Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-01249 by John Swinney on 21 July 2011, how many (a) local authorities, (b) government agencies, (c) NDPBs and (d) other public bodies (excluding NHSScotland) pay a living wage.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02478 on 23 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/MAQA…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-01248 by Michael Mathieson on 18 July 2011, why it has no plans to establish a living wage unit.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government announced it's 2012-13 public sector pay policy during the Spending Review statement on 21 September. Employers covered by the policy are required to apply a Scottish Living Wage. The policy is available at: www.scotland.gov.uk/public…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-01249 by John Swinney on 21 July 2011, for what reason the Scottish Government's commitment to introduce the living wage to all public sector bodies has not been met.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has made a commitment to introduce a minimum wage for all public sector bodies under our direct control. We have made sure that from 1 April 2011, all NHS staff in Scotland earn above £7.15 per hour. All teachers, police officers and …
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether at least one paramedic is rostered on each ambulance across each shift pattern at the (a) Vale of Leven Hospital, (b) Helensburgh and (c) Arrochar stations.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02448 on 21 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliament…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the salary cost of (a) temporary and (b) agency staff employed by the Scottish Ambulance Service (i) was in each year since 2007-08 and (ii) is expected to be in 2011-12.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Ambulance Service has advised that the cost of temporary and agency staff since 2007-08 has been: Year Amount (£) 2007-08 278,000 2008-09 341,000 2009-10 348,000 2010-11 109,000 The budget for 2011-12 is currently £20,000 but this fi…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the overtime budget for the Scottish Ambulance Service (a) was in each year since 2007-08 and (b) is expected to be in 2011-12.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Ambulance Service has advised that the overtime budget since 2007-08 has been: Year Amount (£) 2007-08 2,615,000 2008-09 5,821,000 2009-10 8,359,000 2010-11 7,458,000 It is important to note that these figures cannot be compared on a l…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances are available on each shift pattern at the (a) Vale of Leven Hospital, (b) Helensburgh and (c) Arrochar stations.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02448 on 21 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patient transport ambulances cover (a) Dumbarton, (b) Vale of Leven, (c) Helensburgh and (d) Lomond.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many shifts have not been covered by the Scottish Ambulance Service due to staff sickness or vacancies at (a) Vale of Leven Hospital, (b) Helensburgh and (c) Arrochar stations in each month since April 2010.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested. However, the Scottish Ambulance Service has provided the following information which sets out all shifts not covered. These may be seen in the context of over 5,500 rostered shifts for thi…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all ambulances from the (a) Vale of Leven Hospital, (b) Helensburgh and (c) Arrochar stations are double-crewed.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Ambulance Service has provided the following table setting out rostered resources for these stations. Station Resource Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun Vale of Leven Day shift A&E Ambulance 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Night shift A&E Ambulan…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the response times were for ambulances in (a) Dumbarton, (b) Vale of Leven, (c) Helensburgh and (d) Rosneath Penisula in each month since April 2010, broken down by the (i) number of incidents, (ii) average response time and (iii) percentage of responses using category A and B respon…
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested has been provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service and has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 53208).
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many shifts have not been covered by the patient transport service in (a) Dumbarton, (b) Vale of Leven, (c) Helensburgh and (d) Lomond in each month since April 2010.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many capital projects where the Ahli United Bank is either a sole or part funder are being taken forward by the (a) Scottish Futures Trust and (b) other public bodies.
Answer · Alex Neil: (a) Capital projects currently in procurement or construction in which Ahli United Bank is either a sole or part funder are summarised below. The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is not a procuring body. It works with other public bodies on the financing, procur…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scottish Futures Trust's involvement has been with the proposed dental facility at East Ayrshire Community Hospital.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate requested that Scottish Futures Trust review the accounting and budgetary classification of the East Ayrshire Community Hospital PFI project contract signed with Cumnock Special Purpose Vehicle Limite…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons have been learned from the contract to construct a dental facility at East Ayrshire Community Hospital not going ahead..
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: A full account of the lessons learned between the parties concerned will be provided by NHS Ayrshire and Arran in papers going to the Board’s Audit Committee in early November 2011.
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the PPP model for the construction of a dental facility at East Ayrshire Community hospital offered better value for money than conventional public sector procurement.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The East Ayrshire Community Hospital is an existing PFI project, the contract for which was signed by the former Ayrshire and Arran Community Healthcare NHS Trust in 1998. The proposed dental facility was, therefore, being taken forward as a variation to the …
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether BAM Construct UK's inability to secure funding from Ahli United Bank for the East Ayrshire Community Hospital is of significance for other capital projects.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish Government is not aware of any capital projects, other than that at the East Ayrshire Community Hospital PFI, where BAM Construct UK’s has a contractual funding relationship with the Ahli United Bank.
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it gave approval for the construction of a dental facility at East Ayrshire Community Hospital and what funding options were considered.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The overall project cost for the construction of the dental facility at East Ayrshire Community Hospital was estimated by NHS Ayrshire and Arran to be within their delegated financial limits for capital expenditure and therefore did not require direct Scottis…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when (a) NHS Ayrshire and Arran, (b) the Scottish Futures Trust and (c) the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy became aware of potential problems with the construction of the dental facility at East Ayrshire Community Hospital and what action was taken by each.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: (a) NHS Ayrshire and Arran only became aware that the variation to the contract and the agreement to associated plans would be frustrated on 21 April 2011, the day the agreement was due to be signed with the Special Purpose Vehicle. The board were informed th…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on East Ayrshire Community Hospital's proposed dental facility and how much was spent on the refurbishment of its (a) Frail Elderly and (b) Elderly Mental Health Wards.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The projected cost of work on the project incurred by NHS Ayrshire and Arran is £758,381. Within the above cost, £146,727 was spent on permanent improvements to facilities. Of direct benefit to the Frail Elderly and Elderly Mental Health’s Pennelburn and Hol…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will cost to reinstate the fabric of the East Ayrshire Community Hospital in light of the cancellation of the proposed dental facility.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s initial estimate of costs for rectification work are that it should not exceed £500,000. The initial cost estimates will require to be confirmed by BAM PPP once the detailed specification for the reinstatement works has been agreed by…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many capital projects are being taken forward by BAM Construct UK with the (a) Scottish Futures Trust and (b) other public bodies.
Answer · Alex Neil: Capital projects currently in procurement or construction which involve BAM Construct UK are summarised below. The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is not a procuring body. It works with other public bodies on the financing, procurement and delivery of public se…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the hospital beds closed to make way for the construction of the proposed dental facility at East Ayrshire Community Hospital will be reinstated.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s prime concern is to ensure continuation of high quality healthcare service delivery at East Ayrshire Community Hospital. Discussions have commenced on a schedule of rectification work that will have minimal disruption to existing serv…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures progress in tackling poverty.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government measures progress against reducing poverty through its national poverty indicator within Scotland Performs. Information on this can be accessed at: http://scotland.gov.uk/About/scotPerforms/indicators/poverty. The source of informat…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding is available to support the implementation of each of the targets set out in Achieving Our Potential: A Framework to tackle poverty and income inequality in Scotland.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government Tackling Poverty budget for 2011-12 is £5,075,000. It supports the implementation of the approach set out in Achieving our Potential. Scottish Government and COSLA social policy frameworks have set out clear expectations relating to t…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what baseline data it has established for each target in Achieving Our Potential: A Framework to tackle poverty and income inequality in Scotland, broken down by (a) data source and (b) starting year.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Achieving our Potential is the Scottish Government and COSLA policy framework for tackling poverty. It includes a set of commitments and expectations for central and local government, the third sector and wider society which outlines the opportunities and act…
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the members of the Tackling Poverty Board.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Membership of the Tackling Poverty Board is outlined within the November 2009 Tackling Poverty Board paper remit and membership at http://www.employabilityinscotland.com/tacklingpovertyboardpapers.aspx.
30 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Tackling Poverty Board last met and what issues were discussed.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Tackling Poverty Board last met on Wednesday 13 April 2011. Board papers can be found at http://www.employabilityinscotland.com/tacklingpovertyboardpapers.aspx.
29 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will commence section 6 of the Alcohol (Scotland) Act 2010, and introduce a requirement for age verification policy for persons under 25.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Section six of the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Act 2010 will be commenced in full on 1 October 2011.
29 Aug 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which provisions in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 have yet to be commenced, and when it plans to do so.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 has been fully commenced.