Parliamentary questions

Fiona McLeod

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

19 Oct 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the UK Government on the possible effect in Scotland of the proposed cap on housing benefit for families that require more than four bedrooms.

19 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Prison Service staff have been suspended with pay for longer than a year in each of the last five years, broken down by prison.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Prison 1 April 2006 31 March 2007 1 April 2007 31 March 2008 1 April 2008 31 March 2009 1 April 2009 31 March 2010 1 April 2010 31 Marc…

19 Sep 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Prison Service internal disciplinary appeals board decisions have found in favour of the complainant in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: No of Dismissals Overturned Total Number of Dismissal Appeal Boards Held 1 April 2006 – 31 March 2007 1 5 1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008 …

7 Sep 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support an awareness campaign regarding the prevention of pressure sores.

31 Aug 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is available for the additional support needs of disabled children aged between 2 and 3.

20 Jul 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-01443 by Aileen Campbell on 18 July 2011, what the criteria are for ministers not accepting a local plan.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: There are no set criteria ministers use to inform their judgement as to whether to prevent a local authority from adopting a local plan.

30 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the role is of Scottish Ministers in the process to approve a local authority local plan when there have been objections to recommendations of the Scottish Government Reporter by both elected representatives and the public.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Apart from certain limited exceptions, authorities must make any modifications to plans that are recommended in examination reports. Within 3 months of receiving the report, authorities must send the modifications, the proposed plan they wish to adopt, and th…

21 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Baldernock Primary School in East Dunbartonshire is covered by the moratorium on the closure of rural schools.

Answer · Michael Russell: The voluntary moratorium on rural school closures will affect rural school closure proposals from 20 June 2011 for a period of 12 months. If, on 20 June 2011, a local authority had completed the consultation process and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education…

19 May 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it is making available for the development of new affordable housing.

13 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures sportscotland have in place to ensure that Netball Scotland will not suffer financially from having been misgraded to level 3, before being reinstated to level 2 on appeal.

Answer · Elaine Murray: Netball Scotland has been treated the same as every other Scottish Governing Body of Sport (SGB) when levels of funding have been determined. Sportscotland's prioritisation of sports is only one of many criteria used when funding is decided.

7 Mar 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how local groups can access funding for the provision of skateparks.

Answer · Elaine Murray: Responsibility for the provision of recreational and leisure facilities is primarily a matter for local authorities. In December 2002, local authorities were notified of their Quality of Life funding over the next three financial years. This funding is expect…

16 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it provides any specific support for housebound, sensory-impaired people to have supported or discounted access to the internet.

Answer · Des McNulty: The Scottish Executive does not currently provide such support to housebound sensory-impaired people.The People's Network will make specialist equipment and software available in certain libraries across the country. Two local pilots (North Lanarkshire She…

16 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources are being made available to the NHS specifically for treatment and prevention of chronic liver failure resulting from hepatitis C infection.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Subject to national priorities and Health Department guidance, it is for NHS boards to assess the needs of their local populations, including those who suffer from chronic liver failure, and to allocate their considerable resources to provide services to meet…

16 Dec 2002 · Written Question

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The cash underspends for the Health Department as set out in the 1999-2000 Appropriation Accounts and 2000-01 Cash Accounts were £76 million and £168 million respectively. The Health Department's resource underspend for 2001-02, as set out in the 2001-02 Scot…

16 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations of the (a) expert group on financial and other support for NHS injury and (b) Health and Community Care Committee's Report of Hepatitis C it plans to adopt in respect of financial recompense for people infected by hepatitis C as a result of blood transfusions.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I will write to the member with the answer on this and will place copies in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

13 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has a prosecution policy and, if so, whether it will give details of the policy.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has published a Policy Statement on Enforcement. It can be found on SEPA's website at <A HREF="http://www.sepa.org.uk/">www.sepa.org.uk</A>. This states that where SEPA is aware of a breach of legislation, whi…

10 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31293 by Ross Finnie on 19 November 2002, whether foods and food ingredients derived from (a) mai'e and mai'e crops and (b) agricultural seeds entering the European Union in Scotland are tested (i) at the point of entry and (ii) subsequently for the …

Answer · Mary Mulligan: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that the varieties of maize referred to in the question do not currently have consent for food use in the EU, nor for commercial planting.The enforcement of food law is primarily a matter for local authorities, who…

5 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31101 by Mr Jim Wallace on 8 November 2002 and in the light of the statement by the Governor of HM Prison Low Moss that the governor had commissioned research that will consider the incidents in 2002 as well as all the incidents that occurred in 2001…

Answer · Hugh Henry: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No formal research study was commissioned. The Governor of HM Prison Low Moss was referring to internal post incident debriefings which take pl…

25 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of security has been so far at fire stations during the current industrial action by fire service personnel and from which budget this cost will be funded.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The security of fire stations is a matter for individual fire authorities and this information is not available centrally.

14 Nov 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer how a balance is achieved in public seating in committee meetings between members of the public and civil servants supporting ministers and, if a member of the public arrives at such a meeting having booked a seat and the public seating area is fully occupied by civil servants, what rights…

Answer · David Steel: Committee Clerks liaise with Executive Officials with regard to the size of the public gallery in the relevant committee room and the corresponding appropriate number of Scottish Executive officials that might be accommodated. Committee Clerks advise Particip…

6 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has authorised, or will authorise, the testing of GM mai'e (a) AgrEvo T14 Liberty Link, (b) AgrEvo CBH351 StarLink, (c) DeKalb DBT418 Bt Xtra, (d) DeKalb DLL25 GR, (e) Monsanto GA21 Roundup Ready, (f) Monsanto NK603 Roundup Ready, (g) Monsanto Mon801, (h) Monsanto Mon802, (i) M…

Answer · Ross Finnie: Varieties of GM maize with a marketing consent for import into the EU have satisfied member states, including the UK, that neither the crop itself nor the marketed product poses a risk in terms of human health and environmental safety and are not required to …

4 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is issued to or by local authorities regarding the suitability of obtaining disclosure checks from the Scottish Criminal Record Office on members of school boards.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No specific guidance is issued to local authorities by the Scottish Executive on obtaining disclosure checks on members of school boards. School board members do not, in that capacity, normally have opportunities for unsupervised access to pupils. The Scot…

30 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the research commissioned by the Governor of HM Prison Low Moss comparing incidents in 2001 with incidents so far in 2002 will be made public.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:There has been no such research commissioned.

25 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether annual targets are set for (a) Historic Scotland, (b) the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland and (c) the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland in regard to listing historical monuments and sites and, if so, (i) what the targets were for each body i…

Answer · Elaine Murray: Scottish ministers set a number of key performance targets for Historic Scotland to meet annually, including a target on the number of monuments to be scheduled. Historic Scotland's targets for scheduling (which includes reschedulings and deschedulings as …

25 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many historical monuments or sites were (a) included in and (b) removed from the list of scheduled monuments in each of the last five years.

Answer · Elaine Murray: The number of historic monuments or sites included in (scheduled or rescheduled) and removed from the schedule of ancient monuments (descheduled) in each of the last five years was as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=370><TR><TD WIDTH="…

25 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for including an historical monument or site in the list of scheduled monuments.

Answer · Elaine Murray: Under section 1(3) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, Scottish ministers may compile a schedule of ancient monuments and include in it any monument that appears to them to be of national importance.A monument is considered by Scott…

18 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what instructions it has issued to Audit Scotland with regard to resolution S1M-3375 on the acute services review, passed by the Parliament on 12 September 2002.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Greater Glasgow NHS Board has engaged the services of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) who will provide external commentary on the governance arrangements and processes for the development and implementation of the Acute Services Strategy. The reports produced by…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any funding arising from end-year flexibility will be made available directly to schools in the current financial year.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: There is currently no end-year flexibility and consequently no funding decisions have been made.

16 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any advertising campaigns have been undertaken in (a) Scotland and (b) Europe to promote the ferry service between Rosyth and Zeebrugge.

Answer · Mike Watson: The promotion of the Rosyth to Zeebrugge link is a matter for Superfast Ferries. However, I am aware that VisitScotland have been working with Superfast Ferries in order to promote the route and details of it are carried in VisitScotland's promotional literat…

16 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what directions and guidance it has given to Scottish Water with regard to the payment of compensation to customers affected by the recent cryptosporidium contamination of the public water supply from Mugdock Reservoir.

Answer · Ross Finnie: No directions have been given to Scottish Water in relation to this incident.I wrote to Scottish Water on 26 September to advise them that ministers had considered whether a general scheme of compensation should be introduced for customers in the areas aff…