Parliamentary questions

Fiona McLeod

516 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what stage Area Waste Plans have reached; when they will be finalised and published, and what consultation has been undertaken with the public on them, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: To implement Scotland's National Waste Strategy eleven Area Waste Plans are being prepared; these will set out the Best Practicable Environmental Option for dealing with waste from each area. The plans are being prepared by groups consisting of local authorit…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional financial staffing resources are being given to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to take forward the implementation of Scotland's National Waste Strategy, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Additional grant-in-aid, totalling some £16.5 million over the 3-year period 2001-02 to 2003-04, has been announced for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The extra grant-in-aid takes account of the increased responsibilities and duties that w…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what stage the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has reached in implementing the phasing in of the new Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Scheme, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: New installations, and existing ones that are being substantially changed, are subject to Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) controls immediately. Existing installations are being phased into IPPC on a sector-by-sector basis between 2001 and …

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what indicators are used to assess 100% compliance with international radiation limits at all nuclear sites, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive, and whether this target has been met.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Scottish Environment Protection Agency carries out a regular check programme of environmental monitoring around nuclear sites. Results are published jointly in the annual report "Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE)". A copy of the lates…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to whom the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports; when and in what form it presents reports on its work; where any such reports are publicly available, and whether any reported information is not in the public domain.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is accountable to Ministers for its performance. Ministers, in turn, are accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the activities and performance of SEPA.SEPA publishes its Corporate Plan and Annu…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when and how the results of its survey commissioned in 2000 into environmental attitudes and behaviour, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive, will be published.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Copies of the survey report have been placed today in the Parliament's Reference Centre. The main findings of the survey are also available on the Scottish Executive website.

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when and how its environmental awareness campaign was or will be launched, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive environmental awareness campaign, Do a Little - Change a Lot was launched on Wednesday 4 July. The First Minister, Deputy First Minister, Minister for Transport and Planning and I were joined on Calton Hill by environmental volun…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the 25 sustainable development activities which it will support and what form this support will take, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive.

Answer · Ross Finnie: At least 25 sustainable development activities will be supported through grants. These activities will include seminars, research, community projects and promotion/co-ordination activity. Already this year we have funded a scoping study on strategic environme…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its target of paying 95% of claims from local authorities for flood prevention and coast protection schemes within four weeks, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive, is being achieved.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: For year 2000-01 the Executive paid all claims from local authorities for flood prevention and coast protection schemes within four weeks of the required information being available, thereby achieving the 95% target.To date this financial year the target i…

19 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what extra funding has been or will be made available to each local authority for consultation on and implementation of Area Waste Plans, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: £2.5 million was allocated between local authorities as part of the agreed local authority settlement in 2000-01, for planning and preparation for implementation of the National Waste Strategy. In 2001-02, this amount was included within the waste management …

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Chapelcross Nuclear Power Station has been prosecuted for any infringements of its discharge authorisation license since 1996 and, if so, when and with what results.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The SEPA website contains information on prosecutions at the following address:http://www.sepa.org.uk/envdata/prosecutions/index.htm

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring takes place of the cooling water discharges from the Chapelcross Nuclear Power Station and who undertakes this.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what environmental monitoring has been carried out around the Chapelcross Nuclear Power Station since the accident on 5 July 2001; to whom the results of the monitoring have been reported, and whether it will place a copy of these results in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The information is not held centrally.

18 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will clarify what its power is in relation to the appointment of inspectors under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993; what duties and responsibilities such inspectors have, and to whom they report.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive does not appoint inspectors under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (RSA93). The functions of the chief inspector, formerly appointed under section 4 of RSA93, were transferred to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) by v…

16 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to designate a beach as fit for bathing.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Bathing waters, not beaches, are identified by the Scottish Executive for the purposes of the Bathing Waters (Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1991. The Regulations implement in Scotland the EC Bathing Waters Directive (76/160/EEC). The Directive is int…

16 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to assign "designated" status to a beach.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: In 1998-99, an independent Bathing Waters Review Panel examined nominations for identification as bathing waters for the purposes of the Bathing Waters (Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1991. The sole criterion, suggested by the Panel, was that members …

16 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to monitor pollution levels at the 52 bathing beaches which have not been designated as fit for bathing.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency monitors over 50 recreational waters which have not been identified as bathing waters. Results of this monitoring are published in the Agency's annual report on Scottish Bathing Waters, available on the Agency…

16 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to publicise whether a beach has been designated as fit for bathing.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Bathing Waters (Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1991, following the EC Bathing Waters Directive (76/160/EEC), require the identification of locations where bathing is not prohibited and is traditionally practised by a large number of bathers as bat…

16 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16332 by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 June 2001, where the 37 fully qualified sign language interpreters in Scotland obtained their qualifications.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Sign language interpreters in Scotland obtain their qualifications at Heriot-Watt University.

12 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16331 by Susan Deacon on 29 June 2001, why figures regarding the Save Stobhill campaign were not given in the substantive answer to my question S1W-15646 until 29 May 2001 when they had been available from 15 May 2001.

Answer · Susan Deacon: There is no particular reason why the figures in question, which are neither confidential nor sensitive, were not provided before 29 May other than process.

15 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time courses are available in Scotland leading to the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People qualification and which institutions run them.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: This information is not held centrally.

15 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases were referred by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency to the Procurator Fiscal under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and how many prosecutions there were as a result in each of the last four years.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the information requested is not held centrally. Some information about successful prosecutions is given by the agency on its website at <A HREF="http://www.sepa.org.uk/envdata/prosecution…

15 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of illegal discharge of slurry to a water course were referred by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency to the Procurator Fiscal under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and how many prosecutions there were as a result in each of the last four years.

15 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time courses in sign language are available in Scotland and which institutions run them.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: This information is not held centrally.

15 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many sign language interpreters there are in Scotland.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There are currently 37 fully qualified sign language interpreters in Scotland.

15 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why figures regarding the Save Stobhill Campaign were provided to the Kirkintiloch and Bishopbriggs Herald on 15 May 2001 before such figures were provided on 29 May in answer to question S1W-15648 which was lodged on 4 May.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The figures in question are not of a confidential or sensitive nature and could be obtained from the Scottish Executive. There was, therefore, no justification for not providing them in response to the enquiry from the Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs…

14 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9959 by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000, whether a full business case for the Larkhall to Milngavie rail link has been received from Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority and, if so, what the current status is of the project.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-14515 on 9 April 2001.

11 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans the Minister for Health and Community Care has to meet delegates from the "Save Stobhill Campaign Team".

Answer · Susan Deacon: I met with delegates from the Save Stobhill Campaign Team on Thursday 17 May.

4 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests to meet a delegation from the Save Stobhill Campaign team the Minister for Health and Community Care has received.

Answer · Susan Deacon: As at 11 May, the Executive has received around 3,500 pieces of correspondence about the future of Stobhill General Hospital. The Health Department continues to ask Greater Glasgow Health Board to consider these, since public consultation on the review of acu…

4 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be represented at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg in the summer of 2002.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Yes.