Parliamentary questions

Helen Eadie

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

27 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether passengers travelling on the rail service from Glasgow Queen Street to stations in Fife may purchase tickets on the train and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The sale of tickets on trains is an operational matter for ScotRail.

27 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether books of advance tickets may be purchased for the rail service from Glasgow Queen Street Station to stations in Fife.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The sale of advance tickets is a commercial matter for ScotRail.

27 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether tickets may be purchased on the platform at Glasgow Queen Street Station for passengers wishing to travel on the rail service to stations in Fife.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This is an operational matter for ScotRail.

27 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any signs displayed in Glasgow Queen Street Station advertising the rail service from that station to stations in Fife.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This is an operational issue for ScotRail.

27 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any special promotional rail fares are available for the service from Glasgow Queen Street Station to stations in Fife.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Special promotional rail fares are a commercial issue for ScotRail.

27 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements have been made to promote the rail service from Glasgow Queen Street Station to stations in Fife.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This is an operational matter for ScotRail.

19 Feb 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in promoting sustainable transport.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We have made progress in many areas. This week alone, we have awarded over £3 million to 55 projects under the Rural Community Transport Initiative, and agreed a joint investment programme with the Strategic Rail Authority to build longer platforms at 23 Scot…

12 Feb 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the provision of school meals.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I announced yesterday that all of the recommendations of the Expert Panel on School Meals have been accepted. We are making £57.5 million available over the next three years to implement these recommendations. In addition, we are setting up a scheme to pro…

29 Jan 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to combat speeding on roads.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is addressing the issue of inappropriate and excessive speed through a combination of engineering, enforcement and education.

15 Jan 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to improve audiology services.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: A wide-ranging review of audiology service provision has just been completed and we are currently considering the review report before deciding on the best way forward.£750,000 was made available in April last year for the provision of hearing aids and for…

8 Jan 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact any use of the tax-varying powers under Part IV of the Scotland Act 1998 would have on the economy and employment and poverty levels.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive has made clear that it will not make use of these powers in the lifetime of this parliament. Separate estimates have not, therefore, been made of the likely effect on the economy, employment and poverty levels. Such forecasting would involve det…

11 Dec 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce the number of people involved in road traffic accidents.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: In 2000 the Scottish Executive and the UK Government announced targets for road accident casualty reductions in the period to 2010. The targets and a strategy for achieving them were set out in the document Tomorrow's Roads - Safer for Everyone, copies…

4 Dec 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of speed cameras in reducing traffic accidents.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive is supporting the establishment of Safety Camera Partnerships, led by local authorities and police forces. To date three such partnerships have been approved and are operational: in Strathclyde, Fife, and Grampian. Each Safety Camera Pa…

22 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the National Health Demonstration Project Programme.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The National Health Demonstration Project Programme's first Annual Report, entitled Learning to Make a Difference, has been produced. I am placing copies in the Parliament's Reference Centre.The report summarises the demonstration projects' early ac…

13 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take following the reversal by the Inquiry Reporters Unit of a planning authority decision on car access to the high street in Aberdour, given road safety advice to the contrary from Fife Council's transportation services and planning departments, Aberdour Community C…

Answer · Hugh Henry: None. This case relates to a planning application for a private dwellinghouse which was granted permission in March 1999 and for which Fife Council subsequently submitted a Modification Order to have the vehicular access discontinued due to concerns about roa…

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on any cases that have been heard by the European Court of Human Rights that have given support to third-party rights of appeal in the planning system.

Answer · Margaret Curran: This information is not held centrally. Judgements passed by the European Court of Human Rights can be viewed on the internet at:<A HREF="http://www.echr.coe.int">www.echr.coe.int</A>.

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications of the United Nations Aarhus Convention are for third-party rights of appeal in the planning system.

Answer · Margaret Curran: We have considered the implications of the Aarhus Convention and have concluded that the planning system complies with the terms of the convention. In relation to third party appeals, this view was supported in recent research* undertaken on behalf of a numbe…

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed European Commission directive on access to justice will have an impact on third-party rights of appeal in the planning system.

Answer · Margaret Curran: As the European Commission has not yet proposed such a directive, it is not possible to predict any potential implications at this time.

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Inquiry Reporters Unit has overruled Fife Council in respect of west area planning department matters in each of the last two years.

Answer · Hugh Henry: During the period 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001, where an appeal was received against the refusal of an application for planning permission, or against conditions imposed on a grant of permission, the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit allowed seven ou…

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints to the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland in each of the last three years were about third party rights of appeal in the planning system.

Answer · Margaret Curran: This information is not held centrally.Information on complaints to the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland is contained in the Commissioner's Annual Reports, which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. The Bib. numbers for the …

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many responses it received to its consultation paper, Getting Involved in Planning, and how many such responses were in favour of third party rights of appeal.

Answer · Margaret Curran: As of 26 April, the Executive received 404 responses. These are currently being analysed independently and a report will be published in the summer. Copies of the responses are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure the safety of (a) elderly, visually-impaired and disabled people and (b) children in relation to cyclists using public footpaths.

Answer · Iain Gray: In the absence of any indicators to suggest that there is a significant problem in this area, I consider that existing remedies are adequate to address such problems as we have.Section 129 (5) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 makes it an offence to cycle o…

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) elderly people, (b) visually impaired people and (c) children in Fife have been treated at hospital after being knocked over by a cyclist on a public footpath.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In the past four calendar years two cases have been recorded on national hospital discharge summaries of Fife residents requiring admission to a general acute hospital, as a result of a collision with a pedal cycle in a "non-traffic" accident. Both …

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what projects in (a) Ballingry, (b) Cardenden, (c) Lochgelly, (d) Kelty and (e) Cowdenbeath have received funding from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I understand that Ballingry, Cardenden, Lochgelly, Kelty, and Cowdenbeath are collectively known as the Benarty area locally. The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has funded the following projects within the Benarty area:<UL><LI>Benarty Regeneration Action Group…

9 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much grant funding has been made available in Scotland through the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and whether any such funding is likely to increase in real terms in the next round of grant allocations.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The level of funding for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in Scotland over the three years between 1999-2000 and 2001-02 was £4.5 million. Funding levels for 2002-03 and 2003-04 have been slightly increased, in that the Executive has committed a further £1.5…

10 Apr 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many men aged over 50 are employed in public libraries.

Answer · Mike Watson: Statutory responsibility for the public library service in Scotland lies entirely with local authorities. Each local authority is responsible for employing their own staff in the library service.

9 Apr 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many men are employed in public libraries, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Elaine Murray: The information is not held centrally. Statutory authority for local libraries in Scotland lies with local authorities. Each local authority is responsible for the employment of staff in the services they run.

20 Mar 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making towards reaching its goals on community regeneration.

Answer · Iain Gray: Progress is reported yearly in our Social Justice Annual Report, which was published in November 2001. There is still much to do and it is important that we keep our approach to community regeneration under review and that we continue to learn from exp…

19 Mar 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications are for Scotland of the announcement by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Tuesday 19 March 2002 about competition in the water industry in England and Wales.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The announcement has no direct bearing on the position in Scotland.The Scottish Executive has also been reviewing its plans to introduce a legislative framework to safeguard public health, the environment and social objectives in a more competitive environ…

11 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been consulted on the impact on Scottish business of any planned diversion of freight trains from the west coast main line to other routes.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No. The Scottish Executive has not been approached by any of the rail freight operators concerning the effects on Scottish business of trains being diverted from the West Coast Main Line.