions

Elaine Murray

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

30 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Prison Service intends to close a further five prisons including Dumfries Young Offenders Institute.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No.

30 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2491 by Mr Jim Wallace on 25 November 1999, whether it now has any plans for the creation or use of any privately owned and operated prisons other than Kilmarnock.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:There are currently no such plans.

29 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many households in each local authority area are liable to pay council tax and how many 2000-01 council tax reminders each local authority has issued to date.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Information on number of chargeable dwellings on valuation list for each authority is given in the table below. No information is collected centrally on number of council tax reminders issued.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD VALIGN=…

22 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4838 by Peter Peacock on 14 March 2000, what projects have been supported in schools by the Health Education Board for Scotland to promote awareness of mental health issues amongst pupils and teachers.

22 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the anti-influen'a drug Relen'a will be made available to high risk patients.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Zanamivir (Relenza) is available on the NHS to treat at-risk adults. The use of this medicine depends on the clinical judgement of the medical practitioner concerned, informed by evidence and advice about its use including guidance issued by the Scottish Exec…

21 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to promote football for women and girls.

Answer · Allan Wilson: sportscotland, on the Scottish Executive's behalf, is taking a number of steps to promote football for women and girls.In the case of the structure of the women's game, these steps include ongoing investment in a W…

21 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of the Scottish agricultural and biological research institutes have achieved Investors in People (IiP) status or other similar awards and which are expected to achieve IiP by the end of December 2000.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Of the five Scottish Agricultural and Biological Research Institutes (SABRIs), the Moredun Research Institute, near Penicuik, achieved Investors in People (IiP) status in 1999 and the Rowett Research Institute, based in Aberdeen, is on track to receive it bef…

20 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the Detox-5 treatment for heroin addiction and what guidance it provides to health boards regarding the prescription and funding of this treatment programme.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Executive is indeed aware of the Detox-5 treatment for heroin addiction which, I understand, is being used by drug problem services in Lothian and Grampian. It is open to health boards to commission local NHS services to meet a particular purpose, if such…

20 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2431 by Nicol Stephen on 2 November 2000, whether the working group on deferred entry to pre-school education has now reported and, if so, when its conclusions will be made available to the Parliament.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Report of the Deferrals Working Group was published in the week commencing 4 December 2000 along with my initial response. Copies were sent to all local authorities and a wide range of childcare bodies as well as being available on request to members of t…

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in the development of indicators of rural deprivation for use in the distribution of grant aided expenditure to Scottish local authorities.

Answer · Angus MacKay: The grant distribution formula includes a number of adjustments which take account of deprivation in both urban and rural areas. Following the review of the treatment of deprivation in the local government system, I have decided to adjust the Income Support a…

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has discussed the issue of discretionary bursaries with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and, if so, what conclusions were reached.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has had no recent discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about the issue of discretionary bursaries.

16 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make funding available to assist local authorities to undertake PPPs in order to repair and rebuild schools and, if so, whether an announcement to this effect will be made in the near future.

Answer · Jack McConnell: We continue to see Public/Private Partnerships as having an important role in the context of work on school buildings. Bids by authorities for a share of £5 million which we have made available to support the costs involved in the early stages of the developm…

13 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to take forward the recommendations of the Beattie Committee report Implementing Inclusiveness - Realising Potential.

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: In response to the Beattie Committee Report, the Scottish Executive has established a National Action Group chaired by the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong learning, Nicol Stephen. This responsibility has now passed to the new Deputy Minister for E…

13 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it provides assistance for the retraining of textile workers who have lost their jobs and whether it plans to increase support for retraining following recent job losses in the sector.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-2590 on 23 November.

13 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what new steps it is taking to support the textile industry in the South of Scotland following recent job losses in this sector in Dumfries.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-2590 on 23 November.

6 Nov 2000 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Executive intends to take forward economic development at a local level.

Answer · Henry McLeish: My colleague Wendy Alexander proposes to publish draft guidelines on Local Economic Forums at the end of this month. The guidelines will set out the role and tasks of forums in improving the delivery of local economic development services across Scotland. In …

2 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest position is on agri-monetary compensation payments to the arable sector.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I am pleased to inform you that, in response to the current difficulties being faced by the arable sector, the UK Government have now decided to draw down further agri-monetary compensation, subject to EU Commission approval. The Scottish share is £4 million …

21 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to release any funding for new Social Inclusion Partnerships.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: We have no plans to create any new Social Inclusion Partnerships at this stage.The last of the former Regeneration Programme areas has only now made the transition to Social Inclusion Partnership status. The new Glasgow Smaller Areas SIP, w…

21 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any data relating to the number of people suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The information requested was covered in my response to Scottish parliamentary question S1W-8222. The data provided remains the most up to date available.

20 Sep 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in considering what action is necessary to ensure that digital technology is available in all areas of Scotland.

Answer · Henry McLeish: This is a major strategic decision for the Executive. As announced in the Executive's response to the Digital Scotland Taskforce report, we plan a series of discussions with the Enterprise Agencies and telecoms providers in the autumn of this year.

9 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to provide funding on a longer-term basis to voluntary organisations offering support to people with mental health problems which currently receive funding on an annual or other short-term basis, such as the Genesis project operated by the National Schi'ophrenia Foundati…

Answer · Iain Gray: The Executive is committed to a strategic approach to its funding of the voluntary sector, and is committed to three year grant offers. We are also working with other funders to develop a stable funding environment, including discussing with the Convention of…

3 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it intends to take to promote awareness of mental health issues amongst primary and secondary school pupils.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer given previously to question S1W-4838.

3 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prison officer absences arise as a result of assaults on officers by inmates.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The information is not available.

3 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance and support is offered to prison officers who have been assaulted by inmates.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond.His response is as follows:The assistance and support depends on the nature of the assault and the needs of the individual officer. Supp…

3 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the staff turnover rate at Kilmarnock Prison compares to those at other Scottish prisons.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Information about staff turnover at Kilmarnock is not collected by SPS as it is a matter for their employers, Premier Prison Se…

3 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ask the Scottish Prison Service to carry out an investigation into the staff turnover rate at Kilmarnock Prison.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Mr Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Staff turnover at Kilmarnock is a matter for the contractor, Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd.

6 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, following recent reports in the French press about the possible GM contamination of French mai'e crops, what action is being taken to check whether Scottish crops are affected.

Answer · Ross Finnie: As I said during the Rural Affairs Committee meeting on 4 July, we have been in contact with the French authorities since learning that they had discovered low levels (below 1%) of GM presence in conventional maize seed imported into France. They confirmed on…

28 Jun 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with the Starting Well initiative for expectant mothers, babies and toddlers.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Responsibility for delivering the "Starting Well" demonstration project has been allocated to a team led by the Glasgow Healthy City Partnership. The team is currently making the necessary preparatory arrangements, with the aim of formally commencing the proj…

21 Jun 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is listening to the views of young people.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: On 19 June, I, along with a large number of my ministerial colleagues, took part in the Scottish Youth Summit 2000 organised by the Scottish Executive. This was the opening event of our Action Programme for Youth, announced in the Programme for Government<…

16 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals in Scotland offer treatment for puerperal psychosis and, of these, which allow mothers and babies to stay together during treatment.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The hospitals contained in the table below offer treatment for puerperal psychosis. Those hospitals that would allow mothers and babies to stay together during treatment (subject to clinical determination, staffing and capacity) are indicated in column a:<TAB…